Big Nigerian Scam Operator Busted

US Representative William Jefferson

No, I'm not talking about the widow of the late Nigerian Army Colonel Obumbo who has $30 million in a secret bank account and needs your bank routing numbers to get it to America. No handsome share of the loot will be forthcoming to anyone scammed by Louisiana Representative William "Cool Cash" Jefferson. The bum was finally indicted for a raft of crimes far worse than the Nigerian e-mail scams:

The indictment handed up in federal court in Alexandria., Va., Monday is 94 pages long and lists 16 alleged violations of federal law that could keep Jefferson in prison for up to 235 years. He is charged with racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money-laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Jefferson is accused of soliciting bribes for himself and his family, and also for bribing a Nigerian official.

Almost two years ago, in August 2005, investigators raided Jefferson's home in Louisiana and found $90,000 in cash stuffed into a box in his freezer.
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The impact of the case has stretched across continents and even roiled presidential politics in Nigeria. According to court records, Jefferson told associates that he needed cash to pay bribes to the country's vice president, Atiku Abubakar.

Abubakar denied the allegations, which figured prominently in that country's presidential elections in April. Abubakar ran for the presidency and finished third.

The indictment does not name Abubakar. But it describes Jefferson's dealings with an unnamed "Nigerian Official A" who was a high-ranking official in Nigeria's executive branch who had a spouse in Potomac, Md. One of Abubakar's wives lived in that Washington suburb.

Court records indicate that Jefferson was videotape taking a $100,000 cash bribe from an FBI informant. Most of that money later turned up in a freezer in Jefferson's home.

Of course, as his friends will point out, an indictment isn't a conviction. The poor chump still claims he is innocent. He just likes to keep his money in the freezer. Its a free country, ain't it?

Cop a Laugh

We've grown up

Michelle Malkin says: "go read the whole thing for your Sunday morning snort-starter." From the LA Times: There's not a lot of love in the Haight.

Tagged

The old feeder has been Tagged by Stephanie at come what may. The object of the game is to blog “8 Random Facts About Myself”. Here are the rules:

• I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
• Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
• People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
• At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
• Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

This is like a form of mild torture, but here are my eight random facts about myself:

1. I junk up my living quarters. I fail to dust the junk. Just ask my ex-wives.

2. I love paella. I once bought a half kilo of saffron and smuggled it back to the States.

3. I enjoy bullfights. I don't get to see them any more, but its the only thing that would get me into a stadium. Sorry Big Red; not enough blood and death.

4. I have been looking for one of these for 40 years. It was my Dad's favorite pencil holder. I borrowed it and broke it. Now I can't replace it.

5. Dr. Strangelove is my favorite movie. Stanley Kubrick, while personally an idiot, made great movies. Having grown up in fear of The Bomb, Dr. Strangelove hits close to home.

6. I like the rustic life. Somehow I developed a notion that hardship would toughen me up. The water from the well pictured here would either toughen you up or make you sick. I'm still here.

7. I have been known to like some forms of city living. Madrid and Izmir are OK cities, at least they were 'way back when I was there.

8. The old feeder wore his hair long when he had hair. The fascination with pistols began when the little feeder found a .45 under the seat of a car belonging to one of his maternal uncles.

There you have it. Eight random facts about myself. I don't think I'll be able to come up with eight bloggers to tag with this task. Any volunteers?