New Haven, Conn. ? Former Gov. John Rowland was sentenced to a year in prison and four months of house arrest Friday for selling his office in a corruption scandal that destroyed his career as one of the Republican Party’s brightest and fastest-rising stars.

The judge imposed the sentence after Rowland pleaded for leniency and confessed he had lost his way morally and developed “a sense of entitlement and even arrogance.”

“I let my pride get in my way,” he told U.S. District Judge Peter Dorsey.

Rowland, 47, pleaded guilty in December to a corruption charge, admitting he sold his influence for more than $100,000 in trips to Las Vegas, vacations in Vermont and Florida, and improvements at his lakeside cottage. He resigned last summer amid a gathering drive to impeach him.

The judge cited Rowland’s public service and his children in handing down the sentence, which was less than the 15 to 21 months called for in the plea bargain, and well short of the three years prosecutors said he deserved.

Rowland also must serve three years of probation, perform 300 hours of community service and pay an $82,000 fine. He was ordered to report April1 to a federal prison in Ayer, Mass., and could be released from prison after serving 10 months.