A federal judge on Friday sentenced former Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway to 56 months in prison for his role in a corruption case that shook City Hall and took down an agency responsible for the transportation and safety of schoolchildren.

The sentence marked the tragic conclusion of Caraway's lengthy city government career, which began after several failed council runs, included a stint as acting mayor and ended with his guilty plea in August for accepting about $450,000 in bribes and kickbacks between 2011 and 2017.

During the hearing Friday, U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn often referred to the positive work Caraway had done. But, she said, all the good things he accomplished were erased the moment he became "just another bought and paid-for politician."

Lynn made clear immediately that she was prepared to order Caraway into custody immediately. Caraway was prepared as well: Before he came to court, he gave his 90-year-old mother, who suffers from dementia, a long farewell hug and told her he was off begin "a new job." He even brought his breathing machine to court.

But reluctantly, Lynn said, and with a great deal of skepticism, she gave him until May 5 to report to prison so he could deal with an issue regarding the will of his father, Bruce, who died four years ago.

"I feel relieved," Caraway told The Dallas Morning News after sentencing. "I appreciate the judge's courtesy. I accept the sentence. And now we will put this behind us and go from here."

Lynn told Caraway that because of his numerous health issues, she would recommend to the Bureau of Prisons that he be allowed to serve his time in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Upon his release, Caraway will have three years of supervised release. He also owes more than $500,000 in restitution.

The sentence exceeded the request of U.S. attorneys, who after securing Caraway's cooperation and guilty plea had recommended a four-year prison term. But Lynn, who had resisted efforts to delay Caraway's sentencing, said that when first notified of the charges against the longtime council member she had wished she could give him more than seven years — the maximum allowable sentence under the plea agreement.

"I was disgusted by your conduct," she said.

The prominent politician had been contrite in his testimony before Lynn handed down the sentence, saying he had "let everybody down" and "humiliated the city of Dallas" and his council colleagues.

Caraway said he made a mistake when he "let the poison come under my door and get into my nose."

At one point Caraway turned to the crowded courtroom and said, "I apologize to each and every one of you." He told the judge he was prepared to accept "whatever punishment I have to take."

Lynn said she believed the council member had done good during his career, shuttering drug houses and hot-sheet motels and other dangerous places. She spoke of his "good, positive and inspirational leadership," and said that for most of his life, "you lived the life you aspired to."

But in the end, she said, Caraway's career came crashing down that moment in 2011 when former council member-turned-Dallas County Schools board President Larry Duncan introduced Caraway to Bob Leonard, head of the camera company tied to Dallas County Schools, and Caraway started collecting bribes.

Said Lynn, for all of Caraway's contrition, taking six years' worth of bribes is not a mistake — "it's a habit."

The judge, who nine years ago sentenced former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill to 18 years in his corruption case, said Caraway's sentencing was "a sad day for the city." And she said that while she believed Caraway loved the city, he also betrayed it.

"I, and many others who looked up to you, are disappointed," she said.

The sentence came after a subdued spectacle of a hearing in which the courtroom was packed with supporters and onlookers, including former City Council member Craig Holcomb and current council member Adam McGough, who greeted his old friend and colleague with a hug upon entering the courtroom.

The oft-loquacious Caraway had arrived in silence at the Earle Cabell Federal Building before his sentencing. When someone pointed out that was odd to see him so quiet, he said only, "Oh, that is strange."

Caraway's attorney Michael Payma quietly added: "It's an unusual day."

As he awaited his hearing, Caraway noted where Lynn had seated the media: in the front rows, inches from the former council member who had once been one of the most accessible politicians in Dallas.

He then listened in on an unrelated hearing ahead of his own. As a mother gave tearful testimony about her small, bullied son who had grown up to become a bank robber, Caraway sat quietly, hands clasped, nervously rubbing his left hand with his right index finger.

