Don Kenney, Former Lawmaker and AzScam Figure, Gets Community Time for Stealing Son's Info to Obtain Real Estate License
Don Kenney in a recent Linked In photo...
Don Kenney, the former "quarter" back of one of Arizona's worst corruption scandals, AzScam, was sentenced on Monday to 240 hours of community service for stealing his son's identity.
Kenney was convicted in 1991 of taking a $55,000 bribe, one of several lawmakers caught in a police sting for selling their votes. He fled Arizona in shame and moved to California after serving 14 months in prison.
... and Kenney as an Arizona lawmaker in the early '90s.
Lily Leung, reporter for U-T San Diego, exposed Don Kenney's bogus real estate credentials in articles earlier this year, sparking a criminal investigation of the disgraced, former Arizona lawmaker.
In 1998, he stole his son's personal information to obtain a real estate license, going so far as to forge his kid's signature. Kenney then began his new and fraudulent life as a realtor and real estate teacher for at least 12 years in the Carlsbad area.
Lily Leung, a reporter for U-T San Diego and former reporter for the Arizona Republic, exposed his scam this year, causing authorities to investigate. Leung has stayed on top of the case, and broke the news this morning about Kenney's sentencing.
Kenney was charged with five felonies in July, but the victim -- his son, a Washington lawyer -- was "very forgiving" of his dad and didn't wish to pursue charges, Leung reports. Prosecutors evidently felt that, with or without help from Kenney's son, they'd at least give the 73-year-old a good slap on the wrist, if for nothing but to try to prevent him from scamming anyone else.
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