Ex-millionaire who had ties to corrupt politicians gets 5-plus years in prison for real estate fraud

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — A former millionaire real estate developer has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for fraud involving a failed hotel-condominium project in Florida. A federal judge in Bridgeport, Connecticut, sentenced Robert Matthews to 65 months in prison Monday. Matthews and three co-defendants pleaded guilty to scamming investors out of millions of dollars last decade while trying to develop the Palm House Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. Prosecutors say Matthews and co-defendants spent investors’ money on such personal expenses as a yacht and opening restaurants. Matthews was a friend of former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, who resigned in 2004 and went to prison in a corruption scandal.