Washington, DC – Ex-DC mayor’s chauffeur goes to court

Mark Long, a one-time driver for former District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray, is due in court to decide if he will be able to back out of his guilty plea. Long pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in relation to the illegal, $600,000 slush fund that helped get Gray elected in 2010. According to court documents, Long was paid with illegal funds to serve as the former mayor’s driver. Since then, Long has argued that he had poor legal representation and therefore he shouldn’t face any longer of a sentence than the organizers of the campaign-finance conspiracy. Gray was not charged in the conspiracy, but lost his bid for re-election in 2014. He is now running for the D.C. Council.