Catholic groups have relied on Burke’s campaign money over the years — with $100,000 given by Burke’s political funds in the three years before he was indicted. More recently, Burke relied on them to try to convince U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall to go easy on him when it came time to determine how long he should go to prison, if at all.
Of the more than 200 letters of support sent to Kendall’s courtroom before she sentenced him Monday to two years in prison for corruption — she could have sent him away for as many as eight years — 25 came from Catholic priests, nuns and lay church figures.
They shared stories about Burke’s charitable deeds, commitment to Catholic schools and causes, or experience as a practicing Catholic and long-ago seminarian.
One of Burke’s attorneys said at the sentencing hearing Burke was essentially a “priest without a collar.”
Imagine that.
