Nearly a year after headlines lit a City Hall sex scandal, the former top aide to ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sent to jail Tuesday to serve the same punishment as her boss: 120 days with time shaved for good behavior.

Christine Beatty agreed to the sentence when she pleaded guilty in December to obstruction of justice. Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny made it official during a morning court hearing.

Given the chance to speak, Beatty declined, saying: "No, your honor. Thank you."
But Kenny took full advantage of his opportunity, praising Beatty for her "dignified" conduct during various court hearings, but he also criticized her and her former boss, blaming them for a scandal that damaged the city.

"I do think that this case does represent the triumph of truth over political power and might and it also indicates, I think, that lying under oath in court has a price tag, even for those who are the politically elite within the community," the judge said.

Beatty and Kilpatrick, both 38, were charged with lying about their affair during a 2007 civil trial that centered on allegations of retaliation against high-ranking police officers who suspected wrongdoing in the mayor's inner circle.