Jon Corzine, He Gotta Go Video!!!!

"Jon Corzine, He Gotta Go" By Fart
FART for NJ
(Fair And Reasonable Taxes for NJ)
Something Stinks... And It's Your Taxes.

The budget is bloated with solid waste
Trenton is full of hot air! Hot, stinky air!
They flush our tax money down the crapper of corruption, by the billions

We must start a new movement! Wipe the state clean & give power to the regular people!

3 charged with hate crime in black man's beating

Associated Press


Three white men have been jailed on a hate crime charge in the beating of a black suburban ice cream vendor.

Victor McDonald, 44, said the July 22 beating left him with facial fractures and blurred vision. He told the Houston Chronicle for a story in Wednesday editions that he has forgiven his assailants but can't understand why he was attacked.

"For God's sake, I sell ice cream," McDonald said. "What threat did I pose to them?"

Dale Howell, 36, Troy Elledge, 42, and Christopher Elledge, 20, are charged with aggravated assault with a hate crime enhancement. Aggravated assault is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, but the enhancement raises the maximum penalty to life imprisonment.

It is the first time the enhancement has been used for a second-degree felony in Harris County since Texas' hate crime law took effect in 2001, said Donna Hawkins, spokeswoman for the Harris County District Attorney's office.

All three suspects were being held in the Harris County Jail. Bond was set at $30,000 apiece for the Elledges, whose relationship was not clear, and at $40,000 for Howell. None has attorneys yet, court spokeswoman Mary Leal said.

The suspects blocked McDonald's ice cream truck and beat him while shouting racial epithets on a northwest Harris County street, police said.

The blows broke McDonald's nose and bones around his left eye. He said his vision remains blurry, but he is hopeful it will improve as his skull heals.

McDonald, who has been selling ice cream since June when he was laid off from a job selling wireless service, said he won't return to driving the ice cream truck.

"These people have friends and family members. I'm a marked man," he said.

Are black sororities and fraternities still culturally relevant?

Since the inception of Sigma Pi Phi, or Boulé, in 1904, by a group of Philadelphia lawyers, pharmacists and physicians, black achievers have sought fellowship with like-minded souls. The desire for acceptance and recognition, in the midst of racial discrimination and denial of civil rights, drew black men, then women, to such organizations, where they found a safe haven to discuss and implement aspirations for themselves and their communities.

Shared goals of community service, scholastic acheivement and cultural preservation continue to attract both collegiate and professional movers and shakers to historically black fraternities and sororities all over the United States.
The predominately black Greek-letter organizations founded by collegiate students are often referred to as the Divine Nine and make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council. In order of founding, they are:

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, 1906, Cornell University

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, 1908, Howard University

Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, 1911, Indiana University

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, 1911, Howard University

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, 1913, Howard University (of which the author is a proud and active member, as is her family tradition)

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, 1914, Howard University

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, 1920, Howard University

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, 1922, Butler University

Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, 1963, Morgan State University

Each organization can boast of many famous and acclaimed members within its ranks. Each organization has contributed much to the communities they serve through scholarships, leadership development, social action and philanthropic endeavors. Unfortunately, each organization can also lay claim to its share of shameful activities, including thuggish campus hazing, elitist membership selection practices (i.e. selecting or refusing membership on the basis of skin color or hair texture), and misuse of organization funds for personal gain.

The recent charges of misappropriation of funds leveled by some sorority members against the national president of Alpha Kappa Alpha for, among other things, the commissioning of a $900,000 wax figure of herself (www.suntimes.com/business/1690163,CST-NWS-aka29.article), serve as a basis for self-reflection for all members of the Divine Nine. There, but for the grace of God, goes any of our leadership, without the due diligence of rank and file members.

Our abilities to effectively network socially are, indeed, still intact. However; are we still achieving the goal of giving back to the community? Have we continued to make a difference in the lives of black Americans, both privileged and not so much? Are the dues-paying members of these organizations supporting the causes to which they have pledged, or merely filling inappropriate coffers?

Perhaps the questions are best posed to individual frat brothers and sorority sisters. Are you merely wearing your t-shirt to the picnic or are you working in the trenches? Have you demonstrated the significance of your organization to a young person by your actions, or are you satisfied to just sport the colors and symbols? Are you writing a check or writing policy? Are you participating in social action, or just socializing? When was the last time you attended plenary sessions at your regional or national conferences and contributed to the budgetary discussions? Would you just rather complain about what they decided in your absence? Did you review your organization's national platform or did you merely peruse the vendors’ hall for new paraphernalia?

