ANOTHER congressman indicted for bribery, etc.

[Mosca]

I'm glad they're taking this sucker down. The people of Louisiana deserve a better voice than his.


WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-Louisiana, was indicted Monday on federal charges of racketeering, soliciting bribes and money-laundering in a long-running bribery investigation into business deals he tried to broker in Africa.

The indictment handed up Monday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, is 94 pages long and lists 16 alleged violations of federal law that could keep Jefferson in prison for up to 235 years, according to a Justice Department official who has seen the document.

Among the charges listed in the indictment, said the official, are racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money-laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case. (Read the indictment [PDF])

Jefferson is accused of soliciting bribes for himself and his family, and also for bribing a Nigerian official.

Jefferson, who was in Louisiana on Monday, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The 63-year-old lawmaker, whose Louisiana district includes New Orleans, has said little about the case publicly but has maintained his innocence. He was re-elected last year despite the looming investigation.

Almost two years ago, in August 2005, investigators raided Jefferson's home in Louisiana and found $90,000 in cash stuffed into a box in his freezer.
Case's impact felt in Nigerian election

Two of Jefferson's associates have already struck plea bargains with prosecutors and have been sentenced.

Brett Pfeffer, a former congressional aide, admitted soliciting bribes on Jefferson's behalf and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Another Jefferson associate, telecommunications executive Vernon Jackson of Louisville, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to paying between $400,000 and $1 million in bribes to Jefferson in exchange for his assistance in securing business deals in Nigeria and other African nations. Jackson was sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

Both Pfeffer and Jackson agreed to cooperate in the case against Jefferson in exchanges for their pleas.

The impact of the case has stretched across continents and even roiled presidential politics in Nigeria. According to court records, Jefferson told associates that he needed cash to pay bribes to the country's vice president, Atiku Abubakar.

Abubakar denied the allegations, which figured prominently in that country's presidential elections in April. Abubakar ran for the presidency and finished third.
Legality of Capitol office raid at issue

Court records indicate that Jefferson was videotaped taking a $100,000 cash bribe from an FBI informant. Most of that money later turned up in a freezer in Jefferson's home.

In May 2006, the FBI raided Jefferson's congressional office, the first such raid on a sitting congressman's Capitol office. That move sparked a constitutional debate over whether the executive branch stepped over its boundary.

The legality of the raid is still being argued on appeal. House leaders objected to the search saying it was an unconstitutional intrusion on the lawmaking process. The FBI said the raid was necessary because Jefferson and his legal team had failed to respond to requests for documents.

Some but not all the documents seized in the raid have been turned over Justice Department prosecutors.

[83-Steelers-43]

Too bad it wasn't that classy mayor they have down there in New Orleans. Talk about a piece of work (to put it mildly).

[stlrtruck]

And is there any wonder why the American people don't trust politicians?

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by 83-Steelers-43

Too bad it wasn't that classy mayor they have down there in New Orleans. Talk about a piece of work (to put it mildly).

C-Ray used to be a good guy. He just went nuts as a result of Katrina.

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by Mosca

I'm glad they're taking this sucker down.

Agree...hopefully it's only a start. I'd like to see the NOLA district attorney, the previous mayor of New Orleans, the Jefferson Parish sheriff, and a few others go down too.

[Godfather]

Interestingly, I lived a few blocks from Dollar Bill's New Orleans house when it got raided.

[83-Steelers-43]

Originally Posted by Godfather

C-Ray used to be a good guy. He just went nuts as a result of Katrina.

I guess that's as good an excuse as any for making the idiotic comments he made in the past and who is now standing by William Jefferson (no surprise there)......

[Atlanta Dan]

What is discouraging is that these crooks keep getting re-elected after their malfeasance is well known. This clown was re-elected after the Feds found the cash in the freezer and Youngstown repeatedly re-elected James Traficant.

[Godfather]

Interestingly, both C-Ray and Dollar BIll got re-elected ebcause white racists put them over the top. Very strange politics in New Orleans.

White racists hate Mitch Landrieu (C-Ray's opponent) because Mitch's father was an early integrationist.

Dollar Bill is still around thanks to suburban Jefferson Parish (county). One week before the election, the sheriff there, Harry Lee, spent a ton of money attacking Dollar Bill's opponent. Harry is Chinese-American, but he's a cross between Edwin Edwards and David Duke...he panders to white racists to distract people from the fact that he steals everything that isn't nailed down.

Hope that's not too confusing.

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by 83-Steelers-43

I guess that's as good an excuse as any for making the idiotic comments he made in the past and who is now standing by William Jefferson (no surprise there)......

C-Ray before the storm: Passed the CPA exam, owner of the local hockey team, cable executive. Came into City Hall and cleaned up corruption including the brake-tag system and cabbies who got licenses without passing the proper tests. It's actually a shame what he turned into.

C-Ray after the storm: Talks to Dr. King, says the storm was God's retribution on America for being in Iraq and black people for killing each other. Chocolate City. Doesn't want the city to be overrun by Mexicans. The WTC site is a "hole in the ground". Went to Philly and dissed it as being dirty. Um, OK--that last one is right

He should've been thrown out last year. While it's understandable to turn into a nut, a nut can't handle the job that needs to be done.