Ex-district judge gets 6½ years in Bucks County extortion case
PHILADELPHIA - A former district judge faces 6½ years in federal prison after pleading guilty to what prosecutors call a scheme to extort bribes and kickbacks from people in the Philadelphia suburb of Bucks County.
The sentencing on Monday of 61-year-old John Waltman of Trevose follows his guilty plea in January to extortion and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Waltman was a district judge in Feasterville from 2011 until the end of 2016.
Waltman apologized in court and said he'd betrayed his neighbors' trust.
Prosecutors say he agreed to help two men launder money, but they were actually undercover IRS agents who recorded conversations with him and co-defendants.
Waltman is a former constable and was once chairman of Lower Southampton Township's Republican Committee.