1 / 2Dwaine Caraway arrives at the Earle Cabell Federal Building for sentencing. Caraway had resigned after pleading guilty to accepting $450,000 in bribes and kickbacks in the Dallas County Schools bus scandal. (Shaban Athuman / Staff Photographer) 2 / 2Dwaine Caraway arrives at the Earle Cabell Federal Building on Commerce Street in downtown Dallas on Friday afternoon to be sentenced in a federal corruption case. Caraway had resigned after pleading guilty to accepting $450,000 in bribes and kickbacks in the Dallas County Schools bus scandal. (Shaban Athuman/Staff Photographer)

The federal government on Thursday had asked Lynn to keep Caraway out of jail and delay his sentencing until he could testify against Ruel Hamilton, the politically connected low-income housing developer who the feds say paid $40,000 in bribes to former council member Carolyn Davis and $7,000 more to Caraway, previously identified only as Council Person A in an indictment.

That trial is scheduled for later this year. Hamilton, through a spokesman, has said he is not guilty of the charges.

Lynn had refused, saying she would "assume" Caraway's cooperation in the case against the developer.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Wirmani caught Caraway and his attorney off guard Friday afternoon when he told Lynn not to consider Caraway's assistance in the Hamilton case until it's provided in court. Payma said later that Wirmani had "backtracked" on Thursday's filing, and that that may have added some time to Caraway's sentence

"It sends the wrong message to people who want to right their wrongs," Payma said.

In a statement released after sentencing, U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox said Caraway's case "should serve as a warning to public officials across North Texas: If you betray the trust of your constituents, we will prosecute you. We'll prosecute the bribe payers. And we'll prosecute those who attempt to conceal bribe payments."

Other dominoes are still left to fall in the corruption case.

Duncan had also been scheduled to be sentenced Friday but earlier this week had his punishment pushed to early Tuesday morning. Duncan faces no more than a year in prison after he pleaded guilty to hiding almost $250,000 from the Internal Revenue Service.

Leonard also has yet to be sentenced. Figures from his company, Force Multiplier Solutions, helped paid for the funeral of Caraway's father and gave him other payoffs in many forms: checks cashed at pawnshops and liquor stores, custom-made suits, trips to New Orleans and Las Vegas and Austin, money for the horse track, campaign buses and loans never meant to be paid back.

Leonard and associate Slater Swartwood have pleaded guilty to the charges against them. Their involvement with Dallas County Schools helped saddle the agency with $103 million in debt and left City Hall scrambling to find crossing guards and millions of dollars to pay for them.

But Caraway is the most prominent figure in the case. He served eight years on the City Council —including a stint as acting mayor after Tom Leppert resigned to run for Senate — and ran unsuccessfully against County Commissioner John Wiley Price, a longtime political rival, in a high-profile race during which Price faced a federal corruption case of his own. Price was found not guilty after a trial.

After the defeat, Caraway reclaimed his council seat by defeating his successor Carolyn King Arnold in 2017. Rumors had abounded that Caraway might even run for mayor in 2019.

He basked in the spotlight, often taking more than his share of time to speak at the council horseshoe. He called in to radio shows and did frequent media interviews. In 2011, he invited controversy after he gave NFL quarterback Michael Vick — still fairly fresh off a federal prison sentence for dog-fighting — a key to the city, which he famously defended as a decision he made "for the children." And every year, he passed out turkeys to constituents for Thanksgiving.

Even after he pleaded guilty, he showed up for candidate forums in his Oak Cliff district. On at least one occasion, the audience there applauded him.

On Friday, he left his future to three character witnesses.

One of them, former City Hall intern Khalil Coffield, said Caraway helped him become the first in his family to go to college. Coffield said that his mother is in prison and that he considered Caraway a father figure.

"We all make mistakes," Coffield said. "Nobody in the world is perfect."

Caraway and Coffield hugged after the testimony.

The Rev. Donald Parish, who grew up with Caraway, said the former mayor pro tem was "a good man from a good family." And Pearl Hicks, whose husband had worked with Caraway when the politician was a concert promoter, testified that Caraway had helped save her and her husband Dave's home from foreclosure.

After sentencing, Hicks and Parish and dozens of other supporters crowded Caraway to offer hugs, kisses and warm wishes.

Caraway will now prepare to spend the next few years in prison. He said Friday evening that he was ready to go.

"Yesterday, it was like something inside of me just ... released," he said. "I just let it all go."