A prominent former state Senator was sentenced to five years in jail for bribery, mail fraud, and tax evasion. The Associated Press reports that Ernest Newton received bribes from a job training facility manager and then obstructed justice by telling that manager to lie in investigators. Newton, a Democrat, was a prominent leader in Connecticut’s African American community.  Despite earlier statements he made claiming that he was being investigated because he was black Newton declared after the sentence was handed down, “This is not about black and white. It’s about wrong and right, and I was wrong.” Newton is the latest public official to be sentenced – two years ago Gov. John Rowland (R) went to jail on corruption charges.