A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a GOP fundraiser at the center of an Ohio political scandal to two years and three months in prison for illegally funneling $45,000 to President Bush's re-election campaign.
Tom Noe apologized in federal court in Toledo Tuesday for the scheme to give friends money to donate to Bush.
The donations were to fulfill his promise to generate $50,000 for a presidential fundraiser.
Noe says he arranged the scheme because he was pressured by Bush-Cheney officials in 2003 to become a Pioneer -- a donor who generates $100,000 for the campaign.
Noe won't have to serve his sentence until state charges against him are resolved.
