Jefferson Sentenced in Freezer Cash Case

Former Louisiana Congressman Gets 13 Years for Bribery and Racketeering

(AP)  A former Louisiana congressman who famously stashed cash in his freezer was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison for taking hundreds of thousands in bribes in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa.

The sentence handed down in suburban Washington was far less than the nearly 30 years prosecutors had sought for William Jefferson, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans for nearly 20 years.

Agents investigating the case found $90,000 wrapped in foil and hidden in boxes of frozen pie crusts in his freezer.

Prosecutors had asked a judge to follow federal guidelines and sentence him to at least 27 years. The defense asked for less than 10 years, arguing a stiffer sentence would be far longer than those imposed on congressmen convicted of similar crimes in recent years, none of whom was sentenced to more than a decade.

Jefferson said nothing in court after he was sentenced. He was convicted in August of 11 counts, including bribery and racketeering. Prosecutors at his two-month trial said he took roughly $500,000 in bribes and sought millions more.

He was acquitted of five other charges, including the one most closely associated with the money in his freezer.

The investigation started in March 2005. In August of that year, FBI agents searched Jefferson's Washington home and found the cash. Prosecutors said he had planned to use the money to pay a bribe to the then-vice president of Nigeria to secure a multimillion-dollar telecommunications deal there, an accusation Jefferson denied.

The money ended up in the freezer after a disgruntled businesswoman, Lori Mody, agreed to wear a wire after telling the FBI she had been cheated out of $3.5 million in deals brokered by Jefferson. The jury saw videotape of Mody handing over a suitcase filled with $100,000 cash outside an Arlington hotel. Most of that money was recovered from the freezer.

The defense argued that Jefferson was acting as a private business consultant in brokering the deals and his actions did not constitute bribery.

New Orleans voters had long been loyal to Jefferson, who in 1991 became Louisiana's first African-American congressman since Reconstruction. He rose from the poverty of the Louisiana Delta parishes to prominence as a street-savvy political tactician.

He was re-elected in 2006 even after news of the bribery scandal broke but was indicted and then lost to Republican attorney Anh "Joseph" Cao this past December.

[stn_sage]

Oh, I forgot to mention...I'm glad he got caught and sentenced!

Now...if they'd indict and try the other crooks in Congress, both Dems & Republicans, it would help toward 'cleaning up' govt!

[starleo146]

yes I agree and why is Tom De Lay still walking and smiling, everyone forgot about him

[stn_sage]

Yes, there are several former members of Congress and govt that are walking around free...when they should be in jail! WHICH...just goes to show what a FAILURE the American Legal System really is!

Someday, the public is going to 'wise up'! And, the public that lives in the area of some of these crooks are going to take it upon themselves and enforce the legal code upon these people themselves!

Were that to happen, it's my guess, that you'd see a lot less criminality in Washington, D.C.!

[endurorob_5]

Lets start with Charlie Rangle.

[MARYWILMA]

THE DAY FRIDAY THE 13TH HAS BEEN A LUCKY DAY FOR ME AT LEAST.. WIFE AND I GOT MARRIED ON THAT DAY AND DATE ALMOST 25 YEARS AGO... A REALLY GOOD DAY IT TURNED OUT FOR US...STILL MARRIED AND STILL HAVE REAL LOVE FOR EACH OTHER..

[MARYWILMA]

THE DAY FRIDAY THE 13TH HAS BEEN A LUCKY DAY FOR ME AT LEAST.. WIFE AND I GOT MARRIED ON THAT DAY AND DATE ALMOST 25 YEARS AGO... A REALLY GOOD DAY IT TURNED OUT FOR US...STILL MARRIED AND STILL HAVE REAL LOVE FOR EACH OTHER..

[Omnivorous]

Very suprised CBS even printed this.

Cold cash Jefferson belongs right beside Rangel, Dodd and Frank in prison for the rest of thier lives.

[midlclass]

jeez i wonder if the business woman hadn't been suppoedly ripped off for 3.4 mil if any of this would of happen. ooh the rath of a woman scorned!I wonder how much she had made previously and if the FBI investigated her also. don't get me wrong this guy will hopfully fill his life out in prison as he should.

[Dgunner]

This man should be shot in the town square and his name and all his history stricken from the annals of american history.Instead he will be kept petted and primped in one our fedral prisonsfor maybe thirteen years maybe he will get pardoned through loyalty by proxy from one the people who holds this nation by the testicles.

[crikeytx46]

If Reps, Senators, Pres, etc. are convicted of a crime using their so called status for personal gain, they should lose all of their government retirement, pension, insurance, etc. for life.

