Former state Treasurer Michael Montoya was sentenced today to 40 months in prison and fined $25,000 in a corruption case that involved his successor in the treasurer's office.

U.S. District Judge James Parker recommended Montoya serve the sentence at a low-security federal prison in Englewood, Colo. He has 60 days to surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Montoya pleaded guilty in November 2005 to one count of extortion in an agreement with federal prosecutors in a corruption case against former state Treasurer Robert Vigil.

"I'm just very, very sorry that this all happened," Montoya said during the hearing. "I'm glad it came to an end."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathon Gerson said afterward that the sentence was fair given the other sentences imposed in the scandal.

"Mr. Montoya did provide extremely useful cooperation, and we wanted to make sure the judge knew that," Gerson said.

Montoya will be on three years of supervised release after his prison term and cannot work in any job that has fiduciary responsibilities unless it is approved by the probation office.

Montoya, treasurer from 1995 to 2002, was one of several government witnesses against Vigil. Vigil was deputy treasurer during part of Montoya's tenure, and succeeded him in 2003.

Montoya was facing more than 12 years in prison, but prosecutors requested a reduction due to Montoya's "complete, truthful and reliable" testimony in Vigil's first and second trials.

Parker agreed, saying he was impressed by how quickly Montoya confessed to his wrongdoing and entered a plea agreement with the government.

He noted, though, the seriousness of Montoya's crime in which he used his position to milk brokers and investment advisers for millions of dollars in kickbacks.

The result of what Parker called "conflicting considerations" was a sentence three months longer than the defense had requested and a fine five times more than recommended by the probation office.

In a letter to Parker, Montoya said there is no excuse for what he has done, but that he hopes that by taking full responsibility that Parker could see a changed man.

Montoya's attorney, Jacquelyn Robin, said her client is willing to address the National Association of State Treasurers once he's released to warn them against kickback schemes.

"I am extremely remorseful and pray that you can give me a second chance to live my life with integrity and use whatever influence I may have to persuade others not to do what I did in office," Montoya wrote to Parker.

Montoya is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 1 in a state case in which he pleaded guilty to a single felony charge of racketeering as part of a plea bargain.

Then-state Attorney General Patricia Madrid brought charges against Montoya, California investment adviser Kent Nelson, Albuquerque businessman Angelo Garcia and former treasurer's office employee Leo Sandoval based on their testimony in the Vigil case.

Nelson, Garcia and Sandoval have pleaded not guilty to more than 30 state charges against each of them and are scheduled for trial later this year.

Montoya has agreed to testify against each of them.

As for Vigil, he's serving a 37-month prison sentence. A federal jury last Sept. 30 acquitted Vigil on 23 counts of extortion and racketeering and found him guilty on a single count of attempted extortion after a nearly four-week trial, his second. The first ended in a mistrial in May 2006 when one juror held out for acquittal.

Nelson was sentenced earlier this month in the federal case to 36 months in prison for his guilty plea to federal mail fraud.

Garcia, who pleaded guilty in June 2005 to aiding and abetting extortion in the federal case, was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison. Sandoval was granted immunity from prosecution in the federal case in exchange for testifying.