Former schools superintendent to pay restitution, report to prison in Oklahoma
Former Prince George's schools Superintendent Andre J. Hornsby was sentenced to six years in prison Tuesday, three years after he left the county job amid a federal investigation into his involvement with school contracts.
"I think it is a substantial sentence. I think it appropriately reflects the severity of the crimes," said Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland.
Hornsby, 55, is required to pay $70,000 in restitution and a $20,000 fine. He has until Jan. 2 to report to prison but has requested a federal prison in Oklahoma, where he said his family lives.
Hornsby, who served as superintendent from 2003 until 2005, was convicted July 23 after a four-week trial in which prosecutors said Hornsby steered school system contracts toward his associates and took kickbacks. Hornsby denied all charges.
He was convicted on three counts of wire fraud, one count of witness tampering, one count of evidence tampering and one count of obstruction of justice.
Jurors found Hornsby not guilty of one other charge of witness tampering and wire fraud, but they were unable to reach a verdict on 14 other charges. A previous trial last fall ended in a mistrial, after jurors could not reach agreement on any of the 16 charges against Hornsby.
Each fraud charge carried a maximum of 20 years in prison and each obstruction and tampering charge carried up to 10 years, meaning the maximum penalty Hornsby could have faced is 90 years in prison.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Hornsby's live-in girlfriend, Sienna Owens, received a $1 million contract to provide educational materials to the school system. Owens had been a sales representative for the educational technology company LeapFrog Schoolhouse while Hornsby served as superintendent.
Hornsby did not disclose the relationship to the school board when they approved the contract, and prosecutors said that Owens gave Hornsby a $10,000 cut from the commission she received.
Owens pleaded guilty to a felony tax offense in 2006 after she failed to report her commission from the sale of educational equipment to the county schools.
Hornsby also was accused of steering school system contracts to his longtime friend, Cynthia Joffrion. During the trial, prosecutors showed video footage of Hornsby and Joffrion in which they discussed splitting the proceeds from a contract.
Hornsby's attorney maintained that Hornsby was a dedicated public servant and said Hornsby was a victim of "slice and dice" evidence.
Megan King is the Staff Writer for Gazette.Net
