Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Ex-U.S. Treasurer Given Prison Term

A federal judge sentenced former U.S. Treasurer Catalina V. Villalpando to four months in prison, rejecting a Justice Department recommendation that she be more severely punished for “lying” to get and keep her government position. U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan also sentenced Villalpando, 54, who was treasurer in the George Bush Administration, to serve an additional four months under house arrest and to do 200 hours of community service for under-reporting her taxable income by $160,000, misleading government officials in the confirmation process and obstructing a federal probe to secure the treasurer’s job.