Political Corruption, Ongoing Scourge
A Problem As Old As The Hills
Mark Twain, no lover of politicians, once said that “politicians are like diapers, both need to be changed often and for the same reasons.” The great social critic also said that “There is no distinctly American criminal class except Congress,” and that “Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a Congressman can.”Twain could have been speaking today and would have plenty of fodder for his commentary.
Political corruption is as American as apple pie and the latest tarnished lawmaker is a nine-term, Republican congressman from Nebraska who lied to the FBI about campaign contributions from a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire who has ties with Bill and Hilary Clinton.
Through the years, the ignominious actions of politicians have ranged from bribery to sex offenses to illegal cockfighting and discharging 3.5 million gallons of raw sewage into a Pennsylvania creek and much, much more, with no end in sight.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., was found guilty by a federal jury of three felonies for lying to and misleading the FBI about his knowledge of campaign donations made with funds from a foreign national. Fortenberry faces a possible prison sentence of up to five years on each count, as well as fines. Fortenberry was indicted last October, leading ex-president trump to complain “”Is there no justice in our Country?”
“Isn’t it terrible that a Republican Congressman from Nebraska just got indicted for possibly telling some lies to investigators about campaign contributions, when half of the United States Congress lied about made up scams,” trump said in a statement, complaining that his political foes were not charged for “lying” about his ties to Russia.
Fortenberry gained trump’s favor as one of 126 Republican members of Congress to sign an amicus brief in December 2020 in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the U.S. Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing to challenge the results of an election held by another state.
Fortenberry said he didn’t know that Gilbert Chagoury, a wealthy Lebanese-Nigerian businessman who lives in France, donated about $30,000 to his campaign through intermediaries at a 2016 fundraiser in Glendale, Calif. Fortenberry’s lawyer claimed the congressman might have been distracted or had a poor phone connection when the organizer of the fundraiser, Elias Ayoub, told him about the source of the funds in a 2018 phone call. Authorities said that Chagoury and a number of straw donors were lobbying Fortenberry on behalf of Christian minorities in the Middle East. Chagoury also has been denied a U.S. visa for his suspected support of Hezbollah, which the United States deems a terrorism group.
In addition to the payment to Fortenberry, Chagoury, who is not a U.S. citizen, admitted to donating $180,000 to several U.S. candidates and agreed to pay a $1.8 million penalty. As a foreign national, Chagoury is barred from making contributions to political groups or campaigns to influence U.S. elections. He admitted to having routed the money to the campaign committees of four U.S. candidates through straw donors over the course of three election cycles. The Justice Department did not identify the donors and candidates by name but published reports show that the amounts in court records match Federal Election Commission contribution records for the joint fundraising committee supporting the 2012 presidential bid of Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, as well as the campaigns of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb. and former Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb.
Chagoury served as an ambassador and adviser to governments in Africa and the Americas, was ambassador to the Vatican for St. Lucia, economic adviser to President Mathieu Kérékou of Benin, and ambassador to UNESCO. He also was a close associate of Nigerian dictator, General Sani Abacha, who helped Chagoury’s business interests in the country.
Chagoury has been a supporter of Bill and Hillary Clinton since the 1990s. He has funded their election campaigns and is a major donor to the Clinton Foundation.
To be fair, Fortenberry is hardly the worst as he joins a long rogues list of political scalawags, rascals, rifraff, perverts and gangsters. Corruption and scandal have many faces and they’ve all shown themselves through the years. From 2010 to 2019, Pennsylvania had 23 state officials charged with various offenses, leading the nation; and followed by New York with 18, South Carolina with 11, Arkansas with 10, Rhode Island with nine, Alabama and Oklahoma with eight each, Ohio with seven, and California and Montana, with six each.
One of the most unusual crimes was perpetrated by Oregon Republican State Rep. Mike Nearman, who pleaded guiltyin 2021 to official misconduct for allowing rioters to enter the Oregon State Capitol.
One of the worst environmental crimes was committed by Pennsylvania Republican State Sen. Bill Slocum who pleaded guilty in 2000 to filing false reports to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and discharging 3.5 million gallons of raw sewage into Brokenstraw Creek while he was a sewage plant manager in Youngsville, Pa.
At least one offense involved a crime against animals, as South Carolina Republican Agriculture Commissioner Charles Sharpe was found guilty in 2004 of extortion, money laundering and lying to federal investigators, stemming from an illegal cockfighting ring. He served two years in prison.
Bribery is a common faux pas but usually lacking in drama. On the other hand, sexual scandals often draw headlines with lurid allegations of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment and sexual assault, leading some to be fired or resign their office or worse in shame.
Rep. Brandon Hixon, a Republican state representative from Idaho, resigned after being accused of sexual abuse and then committed suicide on Jan. 9, 2018. The same fate awaited, Danny Ray Johnson, a former member of the Kentucky House of Representative, who killed himself after an expose outlined child sexual abuse allegations and other information about the self-professed religious leader.
