Every once in a while, the good guys win one:

Former state Republican Party executive director Edmund A. Matricardi III was sentenced Tuesday to three months' probation and fined $5,000 for illegally intercepting a Democratic Party conference.

In a steady, sound voice, Matricardi apologized before U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer for illegally accessing two calls among the state's top Democrats on March 22 and 25, 2002.

"I stand before you a humbled man. I made a mistake and I'm paying a terrible price for it. I accept full responsibility for my actions," Matricardi said, as his parents watched from a front-row seat a few feet behind him [...]

Spencer said he agonized over Matricardi's sentence.

"A number of things would have pushed it to jail time to send a message, but I tried to give Mr. Matricardi the individual treatment that he deserves," Spencer said. "The thing that concerned me is, I think of all the young Democrats and young Republicans forming on college campuses and getting ready to join the culture wars."