Ex-Councilwoman Wins Delay in Sentencing for Extortion

Former Compton City Councilwoman Patrica Moore has been granted a six-week delay in her scheduled sentencing on federal extortion and income tax fraud convictions.

In a motion filed with U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall, Moore’s lawyer, Thomas A. Mesereau Jr., said he needed the extra time because neither he nor Moore had been able to prepare detailed responses to a 35-page pre-sentencing report by the federal probation office.

The report, which has not been made public, will help Marshall decide the exact terms of Moore’s sentence for 13 felonies and two misdemeanors. The former councilwoman was convicted in October of extorting payoffs from two companies in Compton and failing to file income tax returns.

Under federally mandated sentencing guidelines, she is expected to receive a three- to five-year prison term. Mesereau told the court he also needed the additional time to gather evidence of Moore’s value to the community and to assess her medical condition. Moore was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown during her trial and remains under psychiatric care.

Sentencing is expected to be reset for a date in mid-February.