Ex-Aide Sentenced For Bank Robbery

A former congressional aide was sentenced to more than 3-1/2 years in prison Friday for robbing a bank of about $5,000 - a crime he blamed on alcoholism and mental illness.

Thomas Springer, 46, was arrested in October after someone living near the bank saw him in a wig, urinating in the bushes, moments before the holdup. He had been drinking before he handed a teller a note warning he had a gun.

Springer pleaded guilty in December. He also admitted robbing a second bank last year. He was also arrested on bank robbery charges in 1989 and was sentenced to two years in prison.

Rep. Michael Forbes, R-N.Y., fired Springer as his press secretary for undisclosed reasons. Before his first arrest, Springer worked for three members of Congress, including Rep. Toby Roth, R-Wis.