Illinois farmer's wife sentenced to probation following guilty ...

Updating a story we reported here, Margaret Diekemper was sentenced to two years of probation and a $500 fine for her role in a bankruptcy fraud scheme in the Southern District of Illinois following a plea agreement reached with the government last November.  Diekemper was also prohibited from any contact with her husband - whose sentencing hearing is scheduled for next month.  Federal prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge G. Patrick Murphy to impose a one year term of imprisonment, citing the defendant's cooperation with the government in their case against her husband.  Judge Murphy imposed probation after remarking that Diekemper's "overbearing, ignorant" husband seemed to bear the most responsibility for their involvement in the bankruptcy fraud scheme.