NEW YORK — Prosecutors are urging a judge to reject an effort to delay or eliminate a prison sentence for the first member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump for president.
Federal prosecutors said in a letter Wednesday that it's time for Chris Collins to report to a Pensacola, Florida, prison camp to begin serving a 26-month sentence.
The 70-year-old former New York congressman was sentenced in January after pleading guilty last year to conspiring to commit securities fraud and lying to law enforcement.
Lawyers for the Republican cited the coronavirus in asking a judge to delay or modify his sentence.
Prosecutors say the threat of COVID-19 is higher outside the prison walls than within. They say further delays for Collins would not serve justice.