stage parkinson's disease that could be debilitating and confine him to a wheelchair or shorten his life. at age 62, prison would be a death sentence. but prosecutors cast doubt on the diagnosis saying johnson is shaky because of his hard drinking. johnson spoke in court asking the judge for leniency today saying i am haunted by this. i fell from grace. i'm sorry and asked the people of prince george's county to forgive me. but federal judge peter micetti said your job was not to line your pockets with money. he sentenced johnson to 87 months in a federal prison. he was released from court today. he is allowed to go home and get his affairs in order and will report to prison in the next 30

days or so. megan mcgrath has a report on what brought us to this day. >> reporter: the sentence a final chapter in a five-year corruption investigation. johnson was caught accepting bribes from developers in a pay to play scheme. >> what we're doing is we're attaching you to a water sewer bill. >> reporter: the fbi had him under surveillance for years. following his arrest, johnson was defiant and pledged to beat the charges. >> i am absolutely convinced without a shadow of a doubt that -- that i am going to be vindicated. >> reporter: but in the face of damaging evidence, johnson pled guilty. key to the case, a telephone conversation with his wife, former council woman leslie johnson as fbi agents banged on the door of their home. jack johnson tells his wife to rip up a $100,000 check from a

developer and flush it down the toilet. >> there is a box with a check. tear it up or chew it up. >> reporter: they are then discussing the cash in the house. >> they are banging. what do you want me to do with the money? >> put in the your panties and walk out of the house. >> reporter: investigators found $80,000 in her underwear. leslie johnson faces a possible 189 months in jail. megan mcgrath, news4. as far as former county executive jack johnson. he is home tonight. he will be ordered to turn himself into a federal prison, one that has a hospital to treat his parkinsons and the judge ordered him to undergo alcoholism treatment. that's the latest from the federal courthouse. our coverage of the sentencing continues throughout

news4 this afternoon. we'll have live team coverage and reaction at 5:00 and for the latest any time visit our website at www.nbcwashington.com. we begin with the cold facts about our weather now. will our rain end in a flash of white as temperatures fall? >> it's gloomy right now. that's safe to say. veronica johnson has the first word on the weather. >> it is gloomy right now for most of the afternoon we have been looking at the forecast. some of the latest guidance and seeing what the chances are of getting snow here. it's looking good for late wednesday night and thursday morning in some neighborhoods. today no cold for us. 57 degrees. in fact this 57-degree temperature we have been fluctuating near there since 2:00 a.m. this morning. we have been umbrella ready all day. take a look here on storm 4 doppler. you can see the rain moving

through from southwest to northeast. occasionallyhere has been moderate rain. but for right now we have mainly light showers across the area. heavier ray down to the south around fredericksburg, virginia. that is what will be moving northeastward this evening. we are talking about a wet evening and a soggy day tomorrow. when the cold air moves in wednesday night some snow and right now there is a winter storm watch up for those counties shaded in light blue west of winchester and stanton. petersburg 2 to 3 inches could fall and 6 inches on the western side of the blue ridge. we'll talk more about the snowfall amounts and how much rain we could get in a couple of minutes. back to you. >> thanks. an aid to former governor early from maryland was found guilty of trying to suppress

black voter turnout. he was found guilty. he was accused of approving robocalls that went out to 100,000 voters in baltimore city and print george's county. it said that martin o'malley had already won and there is no need to go to the polls. he will be sentenced in february. the family of john hinckley fighting in court to get him more free time. the sister of the man testified in a d.c. court today. he said her brother doesn't bother anyone when he is away from the mental hospital. hinckley's lawyers are arguing that he should be allowed to visit his mother's home three weeks at a time. he was found insane after he shot and wounded reagan 30 years ago. his mental illness has been in remission for years. president obama delivered a major address today with a focus on the middle class.

