Georgia L. Thompson (born c. 1950) is a Wisconsin civil servant who was wrongfully convicted of federal corruption charges in 2006, then exonerated by an appeals court in 2007.
According to United States Attorney Steven Biskupic, although there was no "pay to play" deal alleged, the contributions were part of an overall scheme that constituted honest services fraud.
Although Thompson faced a maximum of 20 years in federal prison, she was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa to 18 months.
[1] The conviction led to heated charges in the 2006 gubernatorial campaign, with Republican candidate Mark Green proposing ethical reforms if elected and pro-Green political groups running television ads criticizing Doyle and tying him to Thompson.
Democratic Party state chair Joe Wineke called the attacks "dishonest" and "hypocritical" and said that they were an attempt to distract voters from campaign contribution problems of Green.
[1] A panel of judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit immediately reversed Thompson's conviction on hearing oral arguments in the case on April 5, 2007.
Jurors defended their verdict, and some Democrats, including former Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, who conducted a parallel investigation, said that Biskupic was not politically motivated.
[10] The Senate Judiciary Committee delivered a letter to United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking for documents in the case.
The Wisconsin Department of Administration also announced that Thompson had been reinstated at her old salary but in a different job, and she would receive back pay dating from her resignation.