Giuliani associate Parnas sentenced to 20 months in prison

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — An associate of Rudy Giuliani who was a figure in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment investigation was sentenced Wednesday to a year and eight months in prison for fraud and campaign finance crimes. Lev Parnas had sought leniency on the grounds that he’d helped the Congressional probe of Trump and his efforts to get the leaders of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son. Prosecutors said the Soviet-born businessman’s aid was in response to a subpoena and deserved little credit. They had asked for a sentence of more than 6 years. Parnas was convicted of using the riches of a wealthy Russian to make illegal donations to politicians who might aid the launch of a legal recreational-marijuana business.