Witness: US Rep's bribes hidden as consulting fees
By MATTHEW BARAKAT – 2 hours ago
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A Kentucky businessman testified Wednesday he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in "consulting fees" to the wife of a former Louisiana congressman that were nothing but thinly veiled bribes.
Vernon Jackson, who ran a Louisville telecommunications firm called iGate Inc., was the first witness to testify in the bribery trial of William Jefferson, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans until losing his re-election bid last year.
Jackson is also one of the trial's most important witnesses. Out of numerous bribery schemes that prosecutors allege Jefferson orchestrated, the one involving Jackson was the most advanced and involved the largest payments.
Jefferson has pleaded not guilty to soliciting bribes, racketeering, money laundering and other crimes. In opening statements, defense lawyer Robert Trout told the jury that some of Jefferson's deals might be considered unethical, but are not illegal under federal bribery laws.
Jackson pleaded guilty in 2006 to paying more than $400,000 in bribes to Jefferson and was sentenced to more than seven years in prison. He stands to receive a reduction in his sentence in exchange for his testimony against Jefferson.
Testifying in a green prison jumpsuit, Jackson told jurors that his relationship with Jefferson began legitimately. Jackson felt he needed some public officials on his side as he sought Army contracts for a technology he invented that purported to move data over copper transmission lines at speeds that rival more advanced fiber optic lines.
Jackson, who is black, felt that Jefferson — a member of the Congressional Black Caucus with a reputation for promoting African-American business ventures — could help him.
Indeed, Jackson testified that Jefferson set up a meeting with Army officials attended by two other members of Congress, in which the Army agreed to test Jackson's technology with an eye toward purchasing it.
After that meeting, though, Jefferson told Jackson that he could not continue to devote as much time to iGate unless Jackson agreed to hire a business consultant. And Jefferson had a specific consultant in mind: his wife Andrea.
"It sent up a red flag for me," Jackson testified, but he was assured by Jefferson that the arrangement was legitimate.
Jackson agreed to pay $90,000 a year in consulting fees to Andrea Jefferson's company, the ANJ Group. He later agreed to give ANJ group a stake in iGate and a percentage of certain profits.
Andrea Jefferson, though, never did anything for iGate, Jackson said. All the work was done by William Jefferson.
"I was paying him to use his office on behalf of iGate," Jackson said.
Jefferson helped iGate secure a contract from a Nigerian company called Netlink Digital Television (NDTV), which paid iGate $6.5 million.
But the deal soon soured, and NDTV wanted its money back. In 2004, NDTV threatened to expose what it saw as Jefferson's corrupt involvement in the deal.
"The information we have would make interesting reading in Washington," NDTV's lawyers wrote in one letter shown to the jury.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gAhJ_ijKsVNeqkiH39KhnCUNj-fQD98SMS280
LOL
This happened in 2005 and only took 4 years to get him to court. If he had been a Republican, he would already be in prison.
By MATTHEW BARAKAT – 2 hours ago
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A Kentucky businessman testified Wednesday he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in "consulting fees" to the wife of a former Louisiana congressman that were nothing but thinly veiled bribes.
Vernon Jackson, who ran a Louisville telecommunications firm called iGate Inc., was the first witness to testify in the bribery trial of William Jefferson, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans until losing his re-election bid last year.
Jackson is also one of the trial's most important witnesses. Out of numerous bribery schemes that prosecutors allege Jefferson orchestrated, the one involving Jackson was the most advanced and involved the largest payments.
Jefferson has pleaded not guilty to soliciting bribes, racketeering, money laundering and other crimes. In opening statements, defense lawyer Robert Trout told the jury that some of Jefferson's deals might be considered unethical, but are not illegal under federal bribery laws.
Jackson pleaded guilty in 2006 to paying more than $400,000 in bribes to Jefferson and was sentenced to more than seven years in prison. He stands to receive a reduction in his sentence in exchange for his testimony against Jefferson.
Testifying in a green prison jumpsuit, Jackson told jurors that his relationship with Jefferson began legitimately. Jackson felt he needed some public officials on his side as he sought Army contracts for a technology he invented that purported to move data over copper transmission lines at speeds that rival more advanced fiber optic lines.
Jackson, who is black, felt that Jefferson — a member of the Congressional Black Caucus with a reputation for promoting African-American business ventures — could help him.
Indeed, Jackson testified that Jefferson set up a meeting with Army officials attended by two other members of Congress, in which the Army agreed to test Jackson's technology with an eye toward purchasing it.
After that meeting, though, Jefferson told Jackson that he could not continue to devote as much time to iGate unless Jackson agreed to hire a business consultant. And Jefferson had a specific consultant in mind: his wife Andrea.
"It sent up a red flag for me," Jackson testified, but he was assured by Jefferson that the arrangement was legitimate.
Jackson agreed to pay $90,000 a year in consulting fees to Andrea Jefferson's company, the ANJ Group. He later agreed to give ANJ group a stake in iGate and a percentage of certain profits.
Andrea Jefferson, though, never did anything for iGate, Jackson said. All the work was done by William Jefferson.
"I was paying him to use his office on behalf of iGate," Jackson said.
Jefferson helped iGate secure a contract from a Nigerian company called Netlink Digital Television (NDTV), which paid iGate $6.5 million.
But the deal soon soured, and NDTV wanted its money back. In 2004, NDTV threatened to expose what it saw as Jefferson's corrupt involvement in the deal.
"The information we have would make interesting reading in Washington," NDTV's lawyers wrote in one letter shown to the jury.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gAhJ_ijKsVNeqkiH39KhnCUNj-fQD98SMS280
LOL
This happened in 2005 and only took 4 years to get him to court. If he had been a Republican, he would already be in prison.