Perhaps the question should not be whether or not black fraternities and sororities are still culturally relevant, but should be….are you still a relevant member of your fraternity or sorority? What have you done lately to make your founders proud?

Actor Tyrese Gibson introduces his super hero, Mayhem, to comic fans

Actor Tyrese Gibson has a case of hero worship.

The 30-year-old movie star and R&B singer knows exactly when he became a self-proclaimed geek - it was during the 2008 San Diego Comic Con. Gibson was promoting his upcoming movies, "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen" and "Death Race," to tap into what publicists call "the nerdy, geeky demographic" of potential ticket buyers.

But he wasn't quite prepared for the throngs that turned up in homemade Transformers costumes. Seeing the devotion of the fans up close, he says, was a life-changing experience.

"That's passion I've never seen in my life," says Gibson.

Fast forward one year, when Gibson found himself back at the San Diego convention. This time, however, he spent three straight days on the general floor, singing the praises of something a lot closer to his heart: his first comic book.

And now fans will be able to get their first look at his new masked vigilante as Image Comics . "Mayhem" #1, co-written by Gibson and William Le, hits stores Wednesday.

"This is my baby," he says. "I put my name on the cover. I left [this year's] Comic Con, I didn't have my voice back for six days. I was screaming at the top of my lungs, trying to get all the attention to our booth."

Just how much attention he got in a crowded market dominated by X-Men and Wonder Wom a n remains to be seen. Comic book fans tend to be a very finicky bunch, wary of newcomers who haven't logged years of experience in the comic book industry.

And they've seen other stars attempt to leap into their comic stores in a single bound, including "Clerks" director Kevin Smith, William Shatner, Steven Colbert, Nicholas Cage and "Heroes" star Milo Ventimiglia.

But Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee says getting Hollywood names like Gibson involved is exactly the buzz comic books need.

"If you ask me [ you didn't, but so what?], it's great for the comic book industry when big name Hollywood stars get involved in comics," Lee told the Daily News by e-mail. "For decades, comic books were considered Pablum for little kids, and hardly any mainstream adults took them seriously. But today ... the entire genre is now accorded the respect it deserves - and has always deserved."

Gibson has been trolling the Internet, reading the harshest criticism and vowing to convince naysayers that he isn't some celebrity dilettante dabbling in a get-rich-quick scheme.

He gets so worked up during his interview with The News that he refers to his hero, a tortured soul looking to torture the drug- dealing mob boss that wronged him, in the first person several times.

He's not just trying to woo existing comic fans, either. Gibson says he is serious about getting the word out to fans of his movies that have never set foot in a comic store that there's a larger world of pop culture that they've been missing.

"I need to spark the interest of new comic book readers," says Gibson. "I need to find a way to get them into the stores and find a hero they can identify with."

While Gibson says it wasn't a factor in making his main character African-American, he is quick to add that he hopes Mayhem will appeal to people of color who may not feel as much of a connection to the predominantly white super heroes who dominate the four-color panels of today's comic books.

Whatever is in store for Mayhem, Gibson is taking it one thought balloon at a time.

"I'd be lying to tell you that I grew up on comic books and I have been reading them for years," he says. "But I'm here [now]. I'm in this world."

Barack Obama faces 30 death threats a day, stretching US Secret Service

US President Barack Obama is the target of more than 30 potential death threats a day and is being protected by an increasingly over-stretched and under-resourced Secret Service, according to a new book.
By Toby Harnden in Washington


Since Mr Obama took office, the rate of threats against the president has increased 400 per cent from the 3,000 a year or so under President George W. Bush, according to Ronald Kessler, author of In the President's Secret Service.

Some threats to Mr Obama, whose Secret Service codename is Renegade, have been publicised, including an alleged plot by white supremacists in Tennessee late last year to rob a gun store, shoot 88 black people, decapitate another 14 and then assassinate the first black president in American history.


According to the book, intelligence officials received information that people associated with the Somalia-based Islamist group al-Shabaab might try to disrupt Mr Obama's inauguration in January, when the Secret Service co-ordinated at least 40,000 agents and officers from some 94 police, military and security agencies.

