John Celona set for release from federal prison

PROVIDENCE—A former Rhode Island state senator at the center of an investigation into State House corruption is scheduled to be released Friday from federal prison.

The Bureau of Prisons Web site said John Celona is scheduled to be freed Friday from a prison in Loretto, Pa.

Officials there did not have information early Friday afternoon about whether Celona had already been released.

Celona was sentenced on state and federal corruption charges in 2007 after he admitted selling the influence of his office to several corporations.

A spokeswoman for the Rhode Island Department of Corrections said Celona is expected at the state prison by April 1. She said his current good-time release date is September 2010, but that’s subject to change.