Free Republic

ST. LOUIS — A day before she clinched the nomination to fill a vacancy in the Missouri House of Representatives on Saturday, St. Louis Democrat Hope Whitehead paid a visit to City Hall. Not to mobilize supporters, but to pay hundreds of dollars in outstanding taxes.

A first-term congressman drew a salary from his campaign for office last fall, his office said. Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) pocketed about $15,000 in campaign funds, the Buffalo News reported Sunday, while his wife was paid $18,000 for her work as campaign treasurer. "Eric did draw a meager salary at the end of the 2008 campaign to cover expenses after campaigning full-time for four years," Massa's spokesman told the News. "There aren't many people who have spent more time or effort working for the privilege of serving the families of their congressional district's than Rep. Massa."

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The former Louisiana congressman who famously hid $90,000 cash in his freezer and was later convicted of federal bribery charges on Friday was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

The Democratic State Committee now admits paying for a robocall to Somerset County voters that slams Republican Chris Christie and promotes independent gubernatorial candidate Christopher Daggett. A Democratic spokeswoman says the party’s chairman, Joe Cryan, was not aware of the robocalls when he denied that the state committee had anything to do with them yesterday afternoon. Cryan, who told PolitickerNJ.com yesterday afternoon that the Democratic State Committee had “absolutely” nothing to do with the call, could not immediately be reached for comment. The call angered Republicans and further fueled conspiracy theories that Daggett is in cahoots with the Corzine camp....

A document from the House ethics committee lists an examination into whether the chamber's rules were violated when Rep. Linda T. Sanchez put three legislative aides to her fellow-congresswoman sister on her payroll after an embezzlement scheme had left Rep. Loretta Sanchez's office short of funds. The document, a July tracking report obtained by The Washington Post, says that the sisters, both California Democrats, "shared transferred staff from one office to another after embezzlement," and that a meeting between lawyers for the ethics committee and the congresswomen had taken place June 1. The document also says that lawyers for the...

Note: Notice how AP does not mention Larry Langford is a Democrat!TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - A federal jury convicted Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford on Wednesday on all charges of accepting bribes in exchange for funneling $7.1 million in bond business to a prominent investment banker. As a convicted felon, Langford was automatically removed from the office he won in a landslide in 2007. Jurors deliberated less than two hours before returning their sweeping verdict on all 60 counts. It came after six days of testimony in which they heard Langford accepted cash and luxury items worth some $236,000 while serving...

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA--Larry Langford, Birmingham's mayor and a former Jefferson County commissioner, has been found guilty in his federal bribery trial. Langford was found guilty of taking about $236,000 in cash and gifts from Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre. Both pleaded guilty in the case and testified they made cash payments to Langford while he was the president of the Jefferson County Commission to ensure business for Blount's investment bank, Blount Parrish & Co.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, today, finally got around to publishing a in-depth report regarding the Luzerne County youth court scandal. "How? Why?" they ask in the headline.

Jon Corzine this afternoon released records from his charitable foundation, including details on more than $3 million donations made last year. Corzine spread his wealth around the state and beyond, including contributions to organizations connected to Newark power broker Steve Adubato and his son. The North Ward Center, founded by Adubato, received $15,000, on top of the more than $1 million Corzine has given the organization in the last 10 years. Caucus Educational Corp. run by Adubato's son, television personality Steve Adubato Jr. received $1,000. The foundation's finances returned to the headlines this week after The Star-Ledger reported that Corzine...

Two undercover videographers released another videotape Wednesday of their interaction with an ACORN worker, contending that it reveals help they received from the community group's Philadelphia office when they posed as a pimp and a prostitute seeking a home. Unlike previous videotapes, the heavily edited footage includes audio of the two conservatives but none of the ACORN Housing Corp. worker's responses to their questions. But James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles said the tape rebuts statements by an ACORN official that a worker from its housing affiliate, Katherine Conway-Russell, had quickly kicked them out. "ACORN has lied every step of the...

Ala. Mayor Accused Of Taking Rolex, Bribes Jury selection to begin in corruption trial against Mayor Larry Langford BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Mayor Larry Langford, who could be tossed out of office and go to prison if convicted of federal bribery charges, recently offered some advice to a new Birmingham City Council member. "The illusion of power is the most dangerous drug on the planet," Langford said. "A little bit of power — nothing intoxicates like it." Last week's comment may sound a lot like the government's opening argument against Langford, 61, the most recent in a long line of prominent...