he spoke in the small town where theodore roosevelt give a speech years ago. >> reporter: in kansas, president obama delivered a message aimed at middle class americans and politicians in washington. >> i believe this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot and everyone does their fair share. when everyone plays by the same rules. >> reporter: the president argues he is defending the working class and republicans are standing with the rich. it's a rallying cry for the tax fight in washington and his own re-election campaign. >> in 1910, teddy roosevelt came here to osowata and laid out his vision for what this called a new nationalism. >> reporter: roosevelt argued that welfare is more important

than wealth, an argument that this president is laying out a century later. >> we cannot return to this brand of you're on your own economics if we want to rebuild the middle class in this country. >> reporter: republicans and democrats are struggling to keep a middle class payroll tax from expiring at the end of the month. the democrats are offering to pay for it by raising taxes on the rich. >> this was not a compromise. this is nothing more than another bill designed to fail so democrats can have a week of fun and games on the senate floor. >> reporter: while president obama calls for a new, new nationalism. on capitol hill is it the same politics. teddy roosevelt's new nationalism didn't go over well with the voters. stocks ended on a mixed note today. this comes after a report that european officials may be

creating two separate rescue funds to contain the debt crisis. the dow jones ticked up 52 points. thousands of football fans raced to buy up shares in the green bay packers area today as part of a special stock offering. the shares cost $250 a piece and have virtually no value. but for die-hard fans that's more than enough. >> it is not warm. >> reporter: the green bay packers are one of the most storied teams in the nfl and the country's only publicly owned professional sports franchise. that along with being defending super bowl champs explains why this stock offering is going well. >> 1600 orders in 11 minutes. >> reporter: that is just on the website that the packers set up. the team says it needs $143

million for improvements at lambeau field in green bay. >> all of the money that we raise through the stock sale has to go into the stadium. it can't be used for coaches' salaries or player salaries. >> reporter: the team has made plain the stock has no cash value, won't grow or pay dividends and only comes with the pride of being part owner of the pack which to die-hard fans is plenty. >> it's good to stare it? >> frame it on the wall. >> it's being a part of the team. if you are a packer backer, you're a packer backer and you will buy it. >> reporter: they can vote on team business, elect directors and attend annual meetings or be like kelly campbell and admire the document. >> it is going in my den next to my aaron rogers pro football

plaque. >> caller: some analysts expect the stock offer to be as unbeatable as the packers this year. $250 a share i wonder what the redskins shares would be going for? can they give them away? be nice to be in green bay right now. >> when we continue this afternoon. >> lady gaga pays a visit to the white house. we'll hear about a women's successful strategy to get help finding her lost dog. a model has a long recovery ahead after accidentally walking into a moving airplane propeller. .

well it's hard to see but lady gaga is in that ride right there. the singer visited the white house today ux diseasing the issue of bullying and ways to prevent it. she is not meeting with the president. he's in kansas speaking about the economy. she speaks out about bullying saying that it should be illegal. she created an antibullying foundation called born this way. the white house has taken up the issue, holding an antibullying conference this year. christie brinkley is in trouble with the irs. brinkley owes more than $530 ho,000 in back taxes.

brinkley apologized for not paying more attention to her accounting and promises to pay it in full by tomorrow. she used to be married to billy joel and was the inspiration for his son "moetown girl." she is now playing on broadway. charlie sheen's ex-wife will be allowed to return to california after her arrest for assault and cocaine possession. a judge approved the request to allow her back to take care of his kids. she was accused of assaulting a woman in aspen, colorado on friday night. police found four grams of cocaine on her. mueller and sheen married in 2008 and divorced in 2010. they have two children together. she is due back in court in two weeks. an atm without the fee? the creative way a woman got ore dog back. what happened to a crook

when he tried to rob an ultimate fighter. >> those are the discussions up today with cane. >> we missed you. >> two weeks. >> two years? >> two tuesdays. >> it seemed like two years. >> thank you very much. >> we will start by talking about atm fees and a guy in new york has a machine that would make it free. but there is a problem with the machine. >> we brought this up on our show on hot 99.5. he is a 25-year-old genius. when you put your card in the machine and it says processing. he wants to run a 30 second ad in that time. and that would in turn offset your costs for taking out money. the question we asked on the air was whether you thought this was a good idea or not. the time standing in front an atm machine wants to be a minimum. you are trying to take money out of your account and if you go through the drive through why

make it longer. >> while you are watching a commercial. >> but you have a captive audience right there. >> but what about safety? >> that's a good point. >> no one enjoys breaking up with their significant other but there is a website to do it for you? >> this started in china. it is huge in china. nowadays the worst is to do is break up over text message. but this is second. you are ditched.com if you are too chicken to break up with your significant other you can hire these guys to do it for you. you can pay $150 to have a person to show up in person at your significant other's pork place or apartment and knock on the door and here to say my cousin the breaking up with you i'm sorry. and you have pay to have teddy

bears or flowers. >> the person getting the news is the lucky one. >> you could have a bad day. >> that was a good job. >> in case this radio or tv thing doesn't work out. >> it's for cowards. arlene lives in san diego and when she lost her chihuahua she took an unorthodox step to get the dog back. it worked. >> we have the video of that. whoa. oh, yeah. so anyway. long story shot. we saw her on tv. this is what she was holding. she didn't eat for the week and a half. she said she was not going to eat or wear clothes. she got everyone's attention. did it work out? her dog was returned. her chihuahua was back. >> that's how you get a lost dog back. >> the next time i lose my phone i'll be downtown in a bikini.

