The government has been ordered to return a $50,000 criminal penalty that a former New York state senator paid after he was convicted of lying to investigators about his attempts to get his son hired by a Westchester County law firm.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued its decision in the case of Thomas Libous, a Binghamton Republican who served as deputy majority leader in the state Senate. Libous died in May 2016. He was battling cancer when he was convicted in July 2015 of making false statements during an FBI investigation into whether he used his political influence to get his son hired with the now-defunct Santangelo, Randazzo & Mangone law firm.

Thomas Libous' son, Matthew Libous, was suspended from practice for one year by the Appellate Division, Second Department.