According to evidence presented by prosecutors at trial, Celona was hired as a consultant to an affiliate of Roger Williams Medical Center, The Village at Elmhurst, ostensibly to promote the assisted-living center among his extensive network of senior citizens.

But in reality, Celona was paid to promote the hospital's political agenda through his position as a senator from North Providence - influencing legislation, lobbying municipalities to increase ambulance runs to the hospital and pressuring health insurers with bills before his committee to increase their reimbursements to Roger Williams.

Urciuoli asked Torres for leniency. He said his father had been a machinist, his mother a homemaker. He said he has worked hard all his life. He graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1969 and started working at Roger Williams in 1972 as a budget director.

He said he has lost almost everything, including his job, his reputation and has been "devastated financially."

"This has been a very painful and humiliating experience," he said.

Urciuoli had faced 6 1/2 to 8 years in prison, but Torres found that personal greed was not Urciuoli's motivation.

"Almost everything you did was designed to benefit Roger Williams, not you personally," he said to Urciuoli before issuing his sentence.

That's a distinction Torres made between Urciuoli and Celona, who was paid more than $300,000 for selling his services to Roger Williams, CVS and Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Celona was sentenced to serve 2 1/2 years in prison earlier today. He pleaded guilty to charges in August 2005 and has been cooperating with investigators.

In addressing an argument brought by Urciuoli's defense, Torres also expressed some concern that Urciuoli would get more jail time than Celona, who was a public official charged with maintaining the public trust.

But he noted that "an individual who pleads and cooperates justifiably gets a lesser sentence than one who doesn't."

After his release from prison, Urciuoli will also serve two years of supervised release.