New Orleans official sentenced

A former New Orleans City Council member who prosecutors said reneged on a plea bargain to cooperate in a corruption probe was sentenced to a little over three years in federal prison for taking a $15,000 bribe.

Oliver Thomas, once considered a shining light on the city’s political scene and a potential future mayor, pleaded guilty Aug. 13.

In exchange for the plea, according to federal prosecutors, Thomas had agreed to provide information about other illegal activity but later indicated he did not wish to be a “rat.”