The State : Newton Gets 6-Month Term

Black Panther co-founder Huey Newton pleaded no contest in Oakland to a charge of misappropriating public funds and was ordered to serve six months in jail. Newton, 47, who led the militant black rights group from its founding in 1966 until he disbanded it in 1982, was accused of misappropriating about $15,000 intended for a Panther-operated public school in Oakland, Deputy Atty. Gen. Eugene Kaster said. Newton, who was already in jail for violating terms of his parole on a gun possession conviction, faced 21 counts accusing him of taking up to $60,000 in school funds for his own use, but all but one of the charges were dismissed as part of a plea bargain. The judge also barred Newton from holding any public office in the future, Kaster said.