Former Brooksville housing official sent to prison

TAMPA -- Betty Trent, left, former executive director of the Brooksville Housing Authority, was sentenced this afternoon to two years in federal prison for stealing federal funds.

The sentence, handed down in U.S. District Court, was shorter than the 33 to 41 months that federal sentencing guidelines called for, said Gary Trombley of Tampa, Trent's lawyer.

U.S. District Judge James Whittemore shortened the sentence because of concerns about Trent's health and because she is the guardian of her psychologically troubled grandson, Trombley said.

Federal prosecutor Robert O'Neill said he did not object to the sentence because his office achieved its larger purpose.

"We presented evidence that there was clearly corruption at the Brooksville Housing Authority,'' he said. "We exposed what was going on there."

-- Dan DeWitt, Times staff writer