Friday the 13th Not Lucky for Dollar Bill Jefferson

Until Blago replaced him as the GOP finger pointing target of record, every occurrence of GOP corruption has been met with the distraction, “What about Dollar Bill Jefferson?”

Former Democratic U.S. Representative William Jefferson, who hid $90,000 in cash in his freezer, was sentenced on Friday to 13 years in prison for bribery, racketeering and money laundering.

Jefferson, who lost re-election last year in Louisiana, was accused in 2007 of soliciting millions of dollars in bribes from companies while using his office to broker business deals in Africa. He was convicted in August on 11 of 16 counts.

The case became particularly well-known because FBI agents said they found $90,000 in cash wrapped in foil and hidden inside various frozen food containers in his freezer.

Prosecutors recommended to the judge that Jefferson, 62, be sentenced to at least 27 years in prison. Defense lawyers asked for leniency, citing Jefferson’s long public service, and said he should get less than 10 years.

A Justice Department spokesman said Jefferson received a 13-year prison sentence, followed by three years of probation. He was also ordered to forfeit $470,000.

"Mr. Jefferson is well-known for the $90,000 found in his freezer. It is our hope that he will now be well-known for the tough sentence handed down today, showing that no one —

including our elected officials — are above the law," Neil

MacBride, the U.S. attorney in Virginia, said in a statement.

During his trial in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, prosecutors said Jefferson had sought hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes relating to business ventures, mainly in Africa…

Inserted from <Reuters>

Frankly, I’m glad to see the Jefferson went down hard.  We need to root the corruption out of Congress no matter which party is involved.  However, there is lots of prosecution against Republicans that’s long past due.