News: (Alleged) Criminals

Feds Seek 30 Year Sentence For William Jefferson

Federal prosecutors are seeking the harshest prison sentence ever handed out to a member of Congress for former Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), arguing that his “stunning betrayal of public trust” warrants what could be a life sentence for the long-time lawmaker. The Justice Department is asking a federal judge in Alexandria, Va, to lock up Jefferson, 62, for up to 33 years. That is far longer than the eight-year sentence given to former Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.) when he was sentenced in March 2006 for taking more than $2.4 million in bribes, as well as tax evasion and fraud.

Jefferson was convicted in August on federal charges of bribery, fraud, money laundering and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the first sitting member of Congress to be hit with that allegation. Jefferson tried to bribe the Nigerian vice president on a telecom contract for a company that the congressman secretly had a stake in. About $90,000 from that bribe was later found in Jefferson’s freezer when federal agents raided his home. According to DOJ estimate, these bribery schemes – which involved companies in West Africa – could have netted Jefferson and his family “hundreds of millions of dollars.” Jefferson got $478,000 in bribe money, including $367,500 from Kentucky businessman Vernon Jackson. Jackson himself received a 87-month sentence, or more than seven years.

Supreme Court Looks At Life Sentences For Juveniles

Hat tip to reader Nanakwame for the heads up on this story. A seemingly divided Supreme Court wrestled Monday with whether teenagers can be locked away forever for their crimes. The question arose in two cases involving Florida men who are serving life prison terms with no chance of parole for crimes that they committed as teenagers. Their lawyers argue that the sentences for people so young are cruel and unusual, in violation of the Constitution, because young people have greater capacity to change. In the two cases before the court, Joe Sullivan was sent away for life for raping an elderly woman when he was 13 and Terrance Graham was implicated in armed robberies when he was 16 and 17. Graham, now 22, and Sullivan, now 34, are in Florida prisons, which hold more than 70 percent of juvenile defendants locked up for life for crimes other than homicide. The justices could distinguish between the two based on the difference in their ages at the time of the crimes: It could rule that someone as young as Sullivan was must eventually be considered for parole without granting Graham any relief from his sentence.

Prosecutor: Baltimore Mayor Stole Gift Cards Meant For Poor Families

Ten months after she was indicted, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon (pictured) has entered a courtroom — about a block from City Hall — as a criminal defendant. The jury selection process in the trial of Mayor Sheila Dixon started today. Mayor Dixon is accused of stealing gift cards that were donated to the city for distribution to families in need. Mayor Dixon, through attorney Arnold Weiner, pleaded not guilty today.