You will ultimately pay the price
A Federal jury convicted Former Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson (LA-02) on 11 counts of taking bribes. Remember Jefferson's freezer was raided by the FBI in which nearly 100k was found. Jefferson had continued to serve in Congress even after the allegations were made and his freezer was raided.
Last year, voters in LA-02 decided to put corruption and old school politics to rest and elected Republican Joseph "Anh" Cao in a Democratic district with a +28 PVI.
Jefferson was accused of using his congressional clout between 2001 and 2005 to solicit and receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes for himself and his family in exchange for promoting products and services in Africa, especially Nigeria, and elsewhere.
The information on the cash discovered in Jefferson's Washington home in August 2005 was revealed in an affidavit used to obtain a warrant to search Jefferson's office in May 2006. Descriptions from the heavily redacted affidavit and pictures of the open freezer show bills wrapped in foil and tucked into frozen food containers, including a box for pie crusts and another for veggie burgers.
FBI agents told a judge the money was part of a $100,000 payment delivered by an informant in the bribery investigation, which led to guilty pleas by a Kentucky businessman and a former Jefferson aide.
Jefferson, who graduated from Harvard Law School, represented Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District, which includes most of the New Orleans area. He held office for 18 years, or nine terms, before he lost his House seat in the December 2008 election.
As a representative, he served on the House Ways and Means Committee's subcommittee on trade and on the Budget Committee, and he co-chaired the caucus on Africa Trade and Investment as well as the caucus on Nigeria.
Corruption runs throughout politics at all levels. The conviction of a once powerful Congressman should serve a reminder that while power of public office is intoxicating that you will eventually get caught. As voters we can do better than the Bill Jeffersons that still exist in both the Democratic and Republican party.