Four men who pleaded guilty to illegally sneaking into U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu’s New Orleans office were each sentenced to probation and fines in federal court on Wednesday.

Magistrate Daniel Knowles III sentenced Stan Dai, Joseph Basel and Robert Flanagan each to two years of probation, a $1,500 fine and 75 hours of community service. James O’Keefe, who was also involved in the incident, was sentenced to three years of probation, a $1,500 fine and 100 hours of community service.

In their plea agreement, the four men admitted to hatching a plan to pose as telephone repairmen on Jan. 25, enter Landrieu’s office in the Hale Boggs Federal Building and tamper with the office phones. They planned to investigate complaints filed by constituents who had claimed they were not allowed to call and criticize the Democrat’s support of the health care reform bill, according to Dai.

Charged with entry by false pretenses onto real property of the United States, the defendants faced possible imprisonment and fines of up to $10,000, but Knowles reduced the charges, citing the defendants’ commendable academic records and family backgrounds. He encouraged them to use the incident as a learning opportunity of “where to draw the line.”

“I think you would agree that you drew the line at the wrong spot,” Knowles said. “Each of you has lost a little bit of your leeway in life.”

Eddie Castaing, an attorney for Basel, said his client’s “zeal just got away with him,” but that he and the other defendants would use this as motivation to succeed in their future endeavors.

“We’ll all be very proud of them to follow their careers,” Castaing said.

Flanagan’s attorney, Garrison Jordan, highlighted his client’s personal character and spotless record, saying he learned a “valuable lesson.”

“All in all, he’s a good person,” he said.

All four defendants read statements of apology. O’Keefe said that his “actions were misinterpreted.”

O’ Keefe received a heavier sentencing because of his past history as the videographer who brought a woman posing as prostitute into the office of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now and secretly videotaped the encounter. The ACORN incident drew national attention and resulted in significant criticism of the community group for its handling of the staged meeting.

In a statement, Landrieu emphasized that she viewed the breach of her office as far more serious than a prank.

“Clearly they were up to no good,” Landrieu said. “These charges indicate that it was not merely an innocent prank. It was a blatant violation of the law that carries with it serious consequences.”

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