More than a dozen counter-sniper teams were stationed along the inauguration parade route and the criminal records of employees and hotel guests in nearby buildings were scrutinised.

Despite all this, there were glaring loopholes in the security. Kessler describes how more than 100 VIPs and major campaign donors were screened by metal detectors but then walked along a public pavement before boarding "secure" buses and were not checked again.

It could have been relatively simple for an assassin to have mingled with them in order to get close enough to shoot the new president.

After Mr Obama was elected president, his two children Malia, 11, codenamed Radiance, and Sasha, eight, codenamed Rosebud, began receiving Secret Service protection. Mr Obama's wife Michelle is codenamed Renaissance. The Secret Service also started to protect Vice-President Joe Biden's children, grandchildren, and mother.

Instead of bringing in more agents - instantly identifiable because of their bulky suits, worn over bullet-proof jackets, and earpieces - the Secret Service directed agents to work longer hours to cover the extra load and to miss firearms training, physical fitness sessions and tests.

"We have half the number of agents we need, but requests for more agents have fallen on deaf ears at headquarters," a Secret Service agent told Kessler. "Headquarters' mentality has always been, 'You can complete the mission with what you have. You're a U.S.S.S. agent'."

Mr Biden's constant travel, including back to his home state of Delaware-the burden has meant that all agents on his team have ceased training. According to Kessler, however, they fill in forms stating they have "taken and passed all tests, when they have not, creating a dishonest culture".

The Secret Service has increasingly cut corners after it was absorbed by the new Homeland Security Department under Mr Bush. Kessler said that when Mr Biden threw the first pitch at the first Baltimore Orioles game of the 2009 season, the Secret Service did not screen any of the more than 40,000 fans, stunning his agents and the local Secret Service field office.

Dr Boyce: "Jungle Monkey" Cop Sues City of Boston?

I did some commentary on CNN last week about Justin Barrett, the cop who referred to Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates as a "Banana eating jungle monkey" in an email. You can imagine my surprise when I found out that the officer is suing the city of Boston, claiming that they violated his civil rights.

As part of my assignment for media work I was doing on the topic, I read through the email by officer Barrett very carefully. The email was not written by a disciple of David Duke, a man with gallons of racism flowing through his veins. Rather, it was written by a man who seemed to hold a great deal of anger and resentment toward almost everyone. In one sentence, he was critiquing the grammar of the journalist who wrote the original Gates article. In the other, he was degrading Professor Gates in ways that a police officer should never degrade the citizens he/she is sworn to protect.

I am not angry with Barrett, I feel sorry for him. In fact, when it comes to Barrett, I offer the following thoughts:


1) There is the broader constitutional issue of whether or not Officer Barrett has a right to say what he said. We do have the First Amendment, and no one seems to clearly understand the great social price we must pay to uphold these rights. Personally, I feel that Barrett has the right to say whatever he wants, but revealing such bias while serving as a police officer becomes a completely different issue. At the same time, should it be ruled by a court that Barrett has the right to say what he says, then I would stand behind his rights as well. I guess if someone calls you a "banana eating jungle monkey," you should just say, "ya mama."

But Elliot Millner, a legal analyst for YourBlackWorld.com, feels that Barrett's lawsuit might be frivolous. "Police are public figures, and thus are treated differently concerning issues like this," says Millner. "They are held to a higher standard of conduct as part of their position as public servants. Anything that legitimately calls into question the officer's ability to do his job effectively when interacting with all people is valid grounds for termination, suspension,etc. Anytime you work for any government in any capacity, you are a representative of that government, and are expected to conduct yourself in a way that they consider appropriate."

2) Barrett's words did not make me question his racism as much as it made me question his sanity. As he showed manic highs and lows during various sections of his letter, my mind drew a picture of a man who should not be given a badge and a gun. Additionally, there is something quite odd about a person who makes inflammatory statements in a public email, and then goes onto national TV to apologize profusely. I argue that a normal person would have simply made his statements at home in private, where he (like millions of other Americans) can be a racist and get away with it. Additionally, the idea that a man with this much anger in his mind is being asked to put the lives of others in his hands is quite a frightening concept. At the very least, I am hopeful that a psychologist would read his letter and make the case that Barrett should not be in the streets pointing his weapon at people he might perceive to be "banana eating junble monkeys."

