Alabama

Amid Bingo Bribery Scandal, Alabama Institutes Lobbying Reform

Ryan J. Reilly | December 28, 2010, 11:20AM

Gov. Bob Riley (R-AL)

The Alabama state legislature last week approved a package of ethics bills that supporters say will change state politics for the better amid the unfolding bingo legislation bribery scandal. But as the Birmingham News reports there's "disagreement on whether those changes are giant leaps or small steps."

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Allen Stanford

US Diplomats Avoided Allen Stanford Long Before His Arrest

Ryan J. Reilly | December 21, 2010, 12:01PM

Allen Stanford

Long before the feds got him, corrupt Texas financier Allen Stanford was persona non grata in the circles of U.S. diplomats, according to cables released by WikiLeaks, the Guardian reported.

Diplomats were so concerned about the rumors of "bribery, money-laundering and political manipulation" surrounding Stanford that they avoided contac with him or being photographed with him more than two years before his arrest by the FBI for allegedly bilking investors of $7 billion in a huge Ponzi scheme.

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Bell City Council Officials

Bell, CA Nearly Broke After Salary Inflation Scandal

Jillian Rayfield | December 21, 2010, 8:41AM

Bell, CA Officials George Cole, Robert Rizzo, Pier'Angela Spaccia, Victor Bello, George Mirabal, Teresa Jacobo, Oscar Hernandez, and Luis Artiga

The city of Bell, CA is nearly broke after city officials used public funds to inflate their salaries, and is now facing painful cuts to the city's budget, including possibly disbanding its police department and slashing other city services.

Some of the officials in this blue-collar Los Angeles-area city made up to $96,000 a year for part-time elected positions -- 20 times the national average for a city Bell's size. Former Bell City Administrator Robert Rizzo, who was charged with 53 different counts, made nearly $800,000 a year. Eight Bell officials pleaded not guilty to the charges in October.

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David Paterson

NY Gov Fined $62K Over Yankees World Series Tickets

Rachel Slajda | December 20, 2010, 1:03PM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

New York Gov. David Paterson has been fined $62,125 for accepting several 2009 World Series tickets from the New York Yankees.

The state Commission on Public Integrity announced today that it found that Paterson (D), who will finish his term at the end of the month, guilty of breaking state ethics law by accepting illegal gifts.

The commission also found that Paterson had lied to the commission about the tickets in February. It's a finding also made by an independent investigator appointed by the state attorney general's office, who said in August that Paterson could be charged with perjury. The case is now in the hands of the Albany County district attorney, who has not yet announced a decision about whether to charge Paterson.

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Detroit

Indictment: Kilpatrick Demanded Private Flights To Vegas For City Contracts

Rachel Slajda | December 17, 2010, 10:31AM

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

According to the federal racketeering indictment that came down Wednesday, former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick demanded a lot in exchange for a city contract. One of those things was, allegedly, all-expense-paid trips to swanky locales like Las Vegas via the private jets of city contractors.

In one case, according to the indictment, Kilpatrick had a couple of top aides inform the owner of a company that managed millions of Detroit pension funds that Kilpatrick wasn't happy the contractor had supported his opponent in the 2005 election. So the unnamed contractor allegedly flew Kilpatrick and five of the mayor's friends to Vegas for a golf trip in April 2007 -- a golf trip that included hotels, meals, limo service, concert tickets and massages -- to the tune of $16,000.

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Detroit

Kwame Tweet: 'Moral Responsibility May Compel You To Disobey The Law'

Rachel Slajda | December 16, 2010, 3:30PM

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick -- or, more likely, a family member -- is defending the mayor on Twitter after his federal indictment yesterday charging him with racketeering, bribery, extortion and fraud.

"Is disobedience of the government ever justified?" the @KwameAndFamily Twitter account asked yesterday.

A few hours later: "We must obey God rather than men."

This morning: "Moral responsibility may compel you to disobey the law."

TPM confirmed the authenticity of the Twitter account with Mike Paul, Kilpatrick's public relations man.

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Corruption

'Lol!' How Kwame Kilpatrick Allegedly Planned Mass Extortion

Rachel Slajda | December 16, 2010, 1:57PM

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

We just got through the 38-count federal indictment against former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and a handful of his cohorts, alleging that the group operated as a criminal organization that extorted tens of millions of dollars from city contractors. The indictment -- against Kilpatrick, his father, a city contractor named Bobby Ferguson and two former city officials -- is full of bits of conversations between the men, presumably via text message and punctuated with "Lol"s and "COOL!"s.

The indictment alleges extortion, bribery, racketeering, mail fraud and RICO conspiracy, a charge originally reserved for crime syndicates like the mafia. Kilpatrick and other city officials were allegedly in the habit of threatening to take away lucrative city contracts from firms unless they hired Ferguson at inflated rates and, in some cases, for no work at all.

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Kwame Kilpatrick

Feds Indict Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

Rachel Slajda | December 15, 2010, 3:52PM

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

According to local news reports, former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been indicted on federal corruption charges.

Kilpatrick was charged along with his father, Bernard Kilpatrick, and several other former city officials: city contractor Bobby Ferguson, former top Kilpatrick aide Derrick Miller and former water department chief Victor Mercado, according to the Free Press.

According to the Detroit News, the men are being charged under Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, a law usually used to prosecute mobsters and other perpetrators of organized crime.

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Alan Mendelsohn

Major Florida GOP Donor Pleaded Guilty In Fraud Scheme

Ryan J. Reilly | December 10, 2010, 11:32AM

Alan Mendelsohn

A Florida doctor who raised millions of dollars for Republicans and advised Gov. Charlie Crist pleaded guilty Thursday to tax fraud, mail fraud and making false statements for his role in a fraud scheme involving lobbying and fundraising for political candidates and organizations.

Alan Mendelsohn admitted that he and his co-conspirators siphoned approximately $330,000 from the political entities -- both directly in the form of third-party payments -- for Mendelsohn's benefit from 2003 through 2008, according to the Justice Department.

Some of that money was used to buy a love-nest for him and his mistress, as well as a car for the mistress, prosecutors had charged. Mendelsohn also admitted to failing to report $82,000 in political donations that he secretly gave to a former state senator. All in all, Mendelsohn underreported his taxable income by over $600,000, said DOJ.

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Leslie Johnson

Alleged Bra-Stuffer Sworn In As Councilwoman (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | December 7, 2010, 10:02AM

Leslie Johnson and Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson

Despite the federal indictment against her, Leslie Johnson was sworn into office on Monday in Prince George's County, Md. on a Bible held by her husband and alleged co-conspirator, Jack Johnson.

Leslie Johnson is accused of stuffing nearly $80,000 in cash in her bra and flushing a $100,000 check down the toilet as FBI agents knocked on the door in order to search her home as part of a corruption probe.

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