William Jennings Jefferson is an American former politician from Louisiana whose career ended after his corruption scandal and conviction. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for nine terms from 1991 to 2009 as a member of the Democratic Party. He represented Louisiana's 2nd congressional district,which includes much of the greater New Orleans area. He was elected as the state's first black congressman since the end of Reconstruction.
Chaka Fattah is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House for Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 2016. The district included portions of North Philadelphia,South Philadelphia,and West Philadelphia along with Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County. He previously served in the Pennsylvania Senate and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Michael Joseph "Ozzie" Myers is an American politician and convicted felon who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1976 to 1980. A member of the Democratic Party,Myers became involved in the Abscam scandal during his tenure in Congress and was expelled from the House after being caught taking bribes in a sting operation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He spent three years in federal prison. In 2020,he was accused of stuffing ballot boxes in Philadelphia elections during the 2010s,and charged with election fraud. He pleaded guilty in 2022 and was sentenced to 2.5 years in federal prison.
H. William DeWeese is an American politician who is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party,DeWeese served as the 135th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House from 1993 to 1994. After five years of investigation by Republican State Attorney General Tom Corbett,he was indicted in December 2009 on six charges of conflict of interest,theft and criminal conspiracy on accusations that two members of his staff used state resources to campaign for political office. The trial began January 23,2010. He was re-elected in 2010 despite the charges,but was convicted of five of the six felony charges on February 6,2012.
The Speech or Debate Clause is a clause in the United States Constitution. The clause states that "The Senators and Representatives" of Congress "shall in all Cases,except Treason,Felony,and Breach of the Peace,be privileged from Arrest during their attendance at the Session of their Respective Houses,and in going to and from the same;and for any Speech or Debate in either House,they shall not be questioned in any other Place."
The Alaska political corruption probe refers to a 2003 to 2010 widespread investigation by the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice,the Federal Bureau of Investigation,and the Internal Revenue Service into political corruption of nine then-current or former Alaskan state lawmakers,as well as Republican US Representative Don Young and then-US Senator,Republican Ted Stevens. Sometimes referred to as "The Corrupt Bastards Club" or the "Operation Polar Pen",the investigation focused on the oil industry,fisheries and for-profit prison industries.
Mark B. Cohen is a Democratic politician from Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. He represented District 202 in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from June 10,1974,until his defeat for reelection in the Democratic primary in 2016.
Thomas Milton Street Sr. was an American businessman,a Pennsylvania state senator from Philadelphia,and the brother of former Philadelphia mayor John F. Street. Originally a street hot dog vendor,he rose to prominence as an activist challenging the city's vending and housing ordinances.
In 2007,Pennsylvania Attorney General Republican Tom Corbett began investigating $3.8 million in public bonuses which were paid to state legislative staffers in the Pennsylvania General Assembly to work on party politics and campaigns. While the bonuses themselves are not illegal,state law forbids state employees from performing campaign work while on the job and forbids payment for campaign work out of taxpayer funds.
Harold James was a Democratic politician,and member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Before his election to the House of Representatives,James served as a police officer.
R. Tracy Seyfert is a former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives,representing the 5th District from 1997 through her resignation in 2000.
Vanessa Lowery Brown is a former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 190th District. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus. In 2018 she was convicted on seven charges related to a bribery case,six of which were felonies. She was sentenced to 23 months probation for her crimes. In 2023,Brown became employed in the office of the Philadelphia Register of Wills.
The "kids for cash" scandal centered on judicial kickbacks to two judges at the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in Wilkes-Barre,Pennsylvania,US. In 2008,judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella were convicted of accepting money in return for imposing harsh adjudications on juveniles to increase occupancy at a private prison operated by PA Child Care.
The corruption case against then Louisiana Representative William J. Jefferson in the United States started on a suspicion of bribery. The FBI raided his Congressional offices in May 2006. He was re-elected to his seat in the fall. On June 4,2007,a federal grand jury indicted Jefferson on sixteen charges related to corruption. Jefferson was defeated by Republican Joseph Cao on December 6,2008,and was the most senior Democratic incumbent to lose re-election that year. In 2009 he was tried in the US District Court in Virginia on corruption charges. On August 5,2009,he was found guilty of 11 of the 16 corruption counts. Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years on November 13,2009 - the longest sentence ever given to a representative for bribery or any charge.
Mike Berlon is the former Chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia. He served from early 2011 until June 9,2013,when he resigned following accusations of professional misconduct. On February 25,2015 Berlon pleaded guilty to one charge of wire fraud in Federal court.
David M. Nangle is an American state legislator and convicted felon who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1999 to 2020. He is a Lowell resident and a member of the Democratic Party. While a member of the House,he served as the chair of the House Ethics committee. In February 2021,Nangle pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud,bank fraud,making false statements to a bank,and filing false tax returns and was sentenced to 15 months in prison and two years of supervised release. He was released from federal custody on November 10,2022.
Mary Gay Scanlon is an American attorney and politician. A member of the Democratic Party,she has represented Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. The district is based in Delaware County,a mostly suburban county west of Philadelphia,and also includes parts of South and Southwest Philadelphia and slivers of Chester and Montgomery counties. Scanlon spent the final two months of 2018 as the member for Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district. She was elected to both positions on November 6,2018. That day,she ran in a special election in the old 7th to serve out the term of her predecessor,Pat Meehan,and in a regular election for a full two-year term in the new 5th. She was sworn in as the member for the 7th on November 13,2018,and transferred to the 5th on January 3,2019.