3) Barrett has attempted to plead his case to the public by stating that he is not a racist (OK, I wonder what he has to say in order to be defined as being racist?). But I am going to say something that may shock you: Barrett would probably be just as angry if Officer Crowley (the man who arrested Gates) had been black. Many cops have such a powerful commitment to the blue line that race is clearly a secondary factor in the way they process their allegiance. I know of black officers who've patrolled the streets with Ku Klux Klan members and remained friends for life. Additionally, references to race are often used by non-racist people in order to take advantage of their opponent's social liability. Remember all those racist things Bill and Hillary Clinton did to undermine the Obama campaign? A person doesn't have to be racist in order to degrade black people or to use America's racism to undermine an opponent's objectives. This is not to say that Barrett is not a racist; rather, it says that he may not be. But it is clear that his comments were highly inappropriate.

The bottom line on Justin Barrett is this: There are consequences for his words and he should pay dearly for what he said. He has not only offended millions with his comments, he has also made the citizens of Boston fear for their lives. If the Boston Police Department (which doesn't have the most stellar reputation when it comes to race) has any evidence whatsoever that Barrett's attitudes permeate throughout the force, they should work diligently to extract the racism that keeps good officers from being able to do their jobs. We should remember that not every white cop is a racist, and Barrett may very well be an outlier.

What's most interesting is that the Gates case is yet another missed opportunity for us to deeply explore our racial problems in America. We keep seeing symptoms of a serious virus, yet we keep treating these symptoms as a cold. By only scratching the surface and remaining a nation of cowards, we will never work through our problems with race. The fulfillment of Dr. King's dream is going to take hard work, and we sure as hell aren't doing it.

Dr Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University. He does regular commentary in national media, including CNN, MSNBC, BET and more.

The War On Terrorism Is Over

Yup, that's right,the war on terrorism is over. That is according to Obama and his minions.


"It's official. The U.S. is no longer engaged in a "war on terrorism." Neither is it fighting "jihadists" or in a "global war."

President Obama's top homeland security and counterterrorism official took all three terms off the table of acceptable words inside the White House during a speech Thursday.....

"The President does not describe this as a 'war on terrorism,'" said John Brennan, head of the White House homeland security office, who outlined a "new way of seeing" the fight against terrorism.

The only terminology that Mr. Brennan said the administration is using is that the U.S. is "at war with al Qaeda."

Can someone tell the terrorists?

Hillary Clinton Is Having a Ball in Africa

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is currently in the midst of a whirlwind tour of Africa that takes her through seven nations in eleven days. "Africa?" you may be thinking. "Isn't that the continent where progress on numerous social, economic, and political ailments has been frustratingly elusive? That must be quite a difficult, depressing trip for her." If that is indeed what you were thinking, you couldn't be more ignorant. Because Hillary has proven herself to be a special kind of secretary of State, one whose diplomacy utilizes gregariousness and levity as much as carrots and sticks. Accordingly, during a speech at an economic forum, Hillary joked about the attention Americans pay to her hairstyle. "My hairdos have been the subject of Ph.D. theses, so I want everybody to know that I got a good one in Nairobi," she said. At a town hall at the University of Nairobi, she shared a laugh about the dowry of goats and cows a Kenyan man offered for the hand of Chelsea Clinton. And, as this clip from Kenyan television attests, she is more than willing to boogie down ... way down.

Big Name Criminal Defendants Are Popping Up on Facebook and Twitter

By Rachel Leven

On June 4, indicted ex- New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik did two very public things. He went to court and he tweeted.

“In DC Federal Court today. Indicted for a third time on the same charge. Unprecedented, selective, and overreaching prosecution? You tell me,” the frustrated Kerik tweeted on Twitter.

While Kerik declined comment, his supporters remarks on “Support A True Hero,” a pro-Kerik group on Facebook, show that he was not alone in thinking the prosecution went too far.

“You deserve an apology for any alligations {sic} made towards you,” wrote one member. ” You will always be a hero.”

Back in the day, criminal defendants and their supporters relied solely on the mainstream media to publicly vent and put their spin on a case.

No more. With the advent of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, defendants — but far more often supporters — are spouting off whenever they want, and in some instances, whatever they want, hoping in some way to sway public opinion or provide moral support for the indicted person.

And the mainstream media is listening. Shortly after Kerik posted his concise, but obviously frustrated three-line tweet on June 4, the Associated Press picked up on it.

