As expected, former Arkansas state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson of Little Rock pleaded guilty Monday for his role in a multimillion-dollar public corruption scheme that involved embezzlement, bribes and illegal campaign contributions to elected public officials in Arkansas and Missouri.

Hutchinson’s plea to one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery brings to an end the highly-watched saga involving the former Arkansas senator that began 10 months ago at the State Capitol. The plea deal before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush for the Western District of Missouri also comes nearly two weeks after the 45-year old former state senator admitted guilt to earlier charges of committing bribery and filing false tax returns as part of a multi-district federal corruption probe.       MORE