Two years after he pleaded guilty to federal charges, former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu was sentenced Friday to two months in federal prison for his role in an Orange County corruption scandal linked to the sale of Angel Stadium.
Sidhu, 67, was also ordered to pay a $55,000 fine. He was not taken into custody immediately after the hearing in U.S. District Court, but instead was allowed to return Sept. 2, when he is expected to begin his sentence.
Sidhu was accused of soliciting a $1 million campaign contribution from the Angels baseball organization in exchange for passing them confidential information while negotiating the sale of Angel Stadium.
He later resigned from his position as mayor and pleaded guilty to federal obstruction of justice, wire fraud and making false statements to federal agencies.
Federal prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge John Holcomb to sentence Sidhu to eight months in prison, a $40,000 fine and one year of supervision following his release. Sidhu’s lawyers wanted three years of probation, a $175,000 fine and 400 hours of community service, according to court documents.
Holcomb acknowledged that Sidhu had “breached the trust of the public,” but the judge said the two-month term was appropriate given the ex-mayor’s “significant” cooperation in the case, his admission of guilt, his age and his health.
Background on the case
In 2020, the Anaheim City Council approved selling Angel Stadium to the owners of the baseball team for $320 million. But the sale fell through two years later when federal investigators revealed that Sidhu shared “city-specific information” to the Angels’ owners that they could then use against the city in negotiations.
In their sentencing request, prosecutors wrote Sidhu did not act in the city’s…
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