Former Indiana official sentenced to 2 years for corruption

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced Muncie's former building commissioner to two years in prison for money laundering and wire fraud.

Craig Nichols also was sentenced Tuesday to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay nearly $218,000 in restitution to the City of Muncie, the Muncie Sanitary District and developer Dannar Construction.

Nichols pleaded guilty last July in an agreement in which prosecutors dismissed more than 30 other charges.

Prosecutors alleged Nichols used sham bidding practices and submitting fake invoices to steer work to companies he owned and then billed the city more than $376,000 for demolition work that was either never performed or performed at inflated prices.

Defense attorney Scott Shockley said Nichols suffered from a gambling addiction.

Nichols was building commissioner from 2012 through mid-2018.

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