Rep. William Jefferson, D-La.  (Photo: AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari ) Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., was indicted Monday, June 4, 2007, 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 in federal court in Alexandria., Va., was 94 pages long and listed 16 alleged violations of federal law that could keep Jefferson in prison for up to 235 years. He is charged with racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money-laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Jefferson is accused of soliciting bribes for himself and his family, and also for bribing a Nigerian official. In August 2005, investigators raided Jefferson's home in Louisiana and found $90,000 in cash stuffed in a box in his freezer. Jefferson, 63, whose Louisiana district includes New Orleans, has said little about the case publicly but has maintained his innocence. He was re-elected in 2006 despite the looming investigation. Two of Jefferson's associates 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, Louisville, Ky., telecommunications executive Vernon Jackson, pleaded guilty to paying between $400,000 and $1 million in bribes to Jefferson in exchange for his assistance 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 exchange for their pleas. 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 raid's legality 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.