in chicago a convicted felon thought he had an easy target. he went up with a gun. a guy parked a car at midway airport. >> in the smug shot for this is the tell all. imagine you are waiting for your friend --. >> that's ugly. >> he goes up to the window of the car and says you got a lighter he goes no and how about money? the guy was a mixed marshal artist. and that's the result right there. spending time in jail. >> that's punishment enough that picture. >> choose your victims wisely. >> coming up tomorrow on your show you have big tickets for new year's eve. >> lady gaga will be in new york city on new year's eve. and tomorrow at 7:35 we will tell you when to listen to hot 99.5 to ring in 2012 with lady

gaga. you will be in times square with her. >> that doesn't get bigger. >> 7:35 tomorrow morning. >> hot 99.5. >> great to see you. >> two years is a long time. >> glad to have you back. >> see you next tuesday. coming up next, mindy mccready fights to regain custody of her son. a golden donation goes into a local salvation army kettle.

[ dog ] i am a rockstar. my coat? solid gold. my insides? pure platinum. [ female announcer ] a healthy outside starts inside. new iams simple & natural has chicken as its number one ingredient and zero fillers. it works inside for health you can see on the outside. [ dog ] i can't be a rockstar on the outside if i'm not one on the inside. [ female announcer ] new iams naturals. you'll like what's in them and love what's not. [ dog ] i am an iams dog. [ girls ] he's so cute! [ dog ] groupies!

you can choose your channel package. ♪ you can choose your own internet speeds. ♪ you can even choose to chat with a live person. ♪

now you can choose to save $35 a month for fios tv, internet and phone for just $79.99 a month, plus get a $300 verizon visa prepaid card with a 2 year agreement. but hurry, offer ends soon only at verizonfios.com. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. . we got it. we got wet. >> we got wet. >> ready to get more wet? >> today we have an umbrella. no problem. >> no coat. >> exactly. tomorrow we're going to be walking on our tiptoes trying to stay clear of the puddles with our shoulders squashed in. it will be pouring tomorrow. heavier rain is moving in and the issues will be tomorrow with the heavy rain an really whatever snow we get late wednesday night early thursday

morning. let's look at the details. we'll head outside and look at the temperature. it is mild across the area. 57 it is right now reagan national airport with a south wind at 10 miles per hour. is it the wind that could pick up tomorrow as the weather front gets closer to us. ahead of the front today, showers are moving through occasional showers. it has been heavy as you can see by the shading of yellow, orange and red. in fredericksburg there is moderate to heavy rain that is sliding up to waldorf, maryland. light showers in wood bridge and fairfax. as we open it up wider there is more rain down to the south and west as low pressure develops along the front it will enhance the rain for our day tomorrow. during the morning and during the afternoon. so here's the weather front. watch this area of low pressure working eastward.

tomorrow morning heavy rain in some spots. for the afternoon again the potential of some heavy rain and i think over a bigger area too. maryland down to d.c. and virginia there is an area of low pressure. behind it a burst of snow. the best chance will be between about midnight and 4:00 to 5:00 a.m. thursday morning. the higher elevations west of the mountains may have the moisture hanging on and could be hooking at 6 inches. we get into the sunshine for late thursday and some very breezy to windy conditions. here's the rainfall totals that we're forecasting. an inch and a half to two and a half inches in purple and more than two and a half inches in the red. a lot to get through here. here's a look at the forecast. 2 to 5 inches west of hagerstown. 1 to 2 in westminster. that is of snowfall.

