Corrupt Democrat Alert: William 'Refrigerator' Jefferson Guilty on 11 Counts

On the upside, he officially qualifies for an appointment to the Obama administration.

Former Democratic Congressman William Jefferson was found guilty of 11 of 16 corruption charges today by a federal jury.
The jury of eight women and four men returned a guilty verdict following five days of deliberation.

In the 16-count indictment, Jefferson was charged with soliciting bribes and other crimes for a series of schemes in which he helped American businesses broker deals in West African in exchange for payments or financial considerations to companies controlled by members of his family, including his brother Mose, his wife, Andrea, their five daughters and a son-in-law.

Jefferson, who represented the New Orleans-based 2nd Congressional District for nine terms, will now face sentencing by Judge T.S. Ellis III, who earlier meted out stiff sentences for lesser figures in the case. According to the U.S. attorney's office, Jefferson faced 235 years in prison if convicted on all counts, and will still face substantial prison time.

The verdict comes four years after the Aug. 3, 2005 raids of Jefferson's homes in New Orleans and Washington, D.C., in which the FBI found $90,000 in cash hidden in the freezer of his D.C. home, money the government said Jefferson was going to deliver as a bribe to Atiku Abubakar, then vice president of Nigeria, to gain his help with a telecommunications deal in Nigeria being pursued by Lori Mody, a Northern Virginia businesswoman.

He'll be missed.

Thanks to Michelle Malkin for the link.

All in the Family: Fresh Off Obama Endorsement, William 'The Refrigerator' Jefferson's Brother, Sister and Niece Hit With 31-Count Indictment

Livin' large down in New Orleans. This crew must have some oversized freezers to hold all that stolen cash.

What a crew. Stealing money intended for charity. Excellent timing for that Barack Obama endorsement, I might add.

A brother, sister and niece of indicted U.S. Rep. William Jefferson were charged Wednesday with pocketing more than $600,000 in state and federal grant money intended for charitable and educational projects.

A federal grand jury indicted New Orleans tax assessor Betty Jefferson, her brother, Mose Jefferson, and her daughter, Angela Coleman, on charges that include federal program fraud, identity theft and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said the family members used several nonprofit and for-profit companies to obtain grants designed to help pregnant teens, at-risk youths and others in need of assistance. They allegedly deposited some of the grant money into personal checking accounts and used it for personal expenses.

"It's fair to say that the allegations in the indictment are very instructive on how such nonprofits can be exploited," Letten said.

A message seeking comment was left with an attorney who has represented Mose Jefferson; it was not immediately clear who was representing Betty Jefferson and Coleman.

With Wednesday's 31-count indictment, four members of the politically prominent Jefferson family now face federal criminal charges.

Rep. Jefferson, 61, a nine-term Louisiana Democrat, was indicted last year on bribery charges. He is awaiting a trial in Virginia and has denied wrongdoing. The congressman wasn't named in Wednesday's indictment, and faces a re-election campaign this fall.

Mose Jefferson, 66, pleaded not guilty in April to separate charges that he paid bribes to a former New Orleans school board president.

Wednesday's indictment also charges Betty Jefferson, 70, with four counts of tax evasion. She faces up to 279 years in prison. The grand jury also charged Mose Jefferson with making false statements to federal investigators. He faces up to 250 years in prison, while Coleman faces a maximum of 257 years behind bars.

Mon Dieu! Frog Season Opens

Former French president, Jacques Chirac. Photograph: Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images
Couldn't happen to a nicer weasel-look-alike Froggie.

Chirac faces corruption inquiry
Jacques Chirac is to be questioned by judges investigating alleged corruption in the Paris city government while he was mayor.

Jean Veil, the lawyer for the former French president, confirmed Mr Chirac will "very probably" be questioned before September 15 as an "assisted witness", meaning it remains possible he will face criminal charges.

The 74-year-old faces a series of potential legal problems now that he no longer enjoys presidential immunity. He handed over the French presidency to Nicolas Sarkozy on May 16.

The case involves claims members of the conservative Rally for the Republic party, which Mr Chirac headed, were illegally on the payroll of the Paris government while he was mayor between 1977 and 1995.

"For the period up to 1995 when he was elected president he is a citizen like any other, and he will answer all questions in all the cases that may concern him," Mr Veil told Europe 1 radio.

Mr Chirac's ally Alain Juppe, a former prime minister, was convicted in the affair in 2004 and banned from politics for one year.

Mr Chirac's lawyer stressed he has given an "absolutely definitive" refusal to be questioned in two other cases, including the so-called Clearstream affair in which it is said senior politicians and business figures - including Mr Sarkozy - received illegal commissions on a major arms sale to Taiwan.

Judges have indicated they want to interview Mr Chirac over claims he ordered a secret intelligence probe in 2004 to see if the allegations against Mr Sarkozy were true. The two men have had strained relations for several years.

Mr Veil has also announced the former president will refuse to respond to allegations of a murder cover-up over the death of a French judge in Djibouti in 1995.

Mr Chirac's office said last week that because he had constitutionally guaranteed judicial immunity while he was president he cannot be ordered to provide testimony about incidents during his tenure.

In the Djibouti case, Mr Chirac prevented judges from making a rare search of the presidential Élysée palace last month while he was still in office.

Congressman William Jefferson was unavailable for comment.

Cold Cash Jefferson to be Indicted

Well, it's about time. The authorities have finally gotten around to indicting William "Cold Cash" Jefferson, the corrupt Democrat from Louisiana.

Sources tell CBS News that authorities are seeking an indictment against Congressman William Jefferson, D-La., on more than a dozen counts involving public corruption.

Jefferson has been the subject of a ongoing probe in which FBI agents allegedly found more than $90,000 in cash in his freezer in August 2005.

CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports that the Justice Department is expected to unveil the charges later today.

This was the latest development in the 16-month international investigation of Jefferson, who allegedly accepted $100,000 from a telecommunications businessman, $90,000 of which was later recovered from a freezer in the congressman's Louisiana home.

Last year prosecutors and the FBI seized nearly 19,000 pages of documents and electronic files from his office.

No doubt his fellow Democrats will be rushing to the microphones demanding he step down.