Representative William J. Jefferson of Louisiana's 2nd congressional district. In a press release Monday, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) detailed a federal grand jury indictment against Congressman William Jefferson on charges that included bribery, racketeering, and money laundering, among others. The grand jury out of Alexandria , Virginia, charged Jefferson specifically with "solicitation of bribes, honest services wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act , racketeering, and conspiracy." The indictment stems from corruption that is alleged to have taken place between August 2000 and August 2005. Representative Jefferson, 63, a Democrat from Louisiana , is alleged to have "used his position and his office to corruptly seek, solicit and direct that things of value be paid to Jefferson and his family members in exchange for his performance of official acts to advance the interests of people and businesses who offered him the bribes." Jefferson has represented Louisiana's 2nd congressional district since 1991. The FBI was involved in the investigation, which culminated in a raid on Representative Jefferson's congressional office in May, 2006. "The FBI has made combating public corruption its top criminal investigative priority because American citizens deserve honest and ethical public officials representing their interest,” said Kenneth W. Kaiser, Assistant Director, FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “As it is alleged, Congressman Jefferson violated the public’s trust and used his official position and office as a RICO enterprise to corruptly solicit bribes, to pay off a foreign official, and to illegally benefit from overseas business transactions during a five-year period." Also detailed in the indictment, Jefferson allegedly offered payments to a foreign official to further his own business interest as well as that of his family. Jefferson was allegedly responsible for "negotiating, offering and delivering payments of bribes" to Nigerian officials. In an August 2005 raid on Jefferson's home in Washington, D.C., law enforcement officials found US$90,000 cash from an undercover operation in his freezer. The cash had been wrapped in aluminum foil and hidden inside frozen food containers. Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi expressed some concern over the allegations. "The charges in the indictment against Congressman Jefferson are extremely serious,” said Pelosi. “While Mr. Jefferson, just as any other citizen, must be considered innocent until proven guilty, if these charges are proven true, they constitute an egregious and unacceptable abuse of public trust and power.”
Representative William J. Jefferson of Louisiana's 2nd congressional district. In a press release Monday, the United States (DOJ) detailed a federal grand jury indictment against on charges that included bribery, racketeering, and money laundering, among others. The grand jury out of , Virginia, charged Jefferson specifically with "solicitation of bribes, honest services wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, violating the , racketeering, and conspiracy." The indictment stems from corruption that is alleged to have taken place between August 2000 and August 2005. Jefferson, 63, a from , is alleged to have "used his position and his office to corruptly seek, solicit and direct that things of value be paid to Jefferson and his family members in exchange for his performance of official acts to advance the interests of people and businesses who offered him the bribes." Jefferson has represented Louisiana's since 1991. The was involved in the investigation, which culminated in a raid on Representative Jefferson's congressional office in May, 2006. "The FBI has made combating public corruption its top criminal investigative priority because American citizens deserve honest and ethical public officials representing their interest,” said Kenneth W. Kaiser, Assistant Director, FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “As it is alleged, Congressman Jefferson violated the public’s trust and used his official position and office as a enterprise to corruptly solicit bribes, to pay off a foreign official, and to illegally benefit from overseas business transactions during a five-year period." Also detailed in the indictment, Jefferson allegedly offered payments to a foreign official to further his own business interest as well as that of his family. Jefferson was allegedly responsible for "negotiating, offering and delivering payments of bribes" to Nigerian officials. In an August 2005 raid on Jefferson's home in , law enforcement officials found US$90,000 cash from an undercover operation in his freezer. The cash had been wrapped in aluminum foil and hidden inside frozen food containers. expressed some concern over the allegations. "The charges in the indictment against Congressman Jefferson are extremely serious,” said Pelosi. “While Mr. Jefferson, just as any other citizen, must be considered innocent until proven guilty, if these charges are proven true, they constitute an egregious and unacceptable abuse of public trust and power.”
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Department of Justice
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Congressman William Jefferson
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Alexandria
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Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
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Representative
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Democrat from Louisiana
from
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2nd congressional district
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FBI
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RICO
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Washington, D.C.,
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Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi