Prosecutors want lengthy sentence for ex-alderman

Federal prosecutors say a former Chicago alderman should be sentenced to nearly two decades in prison for scheming to pay bribes in return for medical contracts and receiving kickbacks.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported government attorneys asked in a filing this week that Ambrosio Medrano serve between 14 and 17½ years behind bars. His sentencing is Jan. 10.

Prosecutors say the 61-year-old’s behavior is especially egregious because he’s a repeat offender. He served time in the 1990s for accepting a bribe.

But defense lawyer Gal Pissetzky says Medrano should get no more than nine years given his age and what he calls Medrano’s “genuinely redeemable qualities.”

For a conviction in a separate health care case, Medrano faces an additional five years when he’s sentenced later by another judge.