speaking of thingy pumps...  this is from the town where i work...

BRISTOW, Aug. 19, 2006 (Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News delivered by Newstex) --
A fidgeting Donald Thompson was sentenced Friday to four years in prison and ordered to pay $40,000 in fines for actions he committed while a Creek County judge.

Thompson rocked back and forth while the sentence was read. His wife, Paula, wiped tears from her eyes while her sons put their arms around her.

The family declined comment. The prosecutor and presiding judge called the case the most surreal and bizarre of their careers.

"He put the state of Oklahoma on a national stage that we did not want to be on, and I'm glad to see his 15 minutes of fame to be over," Special Prosecutor Richard Smothermon said. "We shouldn't get the benefit of the doubt ... just because we have a black robe in our closet."

Thompson, who will register as a sex offender, was convicted June 29 of masturbating while presiding over four trials in 2002 and 2003. Allegations of Thompson using a penis pump surfaced more than two years ago and received national attention.

Former jurors and court staffers testified they saw and heard Thompson using a penis pump. Thompson still denies the accusations.

Comanche County Judge C. Allen McCall denied appeal bail for Thompson. He was handcuffed and led out by deputies and is expected to be taken to the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center, where all state prisoners are processed.

Thompson's attorneys said the former judge will appeal the verdict. During the bail hearing portion of sentencing, prosecutor Pattye High said Thompson violated his bail guidelines Wednesday when he took a trip to Oklahoma City.

Defense attorney Clark Brewster said he needed to take Thompson to Oklahoma City so the two could talk about the case. He said he did not think about calling McCall and asking for permission.

High said a senior member of her staff saw Thompson, Brewster and another man eating at Hideaway Pizza in Oklahoma City.

After the sentencing, Brewster said the denial of bail was another sign that Thompson had no chance in court. He said it was like running a race with bowling balls tied to Thompson.

"I think it was just more of the same that we've experienced here," Brewster said. "There was repeated errors throughout the trial. There's no question about it."

Brewster said Thompson, 59, could become eligible for parole in two years. Brewster will handle Thompson's appeal, and an attorney from the state attorney general's office will handle the state's case.

McCall will retain jurisdiction over the case for a year.

"I'm not sure the best Hollywood screenwriter could come up with this set of facts," he said. "I'm not sure they could have been made up.

"This was not just a one-time incident."

McCall said while deciding punishment he considered the fact that Thompson tried to portray employees and friends as liars and drug addicts who hatched bogus allegations.

His sentence is what jurors recommended after deliberating five hours. Thompson could have faced up to 40 years in prison and $80,000 in fines.

Defense attorney Rob Nigh asked for a suspended sentence. He said testimony never showed that Thompson intended for anyone to see him exposed. Thompson's wife and his brother, Jim, testified to the former judge's family characteristics.

"He has lost everything," Nigh said. "He has suffered tremendous emotional pain primarily through the suffering of his family."

The defense called Jim Rabon, a state Corrections Department administrator, who said public officials such as Thompson are often placed in protective custody, separated from other inmates or are sometimes sentenced to serve in other states.

He said prison life in seclusion is boring and makes the sentence seem longer.

McCall did not buy the argument.

"That's why they call it prison," he said. "It's not supposed to be a Holiday Inn."

Thompson retired in 2004, shortly before a civil ouster trial was to begin. Prosecutors filed the criminal charges in January.

Smothermon said he will ask the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System to cancel Thompson's state pension. Thompson would have made $83,879 a year.