Former congressman convicted in freezer cash case
By: MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press Writer
August 5, 2009
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| In this file photo from Wednesday, June 10, 2009, former Democratic Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson, center, exits U.S. District Court with his defense team including lawyer Robert Trout, right, in Alexandria, Va. Jackson was convicted of taking bribes. (AP) |
A federal jury in Alexandria convicted a former U.S. congressman Wednesday of taking bribes on 11 of 16 counts in a case in which agents found $90,000 in his freezer.
Former Rep. William Jefferson, a Democrat who had represented parts of New Orleans, was accused of accepting more than $400,000 in bribes and seeking millions more in exchange for brokering business deals in Africa.
It took jurors five days to reach a decision after an eight-week trial. Most of the trial was government testimony. The defense wrapped up its case in a matter of hours.
The defense argued that Jefferson was acting as a private business consultant in brokering the deals and that his actions did not constitute bribery under federal law.
Prosecutors accused Jefferson of hiding bribes by funneling money disguised as consulting fees through sham companies controlled by his wife and brother.
In one recording played by defense attorneys, Jefferson explained that he did not want his name on any of the deals to avoid an appearance of impropriety.
Legally, much of the case turned on whether Jefferson's deal-brokering constituted an "official act" under federal bribery laws.
Jefferson has been under investigation since March 2005. In August of that year, FBI agents searched his Washington home and found $90,000 cash in his freezer, wrapped in foil and hidden in boxes of frozen pie crust.
Jefferson has disputed a claim by prosecutors that the freezer cash was bribe money.