and a light coating north and west of d.c. and areas around culpepper. let's move through the forecast for the evening and show you what to expect for the evening. rain, likely, fog mild conditions, 57 to 60 degrees. as we go into tomorrow morning, into tomorrow morning the temperatures won't change very much again. here's a look at the four-day forecast. 59 and falling the temperature tomorrow. 45 with the presip ending early on thursday as snow getting into sunshine and cold conditions stick around for the remainder of the workweek. >> thanks, veronica. still to come, the former governor of illinois, rod blagojevich faces justice. and the feds crack down

welcome back to news4 at 4:00. >> here's what is making news at 4:30. jack johnson was sentenced to seven years, three months in prison stemming from his corruption case. johnson apologized during the sentencing hearing and says he is haunted by his actions. his attorneys asked for leniency saying that johnson suffers from parkinson's disease. he could have got 14 years. his wife will be sentenced on friday. president obama delivered a major address today in the same small town where needer roosevelt gave his new nationalism address one century ago. mr. obama said that the nation is at a defining moment and the future of the middle class is at stake. republicans and democrats are locked in a battle over how to

keep a payroll tax cut from expiring. die hard packers fans raced to wall street today to get their hands on shares of the football franchise. the shares are going for $250 a piece. the team hopes to sell 250,000 shares to help pay for improvements at lambeau field. green bay is the nation's only publicly owned sports team. stocks ended on a mixed but flat note today after news that european union officials may create two rescue funds to deal with the debt crisis in that region. the dow gained 52 points and the s&p closed a point higher. rod blagojevich is speaking out today urging a federal judge for leniency. jay gray has more on the two-day sentencing from chicago. >> reporter: after years of denial and defiance, former

illinois governor rod blagojevich and his defense team struck a much different tone today. convicted on 18 counts of production including trying to sell president obama vacated u.s. senate seat his attorneys told the district judge that blagojevich was the victim of bad advice from people he trusted in his inner circle who they argue initiated and led the illegal activities. blagojevich is expected to ask for leniency as he testifies this afternoon. but after three years of talk shows, books and reality programs, steve miller says an hour of contrition in court is too little, too late. >> you can't raise your middle finger to the federal judge and u.s. attorneys for a multiyear period and then say i'm sorry and i'm repentant. >> reporter: the prosecutors

called him a criminal criminal and called the evidence bountiful as they push for a sentence of 15 to 20 years in the case. initially the defense team asked for probation and says if he goes to prison it should be for no more than four years. the judge will announce his decision tomorrow. jay gray, nbc news, chicago. mindy mccready was in court for a hearing on the custody of her son. the judge ordered the parties not to comment. but mccready told reporters she was not happy. she was found hiding in a closet with her son in arkansas. her mother is her son's legal guardian. mccready told "people" magazine she is seven months pregnant and expecting twins. billy graham is out of the

hospital today and returned to his home in north carolina. he was admitted to the hospital on wednesday and diagnosed with pneumonia. he is now 93. a settlement has been reached in the west virginia coal mining disaster, the $210 million agreement between federal authorities and the owners of the upper big branch mine. that is according to an attorney close to the case. the 2010 explosion killed 29 men. a source told the ap the agreement includes $46 million in criminal restitution to the miner's families and money goes to violation fines, safety upgrades, research and training. federal regulators are cracking down on companies that sell hcg for weight loss. it is used to treat female infertility. but some companies are selling

it over the counter for weight control. the food and drug administration says that hcg has not been approved for weight loss and may pose a health risk. it sent letters to seven companies ordering them to stop marketing it as a weight loss product. a fashion model recovering after accidentally walking into the propeller of a small plane. the glitter of

time to check out the daily deal and groupon has one. get $40 worth of food and drinks for $20. it is located in the van necessary neighborhood. 500 people have nabbed this deal. >> let's look at living social and the deal today. you pay $10 and get $20 to spend with all posters.com. that is great for people in an apartment or if you are looking for a print of a famous piece of

art. 2,100 people have bought this deal. >> thinking about those mussels and pasta. coming up the case of the grandpa gangster, a geezer bandit wanted in a string of bank robberies. a hero dog who saved two kittens. coming up, sampling authentic italian dishes and some of the best pumpkin dessert. on nonstop scene tonight,

[ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement. it's an amazing holiday deal. but don't wait. it's only available for a limited time. so go to verizon.com/superoffer to sign up. act now and we'll add a special bonus -- $300 back. fios delivers the best picture quality, plus america's fastest, most consistent most reliable internet. spend the holidays saving money. switch to fios and get our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement when you order online. save $840 in your first two years. and don't forget your special bonus -- $300 back. hurry, offer ends soon. go to verizon.com/superoffer. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/superoffer. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead.

