Ex-Hoosier Lawmaker Reflects on Prison, Regrets Plea Deal

Source: FILE – Then-Sen. Brent Waltz, R-Indianapolis, speaks during a joint committee hearing at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Jan. 6, 2012. The former Indiana state senator was sentenced Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, to 10 months in prison for his role in a scheme that illegally funneled money from a casino company to his unsuccessful 2016 congressional campaign. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

INDIANAPOLIS — A former Hoosier lawmaker, Brent Waltz, claims his conviction for violating campaign finance laws and making false statements to the FBI was due to unfair targeting by the federal government.

Sentenced to 10 months in federal prison in August 2023, Waltz told WIBC’s Kendall and Casey he took a plea deal to avoid a trial that could have led to a much longer sentence due to the complexities of campaign finance laws.

Waltz, a former Indiana State Senator, and Johnson County council member pled guilty to two felonies related to illegally funneling campaign contributions and making false statements.

Waltz chose a plea deal to avoid the risk of a jury trial on complicated campaign finance laws.

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“The maximum sentence was like 52 months,” he said. “It was enough to get a person’s attention. I remember telling my lawyer, ‘I don’t think I did anything wrong,’ and he said, ‘That doesn’t matter.'”

He’s written a book about his experience called POW: Prisoner of Washington: A Conservative’s Journey Through Our Justice System.

Waltz served prison time at the Federal Correctional Institution, Ashland (FCI Ashland) in Kentucky. It’s a medium-security prison for men. He noted that the facility housed a variety of criminals, from those involved in white-collar crimes to others charged with drug trafficking, including fentanyl.

“Somebody had an issue with fraud involving tobacco plants,” he said. “They had insured their tobacco crop, and apparently, there was an issue with that.”

Waltz claimed he became a shot-caller on his 80th day in prison. A shot-caller usually controls the smuggling of contraband like liquor or food. He also said that before he arrived at the prison, inmates were smuggling in women for sex.

“One of my former colleagues at the camp, a doctor, told me that they had brought in two prostitutes,” he said. “The prostitutes stayed for a long time, and half the camp ended up catching an infection.”

Waltz regrets the plea deal and would welcome a jury trial if given the chance. He is trying to have his sentence overturned after leaving prison last March.

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