By Steve Neavling
The former high-ranking FBI agent accused of working with a sanctioned Russian oligarch was sentenced to 50 months in prison on Thursday.
Charles McGonigal, 55, pleaded guilty in August to conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions and laundering payments from Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska.
McGonigal, the former head of the counterintelligence of the bureau’s New York Field Office, is one of the highest-ranking FBI officials to ever be convicted of a crime, The New York Times reports.
In January, he was also indicted on charges of concealing information from the bureau after he failed to disclose he had received $225,000 in cash from a former Albanian intelligence officer. He has also pleaded guilty to that charge but has not yet been sentenced.
Judge Jennifer H. Rearden of Federal District Court said her sentence was an attempt to balance his time as a law enforcement officer with the “extremely serious” nature of his crimes.
Before sentencing, McGonigal said he was sorry.
“I stand before you with a deep sense of remorse,” McGonigal told the judge. He added, “I am humbly asking for a second chance.”
McGonigal is set to be sentenced on the other charge in February.
