A former Ohio deputy treasurer who fled to Pakistan in the face of a 15-year prison sentence has delivered a public apology before a federal judge and, after nearly two years of drama, been sent to a U.S. prison.
Shackled and thin, Amer Ahmad on Friday expressed "sincere remorse and contrition for this entire terrible chapter" in his life.
The judge, who had already sentenced Ahmad in his absence, scolded the lead conspirator in a bribery kickback scheme for squandering his opportunities and Ivy League education.
Ahmad pleaded guilty in 2013 in federal court to bribery and conspiracy charges but then fled. Authorities say he was arrested in Pakistan in April 2014 holding a forged Mexican passport, a fraudulent Pakistani birth certificate, a false Pakistani visa and $175,000.