Former Boston city councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson was sentenced Friday to one month in prison for taking a $7,000 kickback inside a City Hall bathroom from a relative who worked on her staff.

Acknowledging her crime, Fernandes Anderson said she was disgusted by what she had done, as she made an emotional plea for leniency during the sentencing hearing in federal court in Boston and also sought forgiveness from God, her family, friends, and constituents.

“There is no excuse,” she said, her voice cracking as she spoke at length and struggled for composure. “I feel disgusting, like I can’t forgive myself.”

She urged US District Judge Indira Talwani not to send her to prison for the sake of her children, “to spare them the pain of separating from me.”

The judge denied that request, i

See Full Page