U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds - 2001 in Review - Brief Article

Chicago Reporter, The, Jan, 2002 by Kimiyo Naka, Concethia D. Campbell, Chloe Mister

Former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds leaves federal prison after being pardoned by out-going President Bill Clinton. Reynolds served 42 months of the 78-month sentence he received in 1997 for bank fraud, wire fraud, making false statements and federal election fraud. When asked if he got a fair trial, Reynolds tells the Reporter, "Nothing could have been further from the truth." This was Reynolds' second prison sentence.

In 1995, he was sentenced to five years in state prison for having sexual relations with an underage campaign worker and trying to cover it up. Reynolds takes a job as executive director of the Hope Community Development Corp. at Salem Baptist Church and works as resident scholar for criminal justice issues at Rainbow/PUSH.