WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) – A 68-year-old booking agent was sentenced Thursday to five years in federal prison for pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees that should have gone to Magic Johnson, Andy Rooney and dozens of other celebrities.

The prison term for Alan Walker was less than half of what prosecutors had proposed. Judge Colleen McMahon said she was taking into account that he owes “a whole lot of people a whole lot of money” and needed to get out of jail to earn some income.

She ordered him to pay back $525,800, noting it was the highest amount she could impose but only about a third of the actual losses suffered by the 51 victims in the case.

Walker, president of Program Corp. of America, was convicted in April of 60 counts of fraud and one of conspiracy. Besides Johnson and Rooney, the prosecution’s witnesses included James Earl Jones, Erin Brockovich and James Carville. Other victims included boxer Hurricane Carter, the late comedian Alan King and the late actor Ossie Davis.

There were no celebrities at the sentencing.

Rooney said by phone afterward, “I don’t know if the guy is a nut or dishonest or both.”

He said the five-year sentence was reasonable, but added, “I don’t think keeping someone like him in prison is going to reduce crime in the United States.” He said he doesn’t expect to get back the $10,000 he’s owed.

Walker had managed for years to elude the celebrities, their lawyers, their collection agencies and even Rooney’s “60 Minutes” camera crew when they tried to get their money.

The defense said he was just trying to keep his business afloat, but prosecutors said he blatantly failed to turn over the speakers’ cut of the fees paid by a school or association.

In a case involving poet Nikki Giovanni, a school paid Walker to get her to speak and he never told her she was booked.

Walker ignored messages and offered outlandish excuses for his failure to pay, lying when he said he was traveling to Australia or undergoing prostate surgery, prosecutors said.

Astronaut Scott Carpenter, another victim, said he once received a partial payment – but that check bounced.

The judge said Walker had become “a thief and a liar” when his business started to fail in the late 1990s but had been an honest and loving family man until then.

She said Walker did not deserve the same kind of punishment as other white-collar criminals who had caused “the ruination of large public companies.”

Walker has been in custody since violating bail conditions in March and the judge denied his request for some free time before he surrenders to prison. However, she agreed to recommend that he be placed at the prison of his choice, the federal camp in Otisville, N.Y.

As marshals took him from the courtroom, Walker waved weakly to his wife and sons in the gallery.

Defense lawyer Kerry Lawrence said Walker “had actually hoped he wouldn’t have to spend any more time in jail” and was disappointed by the sentence. He said he did not know how Walker would pay back his victims, but “I know he very much wants to.”

AP-ES-10-27-05 1654EDT