Convicted Ex-Congressman William Jefferson Gets Sentenced to 13 Years on Friday the 13th

[picapp src=”4/0/d/3/Rep_William_Jefferson_05d9.jpg?adImageId=7468347&imageId=7042659″ width=”234″ height=”284″ /]

A funny sentence was handed down yesterday, Friday the 13th, to put a metaphorical stamp on the sad saga of one ex-congressman William Jefferson, who had so famously been caught by the feds in a sting operation, hiding 90,000 dollars in his freezer that he had accepted as a bribe from an undercover federal agent.

He was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison…on Friday the 13th. You can not make this kind of thing up. Reality is always stranger than fiction.

Among the charges are the fact that the corrupt Congressman from Louisiana had once  diverted emergency-response resources during Hurricane Katrina to evacuate himself and his family from harms way.

It was also proven that he had participated in racketeering and had accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyist to vote in their favor, which was a vote against the best interest of the citizens in his district.

William Jefferson, a Democratic lawmaker  represented a district in the southern state of Louisiana that included part of New Orleans. The last thing the citizens of New Orleans needs is another corrupt politician, so justice has been served in getting this menace to society off the streets.

Federal judge T.S. Ellis in Alexandria, Virginia handed down a sentence that’s less than half of what prosecutors had wanted, but it’s still much longer than the previous record-holder — former congressman Randy Duke Cunningham, now serving 8 years 4 months.

Jefferson, 62, was also ordered to forfeit more than 470,000 dollars in assets.

The AP is reporting…“In a stunning betrayal of the public’s trust, former congressman Jefferson repeatedly used his public office for private gain,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman said in a statement.

“The lengthy prison sentence imposed on Mr Jefferson today is a stark reminder to all public officials that the consequences of accepting bribes can and will be severe.”

Jefferson lost his New Orleans seat to Anh “Joseph” Cao, a liberal Republican who backed Pelosi on health care but still voted with the GOP around 75% of the time, according to Cao’s office.

I have proclaimed Cao,even though he is a Republican, as the savior of the American citizens, because of his informed and brave vote for Pelosi’s healthcare for all bill, because it is exactly what is right for the Republican voters, who tend to vote against their own interest 99 percent of the time.

Given the fact that the conviction of the felon Jefferson meant that America got a true hero in Cao, I can only focus on the fact that Jefferson’s self-propelled downfall, is the best thing to happen for America.

Karma is truly at work in this dynamic situation.

“Mr Jefferson’s repeated attempts to sell his office caused significant damage to the public’s trust in our elected leaders,” said US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil MacBride.

Here is a You tube report on this case of corruption from the AP…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/13/william-jefferson-ex-cong_n_357667.html