Apollo Nida mugshot

Former reality TV cast member Apollo Nida was sentenced to 8 years in a federal prison today. Apollo was given leniency for snitching to the feds about his costars on Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Legal experts say Apollo will likely serve half the time.

Last month, a federal judge sentenced Nida’s female accomplice, Gayla St. Julien, to 5 years and 1 month in a federal prison.

Apollo’s high powered legal team, The Cochran Firm, begged the judge for leniency, saying Apollo’s pre-sentencing report was chock full of his past transgressions for which he already served 5 years in state prison. Apollo was released from prison in late 2008. He immediately married his baby mama, local attorney and reality TV star Phaedra Parks. The couple has 2 young boys.

In May, Apollo pleaded guilty to committing mail, wire and bank fraud.

In an emergency motion, Nida’s legal team asked the judge not to follow the U.S. Attorney’s recommendation for a harsh sentence for Apollo because they believe that his PSR (Pre-sentencing Report) is flawed due to the fact the report includes all of Nida’s previous encounters with the law as serious offenses.

The federal prosecutor asked the judge to hand down the maximum sentence the law allowed. Prosecutor’s noted that Apollo had no remorse for his crimes.

Update: Kenya Moore is on Twitter being messy. Phaedra’s co-star on Real Housewives of Atlanta “favorited” this tweet on Twitter.com today:

Apollo Nida convicted

More from Sandrarose.com:

  • RHOA’s Apollo Nida Working On Plea Deal in Bank Fraud Case
  • RHOA Reality Star Apollo Nida Charged With Bank Fraud, Identity Theft, Stolen Checks, Forgery
  • How the Feds Built Their Case Against Phaedra Parks’ Husband, Apollo Nida
  • ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ Star Phaedra Parks Exposed in New Tell-All Book