[stn_sage]

ABSOLUTELY! And if we lived in a real democracy...and if our leaders were actually honest...and if we had a court system that actually protected the rights of it's citizens...discussion of our representatives as crooks would be only academic...but since these things aren't the case...and since these same crooks write the laws that THEY would be prosecuted under...and since they're not likely to pass measures 'against themselves'...the discussion is more than academic, it's reality! Don't look for it soon! Armed revolt would happen first! These crooks aren't going to 'put govt in order' and actually have it function effectively...it won't happen!

[djseavy]

Ah yes - nothing like dealing with cold hard cash

[annonymis11111]

hey dakotaclark, it is "just deserts" not "just desserts". fyi

[lledll]

a Black man doing a sleezy white man's crime..No more Moet

[dakotaclark]

Hmmm...

He looks a lot older than 62. Maybe this will end up becoming a life sentence for him. No matter how rich or important you think you are, dying in prison must be the royal pitttts.

He lived well, high on the hog you might say, for at least 18 years. Nice suits, good shirts, fancy shoes, great food, manicured nails, etc.

However, none of that was good enough, and he craved the chance of more money. In the end, his own greed caused his craft to crash and burn.

Some would say, just desserts. Still, he will be heading for a federal prison. From what I hear, those are the "country club" atmosphere of jails and prisons.

Will he still get a pension from congress?

[stryker54]

he climbed up from the bottom and didn't think what he was doing was wrong? great roll model.

[kbbpll]

Hope to see Dick Cheney's face here soon.

[marcodele]

As a resident New Orleanian, I can guarantee this means Bill Jefferson is the front runner in the next mayor's race.

"We know we're rotten... and proud of it!"

His brother gets sentenced soon, as will his sister, and the girlfriend they passed around the family for 20 years. Sounds like a winning political ticket to me!

Congratulations Bill.... you never said 'Sir' and it paid off for you.

[timdgrim]

Looks like this 'Jefferson' is...."moving on up...to the Big House.."

[gramto8]

by timdgrim November 13, 2009 9:48 PM EST
Looks like this 'Jefferson' is...."moving on up...to the Big House.."
___________________________________________________

Good one, Tim!!!

[erichsh]

A few crickets chirping ... the sound of a dog barking way off in the distance ... ahhhh.

[retm-w]

A liberal got busted, so all is quiet. Go over to the Palin articles, the libs are over there blasting her.

[wdh3007]

The number thirteen seems to be the number this month for those that commit crimes. Thirteen years in prison for this quack and thirteen counts of murder for another known case all being made known on or before Friday the 13th.

[rightbehind]

What's really funny is Jefferson probably thought he was surrounded by friends when he was putting that cash away. Like to see the same thing happen to the yellow dog republicrats. See them stashing some of the health care insurance money away. LOL!

[erichsh]

I feel like I'm out in the country enjoying a peaceful, blissfully quiet weekend. What a relief to escape the noisy, bleating, screeching, hateful rhetoric from the liberals you normally find on these pages.

[bill0bob]

"What a relief to escape the noisy, bleating, screeching, hateful rhetoric from the liberals" -- erichsh

You have your parties mixed up! You'll hear more "noisy, bleating, screeching, hateful rhetoric" from the republican side-- from the teabaggers and all the other morons who believe Fox is "fair and balanced". It's the GOP that uses a "scorched earth" policy of lying, threatening violence, etc. They call our own, democratically elected, president a "communist", a "socialist", a "Marxist", a "Muslim", a "Hitler", etc. -- often all at once, ignoring the fact that many of these labels are mutually exclusive. No lie is too big, too outrageous, too downright insane for the GOP to shy away from it. The GOP mission: divide and conquer, and give all the spoils to their wealthy corporate backers.

The GOP has TRULY become the enemy of science, the enemy of logic, the enemy of reason, the enemy of a free society.

PS: the conservadroids all claim CBS is a "liberal" MSM site, so why do you come here? The "escape" you claim to want is simple-- just go back to Fox and stay away from whatever it is you don't like here. You won't be missed.

[ffoulkes-2009]

Thank you bill0bob for proving his point.

[theskeptical1]

So now that this sleazebag politician is in the slam, when can we expect to see "Good Time Charlie" Rangel brought to justice? Ah yes, that paragon of probity Speaker Pelosi is right on the case, protecting the interests of the American citizenry against corruption in high places, and any day now she will call him to account, right, Nancy?

That's a joke, folks, just like the joke that those brazen thieves in Congress are playing on you every day. But you just don't ever seem to get it, do you?

[retm-w]

How about Maxine Waters, Not a peep about any of the Congressmen/women being investigated.

[Amazingoly]

You do the crime, you do the time. More to come from congress.

[us_1776]

It doesn't matter whether you are liberal or conservative, we are all glad to see people like this corrupt politician be convicted. There are plenty of these on both sides that we need to ferret out of our political system.