Solicitor pleads guilty to bribery charges, gets 3-year sentence

MCDONOUGH - Former Henry County Solicitor John Rutherford, who had been about to be tried on charges that he accepted more than $10,000 in bribes for dropping five DUI cases, pleaded guilty Tuesday and was sentenced to three years in prison. <br> <br> Rutherford, who had been suspended in November, admitted accepting cash payments totalling $11,000 from three drunken driving defendants. In exchange for the bribes, he dismissed their cases. <br> <br> Before Rutherford entered his plea, a jury had been assembled for what was expected to be a week-long trial. <br> <br> Rutherford&#39;s attorney, Virgil Brown, said the defense team had told Rutherford the plea was in his best interests.