ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell reported to a Florida federal prison Monday, beginning a 21/2 year sentence for tax evasion.
Officials at the Miami Federal Correctional Institution said Campbell entered the institution in a car with dark tinted windows and made no comment to reporters.
Campbell, who served two terms as mayor from 1994 to 2002, was convicted of three counts of tax evasion in March, fined $6,300 and ordered to pay $62,823 in back taxes.
He presided over one of the most prosperous periods in Atlanta's history, a reign that included the 1996 Summer Olympics. But he became the target of a seven-year federal investigation into corruption at Atlanta City Hall, which also led to the conviction of 10 of Campbell's subordinates.
During the trial, prosecutors tried to prove that Campbell had taken more than $160,000 in illegal campaign contributions, cash payments, junkets and home improvements from city contractors while he was mayor from 1994 to 2002.
He was convicted of tax evasion, but a federal jury acquitted him of bribery and racketeering charges stemming from accusations that he lined his pockets with payoffs from city contractors while he was Atlanta's leader.
Campbell and his attorneys said the acquittal was a vindication, and they plan to appeal the tax evasion charges to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
"We maintain that once the 11th circuit receives our full appeal, that we will prevail and that Mayor Campbell will be released," said Mawuli Davis, Campbell's attorney.