GOP Thwarted; Rangel Escapes With His JobBut Damage Is Done To Congressman As Dems Powerless To Stop Laundry List Of Allegations Made For 30 Minutes Rep. Carter Lays Into Democrats Over Double Standard On Tax Charges Reporting Marcia Kramer Oct 7, 2009 5:19 pm US/Eastern WASHINGTON (CBS) - It was a showdown in Congress. Business came to a standstill on Wednesday as House Democrats and Republicans battled it out over whether to remove embattled Congressman Charles Rangel from his post of a powerful tax committee. Rangel is the fourth most senior member of the House, so it must have been...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Herman Thomas was a rising star in Alabama politics with an enviable track record at the polls: a black Democrat who kept getting elected in a county overwhelmingly white and increasingly Republican. He seemed to have it all. Respect as a circuit judge and at one time the Democratic Party's choice to be the first black federal judge in south Alabama. Then his career on the bench collapsed -- first under allegations that he was bringing inmates into his office and spanking them with a paddle, then with an indictment that accuses him of having sex with...

Americans expect to show a photo ID when they board a plane, enter many office buildings, cash a check or even rent a video -- but rarely in voting or applying for government benefits such as Medicaid. Many Democrats seem to view asking citizens for proof of identity as an invasion of privacy -- though what's really being protected is the right to commit identity fraud. Exhibit A is Tuesday's 13 to 10 party-line vote in the Senate Finance Committee rejecting a proposal to require that immigrants prove their identity when signing up for federal health care programs. Chuck Grassley,...

Focus on Rangel, a Chairman Under InvestigationBy CARL HULSE Published: October 2, 2009 WASHINGTON — Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York is increasingly in the spotlight these days and not just because he is in the thick of the health care debate as chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. Just as the health care fight heads to the floors of the House and Senate, Republicans are intensifying efforts to make Mr. Rangel a symbol of Democratic misconduct and institutional arrogance because of his belated disclosure of personal assets and other financial missteps. Despite some unease, Democrats say...

For the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has publicly admitted that politics has trumped science. The agency acknowledged yesterday that it approved a device to help with knee-replacement surgeries—a device the agency’s own scientists said often failed—only after it received pressure from a cohort of Democratic congressmen from New Jersey, where the device’s manufacturer is located. The $3000 device was known as the Menaflex, a “collagen scaffold” that supported a damaged meniscus in the knee. It failed its initial reviews but received approval in December of last year anyway, during the waning days of the Bush Administration....

The chief of staff to D.C. Councilman Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) was arrested on bribery charges Thursday morning, according to law enforcement sources. Ted G. Loza, 44, was taken into custody at his home in the 1400 block of Columbia Road NW and is scheduled to make an appearance Thursday in the District's federal court. A dozen federal agents raided Loza's offices at city hall just hours after arresting him. The charges stem from alleged bribes Loza took from an unidentified person in the taxi cab industry, court papers show.

Federal prosecutors and the FBI have scheduled a press conference for noon today to announce the results of an investigation into corruption in South Florida, but details and reports of arrests are already making their way onto the Web. Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion Jr. and former Miramar Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman were both arrested early this morning by FBI agents.

It now looks very much like there was a lot more truth to the criticisms about ACORN—the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now—than its leadership, its allies on Capitol Hill and its supporters in the media were willing to acknowledge.... This latest round of problems for ACORN may be the best documented, but they are not the first nor, for that matter, are they the most serious. A report issued last summer by the Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, according to Sunday's Washington Times, "presented evidence that ACORN had engaged in criminal misconduct." Among the...

RALEIGH, N.C. — State Rep. Ty Harrell, D-Wake, who is under investigation over campaign expenditures, has resigned, according to Bill Holmes, a spokesman for House Speaker Joe Hackney. "With the recent turbulence in my personal life and continued speculation about my campaign expenditures, I do not feel that I can provide the high standard of representation that my constituents expect and deserve," Harrell said in his resignation letter submitted to Hackney on Sunday. Harrell's spending in recent months has been called into question. Harrell and his wife have also separated amidst allegations he has engaged in extramarital affairs, according to...

A Democratic legislator from Orlando tried to get $50,000 in state funding for the controversial group ACORN in the 2007 legislative session, the same time his wife was working as a lobbyist for the organization, records show. Rep. Scott Randolph was seeking money for the Central Florida ACORN Institute Financial Justice Center, which provides tax preparation services for the poor.