Facebook groups supporting or criticizing criminal defendants such as Kerik, baseball star Barry Bonds, ex-Congressman William Jefferson, and convicted felons such as Jack Abramoff and Bernie Madoff, have been spreading like a California forest fire in the dead of summer, often connecting anywhere from about 20 to 6,000 fans.

And in most instances, you’d be hard pressed not to find at least one favorable fan page for any high profile criminal defendant on Facebook, a social network which was once the exclusive domain of the young. Now it’s attracting folks of all ages as it becomes increasingly more mainstream, much to the chagrin of some younger folks, particularly those who find their parents asking to “friend them”.

“I feel that Facebook and Twitter are both places where you can express your opinions freely regarding celebrities,” said Clemson University student Alexis Tuten, creator of a Barry Bonds Facebook group. “Facebook was also my first choice as an outlet because a lot of kids my age are on it, and they can express themselves as well.”

People like Jeff Smith seem to be passionate about defending a public figure, which in his case, is Bernie Kerik, who faces multiple federal charges including conspiracy and tax fraud, and was once considered to head the Dept. of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush but withdrew after admitting that he hired an illegal immigrant as a nanny.

“I was at his fundraiser and if everyone could have heard the great stories that people were telling about how much of an impact Bernie has made on [their] lives, you would see why he is a ‘True American Hero’,” Smith said in a posting on a pro-Kerik Facebook group.

When it comes to high-profile criminal defendants, it’s pretty typical to have multiple pro and con Facebook groups. One example is Ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who faces trial on host of charges including allegations that he tried to sell Barak Obama’s vacant Senate seat.

On the “Free Rod Blagojevich” Facebook page, which has 395 members, Geoff Wright of Chicago wrote last month: “Hey I know someone thats more crooked and has done worse than Rod, And he’s now the President.Rod is innocent and am looking forward to his talk show on WLS 890 am…think about it…The Rod and Roe show….battle of the egos. I digress….Rod is wrongly accused….and should not spend one minute in jail.”

In contrast, on the Impeach Rod Blagojevich page, which has become less active since his Impeachment, Kevin Wood of Chicago wrote last Dec. 12: “what a disgrace blagoyabitch is and I hope he def. goes to jail.”

Regardless of how many Facebook or Twitter fans a defendants has, it’s not likely to positively impact the outcome of their case, says Steven Levin, a former Maryland federal prosecutor who is now with the firm Levin & Gallagher Law Firm.

“I don’t know any defendant… who has won because he has a following outside of the court room,” Levin said.

But he says, these social networks can hurt defendants in court if they go too far. The government, he said, has full access to those statements and can use them against the defendant.

Lawrence Kobilinsky, professor and chairman of Criminology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, echoes similar sentiments, and warns that defendants should be careful about publishing private or sensitive information.

“It’s better to leave it to the attorneys to do the talking,” he said.

Regardless of those concerns, some supporters consider the technology useful to promote opinions not widely publicized by the media.

“I do not have the money to pay [the media] to run my opinion as advertising [so] I… must either… watch them sling mud on a good man or go to a forum where I can say and publish what I want without others making me pay for it,” said Tsvi Mark, a member of a Facebook group supporting convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Interestingly, even a vilified figure like Bernie Madoff has some supporters on Facebook. On the Facebook group “Bernie Madoff is my Hero!”, George Shao wrote: “Bernie Madoff is such a hero of these phony times. And why the hell are Ponzi Schemes illegal? Such Hypocracy! The entire economy is a Ponzi Scheme, just lots of ppl don’t want to tell the truth about it. Here’s a man who had the guts to give the ppl what they really wanted.”

Still, there are some instances in which there’s a lot of Facebook pages dedicated to a particular criminal defendant, but none positive.

Enter the divisive figure Monica Conyers, the wife of Rep. John Conyers, who recently pleaded guilty in federal court in Detroit to taking bribes while sitting on the Detroit City council.

Some of the Facebook groups dedicated to her include: Save Detroit from Monica Conyers! (5,934 members); Monica Conyers has got to go!!! (431 members); Monica Conyers: A Disgrace to Detroit (47 members).

In “Save Detroit from Monica Conyers,” Brian Poelman wrote, ” I’m so sick of corrupt politicians. Monica epitomizes everything wrong with the politician mentality that has become so common across BOTH parties.”