it's all about jobs. it's all about respect. security. the american dream. [ jamaul ] good jobs in tough times. a chance to move up and do better. [ delaunta ] excellent healthcare. [ caletha ] beautiful benefits. what they used to call the american way. it still works here. [ jennifer ] not a single layoff of a u.s. manufacturing worker. [ glen ] not one. not one. doing things the right way. quality. [ jimmeka ] building cars that americans want. [ jamaul ] right here in america. hyundai is an all-american success story. ♪

two kittens in iowa are alive today thanks to a caring canine. someone put the cats in a meow mix bag and sealed it and dumped it on the side of the road. the dog found the bag, dragged it home and whined until his owner opened it. >> the dog was to nurture not to kill. because the blood, some dogs would have responded to the scent. reagan the dog's a hero. >> it took two weeks to nurse

the kittens back to good health. they took feedings by bottle every two hours. the countdown is now on for tonight's lighting of the capital christmas tree. a large crowd is expected for the ceremony. the 65-foot tree arrived in washington from california last week. it is decorated with 3,000 ornaments and 10,000 l.e.d. lights. a second grader from california will health to switch on the lights tonight. we'll have it for you coming up on news4 at 5:00. >> not the best weather for it. >> not at all. i was asking my fans are you ready for snow? they all said no. we are not ready for snow. we don't want it. >> that's too bad. >> that is too bad. we will get a little of it on wednesday night, thursday morning. i think will the be conversational snow.

and the problems we have more with the rain that comes tomorrow, that will be a bigger factor for us. slowing the morning rush and afternoon rush down. it has been cold out west. the western half of the country. around here we have foggy and mild conditions. take a look at this. this is a temperature reading. look at the temperature, folks, minus 23 degrees. that's minus 23. that is just outside of rocky mountain national park on the southwest side. this is from grand lake, colorado taken at just after 6:00 this morning. minus 23 degrees. it has been cold out west especially in colorado and wyoming and snowy. this is a look at the snow cover across the nation. almost half the country is covered all from the same system that is moving eastward. is it proving snow down south.

in colorado at least 10 inches of snow. everyone in the rockies a lot of snow there and the system advancing to the east. chicago, illinois winding up with a bit of accumulation too. we are at 57 degrees right now. we have mainly light showers throughout the area. in fredericksburg it is heavier. this is a snapshot or where rain is possibly going to be setting up at 7:30 this evening. i will take you through the next 48 hours here. the green is the rain. we could have moderate rain tomorrow morning. and then a bunch of it comes through in the afternoon tomorrow around noontime. still wet and still wet late wednesday night. there is the rain. here's the snow in the white. by the time that cold air gets in here we could wind up with 2 to 5 inches. cumberland down to petersburg. and a coating here.

but pat you asked the question will it cause trouble on area roads? between midnight and 4:00 a.m. we get the burst of snow, the temperatures will fall so quickly that i don't think we will have issues here on area roads. after that, the system moves out and cold air. we talked about this earlier too. friday 46 is the high. that it's it. many days in the mid-40s for high temperatures. haven't seen that since early february. >> been a while. a shock the system. a bank robber in california known as the geezer bandit has struck again. >> he is a robber who appears to be elderly who has managed to elude the police and fbi over and over again. >> reporter: he looks more grandpa than gangster. but make no mistake, police say the dweezer bandit is armed and dangerous. >> this time the time was just

over a minute. >> reporter: friday closing time at this bank of america. the geezer bandit hands a note, demands cash, pulls a revolver and walks out with money. >> the teller put a dye pack in the bag. it puts a dye ink all over the money. >> reporter: outside the bank a trail of dye soaked cash. >> the geezer bandit started in august of 2009. >> reporter: the grandpa suspect is a bit of an old pro. in two years the geezer bandit has held up 16 california banks. >> for anyone to think that this guy might be someone that's elderly and just harmless in any way that's not the case. >> reporter: but witnesses say something may be off with the 6 foot, 200 pound senior. he could be wearing a mask.

back in my day we didn't have television. we had radio. this looks like the geezer bandit but it is randy. his masks are made for hollywood and have been used in the movies and also in real life heists. in ohio police were looking for a black man but their bank robbery suspect was a white man wearing a dark mask. back in california, a manhunt for the geezer bandit is underway. >> whether he is wearing a mask or not that is something that has come up. we had victim tellers as describing him as wearing a mask. >> reporter: one thing is certain, this grandpa does not appear retirement from his life of crime. >> he is pulling one over on a lot of people. coming up this afternoon. say what?

