School board member sentenced for tax evasion.
April 12, 2008 - Dirk Fulton, a Benicia school board member until his arrest, was sentenced to five months in federal prison for income tax evasion, to be followed by two years supervised release.
He pleaded guilty to tax evasion in December and resigned from the school board a week later. He is also required to pay 28,000 fine and $115,000 to the IRS. Fulton also served on the Benicia City Council. .
During the 20-minute sentencing hearing, Fulton asked that a period of supervised release after his home confinement be shortened from two years to one year. [U.S. District Judge Edward J.] Garcia denied the request, saying Fulton did not deserve that "leniency."A number of school and city officials, neighbors, teachers, community activists and friends submitted letters to the court on Fulton's behalf. One letter criticized Fulton's failure to resign before November forcing the district to spend $234,000 on a special election.