MISSION – Embattled state Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election to an eighth term in 2010. Citing recent indictments handed down against him, the legislator said in a statement that he must concentrate on clearing his name and spending time with his family. “I worked effectively, fought hard and delivered for South Texas,” he said. “I will not apologize for standing up for our region.” In July, a Travis County grand jury charged Flores with 16 counts of tampering with government documents and three counts of perjury, alleging he hid more than $847,000 in...

A judge has ruled that a former Pennsylvania legislative power broker and his one-time aide should stand trial on corruption charges. Harrisburg District Judge William Wenner's ruling Friday was a serious setback for Mike Veon, the former Democratic House whip, and co-defendant Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink. A previous judge had dismissed the charges but prosecutors refiled some of them. In the current charges, prosecutors allege that Veon and Perretta-Rosepink illegally diverted millions of taxpayer dollars through a nonprofit that Veon controlled — the Beaver Initiative for Growth — to hire consultants who did little or no work, rented office space that the...

Harlem Congressman Gave Campaign Contributions To 3 Dems On Ethics Committee Charged With Investigating Him

Yet another Democrat tax cheat, this time Charles Rangel, is reeling under an investigation from the IRS. Amazingly, Rangel has suddenly "found" nearly a million dollars in assets that somehow escaped his attention when he originally filed his tax return. Of course, like virtually every left-wing crook, from Timothy Geithner, to Barney Frank, to Sandy Berger, there will almost certainly be zero accountability for Mr. Rangel. Meanwhile, any Republican who is even accused of anything, no matter how blatantly erroneous, is railroaded out of office with non-stop

A 24-year-old arrested this morning on suspicion of smashing 11 windows at Colorado Democratic Party headquarters tried to conceal his identity while allegedly committing the crime, according to police descriptions. Maurice Schwenkler wore a shirt over his face, a hooded sweat shirt and latex gloves before he and another man fled the scene on bicycles, police said. Schwenkler was apprehended after a short chase. The other suspect remains at large. While Schwenkler does not appear in the state's voter registration database, a person by that name in November 2008 received $500 from a political 527 committee called Colorado Citizens Coalition...

NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. attorney in New York on Tuesday charged a New York investor and major Democratic fund-raiser with a $74 million scheme to defraud Citigroup Inc (C.N). Hassan Nemazee, 59, was charged with one count of bank fraud, and faces up to 30 years in prison plus a fine. His lawyer Marc Mukasey, a former federal prosecutor, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Nemazee was a national finance chair of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, and a supporter of John Kerry's run for the White House in 2004....

Former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, Democratic Party consultant Armando Gutierrez and lobbyists Elizabeth and Joseph Carl Kupfer were indicted Wednesday on 50 counts each of conspiracy, fraud, embezzlement, money laundering over $100,000 and other charges for alleged acts occurring from 2004 through 2006. The four, who are named in separate indictments filed Wednesday afternoon in Bernalillo County District court, also are charged with making or permitting false public vouchers, making or taking kickbacks and tampering with evidence.

TRENTON—Former New Jersey State Senator Wayne R. Bryant was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison today for unlawfully using his power and influence to obtain a paid, low-show job at UMDNJ’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in exchange for lobbying and bringing millions of dollars in extra funding to the school, and using that job and others to fraudulently nearly triple his state pension, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr., announced. Bryant’s co-defendant, former dean of the School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM) in Stratford, R. Michael Gallagher, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his convictions for capitalizing...

N.J. politicians, rabbis arrested in federal money laundering sweep.

HOUSTON — A former Houston congressman accused of firing a gun at two teens in a car avoided going to trial Monday after working out a deal with prosecutors that would result in the charge against him being dropped at a later date. Craig Washington agreed to settle his case through something known as pretrial diversion, which is similar to probation but does not involve him having to change his not guilty plea. Under pretrial diversion, the case is postponed for two years and if he meets conditions set by the court, including finishing 60 hours of community service, the...

WATERLOO - On Friday the Republican Party of Iowa called for Democratic Waterloo Representative Kerry Burt to resign. Just one day after the state released a study saying Burt lied about his address in order to pay less for his kids' private school tuition, opponents say he shouldn't be representing the people of Waterloo at the Capitol. Burt's home address is listed int he state's on-line directory, as 150 Hawthorne Ave, Waterloo. But his kids go to a prestigious school in Cedar Falls, and because he doesn't live in the district, he is supposed to pay a fee. However, the...