a risque road sign catches drivers' eyes. we have team coverage of the prison sentence for jack johnson. a christmas display is causing controversy in loudoun county. and high-tech cameras to [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices...

in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum... we can empower more people to innovate... putting momentum behind our economy. and we can reduce the deficit... with more than thirty billion dollars paid by america's wireless companies. it's simple -- more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone.

a risque road sign had an unusual message in maryland this morning. this is what the sign looked like this morning. it asked drives to honk if they were wearing a thong. the sign is owned by a private contractor and was hacked. it has been taken down. the salvation army bell ringers received a very valuable chunk of change from a man in frederick, maryland. matt learner donated five gold coins from south africa to the salvation army last week. each weighs an ounce and are valued at $9,000. the 25-year-old said he always wanted to donate to the bell ringers. >> i think it is important to give back to the community. you hear the stories all over

the country of people dropping in gold coins. i never had the money to donate to the salvation money. >> he wrapped the coins in a plastic bag with a note that marked their value. the salvation army says this is one of the biggest donations in frederick and perhaps the country. >> a nice holiday gift for the salvation army. still ahead, an aspiring model recovers from a tragic accident. we'll tell you how she walk into a plane propeller. follow news4 online.

brad, where we going? just a second. just, just one second. ♪ what are you looking at? don't look up there. why are you looking up? ♪ get outta the car. get outta the car. ♪ are you ok? the... get in the car. get in the car! [ male announcer ] the epa estimated 42 mpg highway chevy cruze eco. from spending time together, to spending your lives together, chevy runs deep.

there may be a reason amanda knox has not done any interviews since being cleared of murder charges. she is writing a book at her experience. a court cleared her and her boyfriend in the killing of her roommate. she had been in custody since 2007 but has returned to her hometown of seattle. knox hired a d.c. lawyer to get her a book deal. experts believe she could get a seven-figure deal. a model and fashion blogger just finished riding in a single engine plane to get an aerial

view of christmas lights and now she is hospitalized after being hit by the plane's propeller. >> it's going to be a long recovery. it's going to be a long haul. it's a marathon. >> this is a marathon not a sprint. >> reporter: lauren's parents are optimistic their daughter will recover. >> i don't know if she realized what happened. she knows now that she is injured. >> we don't know if she remembers the accident. >> reporter: she got off the plane and went to thank the pilot not realizing the propeller was pouring down. she tried to shield her face, losing her hand and almost an eye. >> they were going to take the eye but for right now they kept the eye in because they saw a little bit of something that made them think that perhaps she would not lose her eye. >> reporter: the 23-year-old ed

itted a fashion magazine and had done modelling. tonight her father says she is making progress. >> i asked her if she can hear me if she could squeeze my hand and she did. she is responding more today. i mean this afternoon. >> she is opening her eyes. >> she is moving around in the bed. she is uncomfortable but moving. the faa is investigating the accident. that's news4 at 4:00. news4 at 5:00 starts right now. tonight on news4 at 5:00, sentencing day for the former prince george's county executive caught in that bribery scandal. >> jack johnson could have been a role model for integrity but he chose to be a poster child for corruption.

>> jack johnson faced up to 14 years in prison and got half that tonight. >> good evening, everybody. >> jack johnson is going to prison for seven years and three months. the lawyer asked for leniency claiming that johnson has an early form of parkinson's disease. news4's chris gordon begins our team coverage. he is live out in greenbelt. >> reporter: prosecutors say jack johnson solicited $1.6 million in bribes. now he came to federal court today and for the first time we saw him walking with the aid of a cane. his lawyer sought leniency based on his age and medical condition. jack johnson's lawyers say he has a form of early parkinson's disease that could confine him to a wheelchair. he is 62. prosecutors doubt the diagnosis, saying that johnson had been

worn down by heavy drinking and he was in good health a few months ago when he played a robust round of golf before video was taken of him soliciting a bribe. >> we are attaching it to a water sewer bill. >> reporter: prosecutors say he shook down developmenters and business owners for bribes to do business in prince george's county. johnson was arrested in november of 2010 after investigates recorded a call in which he instructed his wife to try driveway a check and hide $80,000 in her underwear. he said his wife knew nothing before that day. she has resigned from the county council and could face 18 months in prison. johnson said i'm haunted from this. i fell from grace i'm sorry and asked the people of prince george's county to for give me