Airman sentenced in missing funds case

Airman sentenced in missing funds case
By Vince Little, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, November 16, 2008

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A Yokota airman convicted of wrongful appropriation of thousands of dollars missing from the base vault was sentenced to a month in jail Friday.

Tech. Sgt. Craig Camacho, 38, also was reduced in rank to senior airman and told to forfeit $500 in monthly pay and allowances for three months. He’ll also have to complete two months of hard labor without confinement and be restricted to Yokota for 45 days.

Military prosecutors had asked the six-member jury for the maximum punishment, which included a year in prison and a bad-conduct discharge. The jury Thursday found Camacho guilty of misappropriation but not guilty of larceny.

"We thought the sentence was fair and just," said Michael Waddington, Camacho’s civilian defense attorney. "When this whole thing started, he was looking at a felony conviction and 10½ years. This basically boils down to a misdemeanor."

The sentence also will allow Camacho — who’s been in the Air Force for more than 18 years — to retire with benefits, according to his defense team.


Rest of article at:http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58827