OFFICIALS ASK TO REDUCE SENTENCE FOR FORMER PROSECUTOR

Federal prosecutors want a judge to knock time off the 11-year sentence of
a former prosecutor in exchange for his help in convicting a man in Texas.

Former Saline County Prosecutor Dan Harmon was convicted in a scheme in
which he was accused of taking money and drugs from criminal defendants in
exchange for dropped charges.

The U.S. attorney's office said in a court filing Tuesday that Harmon
helped the government convict a former inmate he met in federal prison in
Pekin, Ill. The inmate confided to Harmon that he planned to kill an
informant and an FBI agent responsible for his incarceration.

The inmate, John McNeill, sought Harmon's help in obtaining false
identification "so that once released, McNeill could change his
identification to be better positioned to kill the two persons," the court
document states.

McNeill was indicted in November 2001 by a federal grand jury in Victoria,
Texas, on charges of conspiring to kill several people, including an FBI agent.

A year later, Harmon testified against McNeill in a jury trial. At a break,
McNeill pleaded guilty. He was later sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

Harmon was convicted in July 1997 of racketeering, extortion and drug
conspiracy. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay a
$25,000 fine and $16,000 in restitution.

In October 1997, Harmon was arrested again on other drug charges. He was
convicted of those charges in an April 1998 jury trial, and later sentenced
to 37 months in prison.

The judge made the 37 months consecutive to the eight-year sentence, for a
total of more than 11 years.

Harmon's release date is set for July 2009. If a judge grants the reduction
request, he could be released in 2007.