RALEIGH - The prosecution of former state House Speaker Jim Black wound to a close Thursday, when he received the minimum 11- to 14- month state sentence for bribery after having paid a $1 million fine. But Black, who is already serving a 63-month sentence in federal prison, will serve his state sentence concurrently and will therefore likely not spend any additional time in a prison cell. "He is an old man who is sick and who will stay in prison, perhaps the rest of his life," said Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens, in explaining his leniency. "I...

Miguel Martinez, a member of the New York City Council whose once-promising political career ended when he abruptly resigned this week, pleaded guilty Thursday morning to three felony counts involving the misuse of public money intended for nonprofit organizations. Each of the charges carries up to a maximum of 20 years in prison, but under a plea agreement with the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan, prosecutors have recommended that he serve 51 to 72 months. The sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 31.

PHILADELPHIA – A federal judge has sentenced former Pennsylvania Sen. Vince Fumo to 55 months in prison for corruption convictions. Federal prosecutors say the wealthy Fumo stole not because he needed money but because "he was drunk with power." They had sought a sentence of more than 15 years. U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter departed down from the guideline range of about 10 to 20 years, citing Fumo's public service. Fumo also must pay about $2 million in restitution.

LISTS IRISH HIDEAWAY'S WORTH AS MERE $638G Sen Dodd (D-Conn) may have low-balled value of Ireland vacation property. Dodd's financial disclosures claim $638,000 for his 3-bedroom cottage on 10 acres with breathtaking views of the Atlantic......Dodd's next-door neighbor was selling for $1.2M. "Dodd continues to mislead about the property's value," charged DC-based ethics watchdog, Judicial Watch. Dodd purchased 1/3 interest for $160,000 with William Kessinger, Kansas, who was a business partner of disgraced Bear Stearns principal Edward Downe Jr, Dodd's longtime friend. Downe pleaded guilty to insider trading and securities fraud in 1993 but was pardoned, at Dodd's urging, by...

INDIANAPOLIS -- A former state representative and once Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor told Indianapolis police that he was immune from arrest during an alleged drunken incident outside a gas station downtown early Friday morning. Dennie Oxley, 38, of Taswell, Ind., was with a 21-year-old female Indiana House intern in the parking lot of the Citgo gas station in the 400 block of East Ohio Street after 1 a.m., 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.

Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers appeared in Federal Court to plead guilty to felony charges that could put her behind bars for up to 5 years. Documents say she knowingly conspired to accept bribes or things of value while an agent of the City of Detroit. She also faces fines of up to $200,000. Action News has obtained the court documents that charge Conyers with 'Conspiracy to Commit Bribery Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds.' A cloud of suspicion has lingered over the councilwoman, concerning her role in the Synagro Sludge scandal. Charging documents from the U.S. Attorney's office allege she...

LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that former New York State Assemblyman ANTHONY SEMINERIO pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to defrauding the public of his honest services. SEMINERIO, who represented New York's 38th Assembly district in Queens until his resignation yesterday, admitted to using a consulting firm he controlled to receive corrupt payments from various entities with business before the State of New York. SEMINERIO entered his guilty plea to the charge contained in a one-count Superseding Indictment before United States District Judge NAOMI REICE BUCHWALD. According to...

The Chicago Sun Times has a story today that raises some serious questions about how Senator Dick Durbin used information he learned during the course of his Senatorial duties. As U.S. stock markets plummeted last September, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin, sold more than $115,000 worth of stocks and mutual-fund shares and used much of the money to invest in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The Illinois senator's 2008 financial disclosure statement shows he sold mutual-fund shares worth $42,696 on Sept. 19, the day after then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged congressional leaders...

The chairman of the Chicago City Council's police and fire committee pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that he accepted home repairs worth $40,000 plus campaign money and sports tickets in exchange for fixing a zoning case. Alderman Isaac Carothers, 29th Ward, appeared briefly before U.S. Magistrate Judge Morton Denlow on Monday and was ordered freed on a $4,500 unsecured bond. Authorities allege that developer Calvin Boender paid the bribes. He's also pleaded not guilty and was freed on a $3 million bond secured by real estate. Carothers was indicted May 28. At the center of the indictment is Galewood...

