4 years later, ex-House aide faces sentencing in Abramoff scandal
More than four years after agreeing to plead guilty in the Abramoff political lobbying scandal that rocked Washington, D.C., the press secretary for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will learn late this summer how much time in prison he will face.
Michael Scanlon, who left DeLay to work with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, pleaded guilty in November 2005 to one count of conspiracy in defrauding Indian tribes of millions of dollars and lavishing gifts upon a member of the U.S. Congress.
He could be required to pay as much as $19.7 million in restitution to the tribes, a $250,000 fine and could face up to five years in prison.
Scanlon’s sentencing has been repeatedly put off while he cooperated with investigators and prosecutors as they probed the wide-ranging activities of Abramoff and others. Abramoff was sentenced in 2008 to four years in prison for the corruption scandal and was already serving six years in prison for unrelated charges.
In court papers filed on Tuesday, the Justice Department and Scanlon asked the court to set his sentencing date for August 2010 after the Supreme Court is expected to rule on challenges to the so-called honest services laws that underpinned the case against him.
“Mr. Scanlon believes that how the Supreme Court decides the honest-services fraud cases might impact calculation of both the loss amount to be determined under the sentencing guidelines and the restitution amount to be ordered by this court,” a joint filing with the court said. The Justice Department will file in the coming months its sentencing recommendation.
Prosecutors urge throwing the book at convicted ex-lawmaker
A U.S. judge on Friday will sentence former Congressman William “Cold Cash” Jefferson after he was convicted on multiple bribery and money laundering charges. And prosecutors want to throw the book at him.
The former Louisiana lawmaker faces between 27 and 33 years in prison according to federal sentencing guidelines and prosecutors said that sounds good to them. Authorities discovered $90,000 in Jefferson’s freezer during their investigation.
“As the defendant stands convicted of some of the most serious corrupt schemes uncovered in recent history, he is without remorse and has yet to accept responsibility for his actions,” according to a memorandum filed with the court late Friday.
“A severe sentence would send the message to the public that such egregious and criminal behavior will not be tolerated in our society,” the prosecutors counseled. They also asked that Jefferson, 62, immediately go to prison for fear he would flee the country before his appeals are exhausted.
The ex-congressman was convicted in August on 11 of 16 counts of bribery, racketeering and money laundering. He was accused in 2007 of soliciting millions of dollars in bribes from companies while using his office to broker business deals in Africa.
Jefferson lost re-election last year to Republican Anh “Joseph” Cao — yes, the lone Republican who voted for the Democrats’ health care reform bill that passed the House of Representatives late Saturday. (The district is heavily Democratic and includes most of New Orleans.)
Jefferson acknowledged when he was first charged that he had made mistakes in judgment that he regretted, but denied selling his office or trading official acts for money.
Good. Jefferson got 13 years in prison (he could have received 30 years). He stood to gain hundreds of millions from his bribery scheme.
Yes brian lee you are correct. There is so much emphasis on the last president, that those stone throwers are forgetting the democrats in congress that congress just ignores. I forgot, congress is controlled by democrats, silly me.
