Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson pled not guilty today to an accusation of soliciting more than $500,000 in bribes while using his office to broker business deals in Africa.
A massive indictment 94 pages long gives the details on eleven different bribery schemes along with sixteen separate criminal counts, such as racketeering, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, money laundering and soliciting bribes.
Rep. Jefferson could possibly be put away for over 200 years, depending on the outcome of his trial set for January of 2008.
The charges came almost two years after investigators raided Jefferson’s home in Washington and found $90,000 in cash stuffed in a box in his freezer.
Prosecutor Mark Lytle said the government had compiled evidence filling eight file cabinets and had extensive tape recordings. The prosecution’s case could take up to a month to present, he said.
Jefferson, who had been under investigation for more than two years, was re-elected last year. After his indictment, he resigned from the House Small Business Committee while maintaining his innocence.
Everybody’s innocent here.
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How embarrassing.
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