Editing E. Howard Hunt (section)

==Arrest and Trial==
(1972–1973) Hunt was arrested in August 1972, charged with conspiracy, burglary, and wiretapping. Facing financial ruin—his wife, Dorothy Louise Wetzel, carried $10,000 in hush money to secure silence, he pleaded guilty in January 1973. On March 23, 1973, he was sentenced to 35 years, later reduced to 33 months, served at Eglin Air Force Base and other facilities until February 1975. Dorothy died in a December 1972 plane crash, carrying the hush money, many suspect fowl play in the plane crash. His guilty plea and cooperation, including testimony implicating Nixon aides, contributed to the Watergate scandal’s unraveling, leading to Nixon’s resignation in August 1974.