On the page “Monica Conyers: A Disgrace to Detroit”, Cyn Angel of Detroit wrote in March, before the city council woman was charged and pleaded guilty: “She is a disgrace to the human population!”

Woman Who Tried Shooting Pres. Ford — Squeaky Fromme — Will Get Paroled

Few have forgotten her attempt on President Ford’s life 34 years ago. And few have forgotten that name “Squeaky”. Maybe she’ll get a new nickname once she’s on the outside.


Pres. Ford Demian Bulwa and John Koopman
San Francisco Chronicle
Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, the waif-like Charles Manson follower who tried to shoot President Gerald Ford outside the Capitol in Sacramento in 1975, will be released from prison as early as Aug. 14, authorities said Wednesday.
Images

Fromme, now 60, has been serving a life sentence in Texas. A federal parole board granted her parole last year, but her release was delayed because she got extra time after trying to escape from a West Virginia facility in 1987.

Traci Billingsley, spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, said Fromme remains at a prison for women with special medical or mental health needs in Fort Worth, Texas. Billingsley said her agency had the authority to release Fromme Aug. 14, 15 or 16. She said she did not have any information about Fromme’s plans.

Book Gives Behind the Scenes Glimpse of U.S. Secret Service

Ronald Kessler has written an interesting book on the Secret Service. Inside the agency, some people aren’t very happy about it and have expressed disappointment that some former agents have opened up and talked. The following is an excerpt of the book “In the President’s Secret Service: Behind the Scenes With Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect” (Crown Publishing Group). It was printed in Newsmax Magazine.


By Ronald Kessler

All eyes in the crowd were on the new president and first lady as they smiled and waved and held hands, celebrating the moment. But the men and women who walked along Pennsylvania Avenue with them never looked at the couple, only into the crowd.

The temperature was twenty- eight degrees, but the Secret Service agents’ suit jackets were open, hands held free in front of the chest, just in case they had to reach for their SIG Sauer P229 pistols. On television as the motorcade proceeded, the world could sometimes catch a glimpse of a man’s silhouette on top of a building, a countersniper poised and watching. But that was just a hint of the massive security precautions that had been planned in secret for months.

The Secret Service scripted where Barack and Michelle Obama could step out of “the Beast,” as the presidential limousine is called. At those points, counterassault teams stood ready, armed with fully automatic Stoner SR- 16 rifles and flash bang grenades for diversionary tactics.

If they spotted any hint of a threat, the grim- faced agents never betrayed it. It is the same when they see what goes on behind the scenes. Because Secret Service agents are sworn to secrecy, voters rarely know what their presidents, vice presidents, presidential candidates, and Cabinet officers are really like. If they did, says a former Secret Service agent, “They would scream.”

John Edwards’ Ex-Mistress Appears Before North Carolina Grand Jury

By ALYSIA PATTERSON
Associated Press Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. — The former mistress of John Edwards arrived at a federal courthouse in Raleigh where a grand jury was meeting Thursday - an appearance that comes as federal investigators examine the two-time presidential candidate’s finances.
Rielle Hunter walked into the building through a back entrance and holding a young child.
Edwards adamantly denied during his confessional interview with ABC News last summer that he had fathered a child with Hunter, and he welcomed a paternity test. His wife, Elizabeth, has said while promoting her book that she doesn’t know if her husband is the father.

The Jury Has Spoken: William Jefferson Guilty of 11 of 16 Corruption Charges

As expected, ex-Rep. William Jefferson was convicted. The evidence was overwhelming and prosecutors portrayed Jefferson as a shakedown artist and major operator. He may be a nice guy, but he was a crooked politician.




By Bruce Alpert and Jonathan Tilove
The Times-Picayune
William Jefferson, the former Democratic congressman who served the New Orleans area for nine terms, was found guilty today of 11 of 16 corruption charges.
The jury of eight women and four men returned the verdict after five days of deliberation.

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 faces sentencing Oct. 30 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. Chief prosecutor Mark Lytle said Jefferson could face more than 20 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.

With Jefferson, 62, facing what could be the equivalent of a life sentence, prosecutors asked Ellis to remand him to jail as a flight risk. But the judge allowed him to remain free pending his sentencing. A forfeiture hearing will be held Thursday to decide what assets Jefferson will have to surrender.
In a post-verdict news conference, Jefferson referred all questions to his attorney Robert Trout. When asked how he was holding up, the former congressman said, “I’m holding up.”

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