Anthony Weiner is headed to the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Mass. on Monday to begin his 21-month prison sentence for his latest - and hopefully final - bout of pedophilia.
In a sentence that was a mere formality after Weiner copped to a plea deal in May for sending lewd messages to a 15-year-old girl between January and March last year, including sexually explicit images and directions to engage in sexual conduct.
Weiner called the crime his “rock bottom” after years of embarrassing sexting scandals that cost him his seat in Congress, his reputation, and his wife, Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, who has said she and Weiner are now separated.
The disgraced Democrat spent his Sunday holed up in his Union Square apartment, where a source in the building spotted Weiner’s dad, Morton, getting Starbucks around 11 am, according to the New York Post.
Father and son then spent about five hours together ahead of Weiner’s departure. He was ordered to arrive no later than 2 pm.
The lockup, which is located on a former Army base about 40 miles northwest of Boston, is just one of two sites that offer residential treatment for sex offenders, who share a common housing unit and undergo therapy five days a week.
The site has a reputation as a cushy “Club Fed”-type prison. Other infamous inmates include inside trader Raj Rajaratnam, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, and Peter Madoff, a reported cancer survivor who helped older brother Bernie Madoff scam $20 billion from investors through his epic Ponzi scheme.
In a criminal case that rocked US politics, former FBI Director James Comey briefly reopened the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server after agents investigating Weiner found emails from the Democratic candidate on a computer belonging to him and his wife. The former secretary of state has blamed that decision, in part, for her stunning defeat to President Donald Trump.
Weiner’s defense team had initially sought leniency, arguing that the girl had admitted in an interview that she had tried to entice Weiner into his lewd behavior, and that it was she who initiated their online relationship.
However, prosecutors reminded the judge that Weiner had sent the girl porn and got her to take her clothes off and touch herself on Skype. They also dismissed Weiner’s request for a “second chance” by noting his seemingly unceasing stream of embarrassing sexting scandals. Four years ago, Weiner ran for NYC mayor in the Democratic primary and was briefly the front-runner before the “Carlos Danger” scandal sunk his chances. He ended up finishing fourth, ending any lingering hopes he might’ve had for a political comeback.