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Louisiana Congressman Bill Jefferson Indicted
Posted by Pile
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Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., was indicted Monday on federal charges of racketeering, money-laundering and soliciting more than $400,000 in bribes in connection with years of trying to broker business deals in Africa.
The charges came almost two years after investigators raided Jefferson's home in Washington and found $90,000 in cash stuffed in a box in his freezer. |
| The indictment in federal court in Alexandria, Va., lists 16 alleged violations with prison terms totaling as much as 235 years. Jefferson is charged with racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and conspiracy.
He is the first sitting congressman to face charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits corporate bribery overseas. Jefferson is to be arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.
Joseph Persichini, who leads FBI's Washington field office, called on the public to "take the time, read this charging document line by line, scheme by scheme, count by count. This case is about greed, power and arrogance." | Indictment document (pdf) | |
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Posted by ueberbill on 2007-06-05 08:32:20 | And I was starting to think that the repubs were the only ones who could cash in on their offices. |
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