Trevor Blackann, a former lobbyist and legislative aide who pleaded guilty to corruption charges in the Jack Abramoff scandal, received his sentence today: Five hours in prison for accepting a trip to the 2003 World Series in New York when he was an aide to Sen. Kit Bond. Blackann indulged in a bit of self-flagellation in the courtroom, according to the Blog of Legal Times:

Blackann said he yearned to turn back the hands of time, to do it all over. He apologized several times for concealing the all-expenses-paid trip to New York City in October 2003, a gift from lobbyist Todd Boulanger.

“Your honor,” Blackann said, “I’m ashamed of my behavior.”

There are a lot of things wrong with what Blackann did, especially contributing to a culture of corruption in Washington where a lobbyist like Jack Abramoff was able to buy the favors of legislators en masse. But from a purely cost-benefit point of view, Blackann's $4,000 trip to the Yankees series opener sounds worth the five hours in prison.

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Adam Martin