William Jefferson indicted after taking $500k in bribes

June 5, 2007

Washington, D.C. - Federal prosecutors said on Monday that Democratic congressman William Jefferson took more than half a million in bribes and sought millions more, using a network of family companies to conceal the money.

Federal prosecutors said on Monday that Democratic congressman William Jefferson took more than half a million in bribes and sought millions more, using a network of family companies to conceal the money.

A federal grand jury indicted Jefferson of a raft of corruption charges Monday, nearly two years after federal agents reported finding $90,000 in a freezer in his Washington home.

The 95-page, 16-count indictment accuses him of racketeering, money laundering, obstruction of justice and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

"Mr. Jefferson corruptly traded on his good office and on the Congress, where he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, to enrich himself and his family through a pervasive pattern of fraud, bribery, and corruption that spanned many years and two continents," said Chuck Rosenberg, the U.S. attorney in Alexandria, Va., where the charges were brought.

Jefferson is scheduled to make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Alexandria at 9 a.m. Friday, Rosenberg said. The nine-term New Orleans Democrat maintains his innocence and won a new term in a December runoff despite the allegations.