Dodds gets 20 days in jail for faking disappearance

DOVER, N.H. -- A former New Hampshire congressional candidate has been sentenced to 20 days in jail and a year of home confinement for faking his disappearance after a car crash to boost his campaign.

Gary Dodds of Rye also was ordered to repay the state and various law enforcement agencies the $20,500 they spent looking for him when he crashed in Dover two years ago.

Dodds claims he hit his head in the crash and nearly drowned in a nearby river before being found 27 hours later. But prosecutors say he spent at least part of that time inside, soaking his feet in cold water to make it appear as if he had been outdoors.

Dodds, a Democrat, was convicted last month of falsifying evidence, leaving the scene of the crash and causing a false public alarm.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)