Jeepers. Turns out that $90,000 in the freezer wasn't such a good idea afterall.
Ex-Congressman Gets Harsh Sentence: 13 Years in Prison
Posted: 11/13/09
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Nov. 13) -- Former Rep. William Jefferson, the first African-American to win a congressional seat in Louisiana since Reconstruction, took on the added distinction Friday of receiving the harshest sentence ever given to a member of Congress for a public corruption conviction.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, hoping to send a message to deter others in Congress, handed down a sentence of 13 years in prison, far surpassing the previous record sentence of eight years and four months given to former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California, who pleaded guilty in 2005 to taking $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. Next week, the judge will announce when the prison term begins.
"You're obviously a person of gifts and those gifts have been squandered," Ellis told Jefferson, who stood silently in the courtroom as his wife, five daughters and brother sat behind him.
"Public corruption is a cancer that must be removed," Ellis said, adding at one point, "There must be some sort of greed virus that attacks people in power."
"You've made some very bad choices," the judge continued.
Jefferson was convicted on Aug. 5 on 11 of 16 counts of public corruption that centered on charges that he used his office and staff to enrich himself and his family. The government alleged that he accepted $478,000 in bribes to promote business ventures in seven African nations, but he had hoped to take in a lot more.
Dethroned by a Republican in his bid last year for a 10th term in a heavily Democratic district, Jefferson became fodder for the late-night comics when word got out that he had socked away $90,000 in FBI-marked bills in the freezer of his Capitol Hill home. The FBI money had been given to him by Virginia businesswoman Lori Mody, who was working as an informant after she complained that she was being ripped off in African business ventures that involved Jefferson.
The cash was supposed to help bribe the vice president of Nigeria, but the FBI seized it during raids staged just days later.
Friday's sentence fell far short of the 27 to 33 years prosecutors had recommended based on their reading of federal sentencing guidelines. But Jefferson's attorney sought a sentence of less than 10 years, citing his client's public service over the years.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lytle painted a much different picture in presenting his case that Jefferson had turned his office into a criminal enterprise and had set up sham companies to receive bribes using his wife, daughters and sons-in-law.
During today's sentencing hearing, Lytle made reference to the $90,000 in Jefferson's freezer that became a subject of many jokes, but he also added that the congressman's corrupt behavior "was no laughing matter," saying "all citizens are harmed by it."
Judge Ellis left little doubt that he was planning to go beyond Cunningham's record sentence for this case. The bar was already set high when he handed down fairly harsh sentences for two lesser figures in the Jefferson case. Brett Pfeffer, Jefferson's former aide and employee of Mody, pleaded guilty to bribery and got eight years. Vernon Jackson, the owner of iGate, a high-tech company that Jefferson was helping to secure lucrative contracts in Africa, got seven years and three months.
In issuing his sentence, the judge acknowledged that Jefferson had already paid a high price, saying, "I'm confident you don't need to be further deterred." |