It's been a little while since we had a good "Name that Party" story, but leave it to corruption plagued Democrats and their willing accomplices in the Old Media to always find some time in their busy schedules to give us an opportunity to play our favorite game. This time it is a former Speaker of the House in Massachusetts who, along with a cadre of his pals, was indicted on corruption charges. Naturally, the party affiliation is mysteriously absent from many of the stories. It seems that ex-Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, who resigned from the House back in January...

Seeking to head off Republicans, Democratic leaders on Wednesday pushed through a resolution requiring the House ethics committee to disclose what actions it has taken in responding to the controversy over the PMA Group, a once prominent lobbying firm now at the center of a Justice Department criminal probe. The largely partisan vote was 270-134, with 17 members, including members of the ethics committee, voting “present.” Led by Rep. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), have been calling for a PMA investigation by the ethics committee for months, but Democrats have resisted, arguing that it is not necessary and just an attempt by...

A prominent New Mexico Republican complained Thursday about a sendoff party for Manny Aragon, a former Democratic legislative leader who reports to federal prison next week. Pat Rogers, a New Mexico member of the Republican National Committee, said it was inappropriate to throw a party for Aragon, who faces a 5 1/2-year prison term after pleading guilty in an Albuquerque courthouse fraud scandal. "It makes me sick," said Rogers, an Albuquerque attorney. "I can't believe there are people who are so stupid, brazen or whatever ... who would go to a party for a person who epitomizes corruption."

Chuck Brimmer has resigned as chief of staff to Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.) after being served with a subpoena as part of the federal grand jury probe of the PMA Group, a now-defunct lobbying firm. The news came as Visclosky announced Tuesday that he is handing off control of the energy and water spending bill while the federal inquiry proceeds. Visclosky spokesman Jacob Ritvo confirmed that Brimmer “has retired,” citing “respect for the process” in declining to comment further. Visclosky on Friday announced that some staffers — and his Congressional and campaign offices — had been subpoenaed in the probe....

New Orleans Black Leaders Accuse Letten of Racism in Indictmentsby Christopher Tidmore With the indictment of former New Orleans City Councilwoman Renee Gill Pratt's on racketeering and money laundering charges, murmurs of discontent with U.S. Attorney Jim Letten have begun to emerge from several quarters in the local black community. The accusation that the region’s senior prosecutor has disproportionately pursued corruption allegations in the African-American community continues to be levied. When Senator Mary Landrieu recommended the reappointment of Letten, a career prosecutor but also a GOP appointee of President George W. Bush, Danatus King, president of the New Orleans Branch...

WASHINGTON -- A former executive assistant to California Rep. Loretta Sanchez has pleaded guilty to stealing from office funds. Caroline Valdez admitted in federal court Monday that she used Sanchez's House credit card to buy airline tickets for herself and a family member and get pizza and groceries delivered.

A source close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now confirms that Pelosi was told in February 2003 by her intelligence aide, Michael Sheehy, that waterboarding was actually used on CIA detainee Abu Zubaydah. ... This appears to contradict Pelosi's account that she was never told waterboarding actually happened, only that the administration was considering using it.... Some Republicans have called for Pelosi to testify at congressional hearings. The number two House Democrat -- Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland -- said Tuesday, "I think the facts need to get out" regarding what members of Congress had been told about harsh interrogations....

WASHINGTON – House Democrats on Tuesday stopped a Republican plan to force a campaign finance inquiry that likely would have investigated several influential Democrats. It was the eighth time since late February that the Republican move was halted. One of the biggest recipients has been the chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee, Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania. The vote was 215-182 to stop consideration of a GOP resolution to initiate a House ethics committee inquiry. It called for an investigation into campaign contributions to House lawmakers by recipients of pet project money and their lobbyists.

MAY 9, 2009 More Acorn Voter Fraud Comes to Light Congressional Democrats still want the group to be eligible for federal money. By JOHN FUND Democrats are split on how to deal with Acorn, the liberal "community organizing" group that deployed thousands of get-out-the-vote workers last election. State and city Democratic officials -- who've been contending with its many scandals -- are moving against it. Washington Democrats are still sweeping Acorn abuses under a rug. On Monday, Nevada officials charged Acorn, its regional director and its Las Vegas field director with submitting thousands of fraudulent voter registration forms last year....