Trump is the longtime poster boy for sexual offenses by national figures. Since 2017, trump is one of a number of federal officials who have either been accused, admitted or found guilty of sex crimes including two White House staffers, one U.S. Senator, 10 members of Congress, and two federal judges. There also have been state leaders from 29 states named for sex-related offenses.
An example of sexual improprieties by the powerful include Illinois Republican State Representative Nick Sauer who resigned on Aug. 1, 2018, after an ex-girlfriend accused him of posting revenge porn pictures on a fake Instagram account.
Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama Roy Moore, a Republican, was accused of sexually harassing nine women, including one who had been 14 years old at the time. Moore later lost a bid for U.S. Senate in 2017.
In Alaska, Democratic Party State Representative Dean Westlake was accused in 2017 by female capitol staffers of inappropriate sexual behavior. Westlake apologized, but when the story of his 1988 impregnation of a 16-year-old girl was about to be publicized, he had had enough and resigned.
Another Democratic State Representative from Alaska, Zach Fansler, resigned in 2018, after being accused of slapping a woman hard enough to rupture her eardrum during a sexual encounter after a night of drinking.
Arizona GOP State Representative Don Shooter was accused of sexually harassing nine women, including several fellow state representatives, and was suspended in 2017 as chairman of the Appropriations Committee and later expelled from the State Legislature.
California Democratic State Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra resigned a week after he was accused of sexually harassing various women. Another Democrat, State Senator Tony Mendoza was accused in 2017 of inviting young female staffers to his residence in Sacramento for sexual activity. He later resigned.
Colorado State Senator Randy Baumgardner, a Republican, was accused in 2017 of sexual harassment by a legislative aide who said he repeatedly grabbed or slapped her buttocks. The vote to expel him was deadlocked along party lines, with only one Republican voting for expulsion.
Colorado Democratic State Representative Paul Rosenthal was accused in 2017 of sexual assault by several young men. No charges were brought, but Crowder lost his bid for reelection.
Florida Republican State Senator Jack Latvala and Florida Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Bittel both resigned in 2017 after women from both parties accused each separately of sexual harassment.
Clint Reed, chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was fired in 2018 for allegations of “improper conduct” with an unnamed subordinate.
Florida Democratic State Senator Jeff Clemens was in office less than a day after he resigned in 2017 when it was reported that he was having a sexual affair.
Idaho GOP State Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger was accused of “unconsented sexual contact” with multiple female legislative volunteers in 2021, including a 19 year old staffer. Ehlinger later resigned.
Illinois GOP State Rep. Nick Sauer resigned in 2018 after an ex-girlfriend accused him of posting revenge porn pictures on a fake Instagram account.
Oklahoma GOP State Senator Bryce Marlatt resigned in 2017 after being charged with sexual battery of an Uber driver.
Four Republican State Representatives from Kentucky signed a secret sexual harassment settlement in 2018 brokered by the Kentucky House Legislative Ethics Commission involving sexting a woman who once worked for the Kentucky House Republican Caucus.
Former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, resigned on May 7, 2018, a day after he was accused by four women of physical assault. New York Democratic State Assemblyman Dennis H. Gabryszak paid $70,000 in fines after he was accused of sexually harassing up to seven former staffers.
Pennsylvania Republican State Rep. Brian Ellis resigned after he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman while she was blacked out in 2015. In Rhode Island, GOP State Sen. Nicholas Kettle resigned in 2018 after he was arrested on charges of video voyeurism and extortion.
South Carolina GOP State Rep. Chris Corley plead guilty in 2007 to beating his wife and threatening to kill her with a gun in front of their children after she confronted him about his infidelity.
New Jersey Democratic State Assemblyman Neil M. Cohen resigned from the Legislature in 2008 amidst an investigation into his possession of child pornography. Facing up to 30 years in prison, he plead guilty to a lesser charge of child endangerment through distribution of pornography and was sentenced to five years.
Oklahoma GOP State Sen. Ralph Shortey, the state campaign chair for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, was convicted in 2018 of child sex trafficking. Shortey, who stood at six-feet-six and weighed 315 pounds, resigned his post and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.
Missouri GOP Speaker of the House of Representatives Rod Jetton was arrested in 2010 for “recklessly causing serious physical injury” to an unnamed woman during sadomasochistic sex and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault. He was sentenced to probation and fined.
And then there are politicians who could not resist the temptation to use their positions to benefit their own bank accounts.
In 2016, two brothers, both Democrats from California, State Sen. Ron Calderon and State Assemblyman Tom Calderon, were convicted of money laundering.
California State Democratic Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi was charged in 2011 with allegedly shoplifting $2,445 worth of merchandise from San Francisco’s Neiman Marcus store.
Kansas Republican State Rep. Trent K. LeDoux pleaded guilty in 2017 to bank fraud and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for defrauding Farmers and Merchants Bank of Colby, Kan., of more than $460,000.
Massachusetts Democratic Speaker of the House Salvatore DiMasi was found guilty in 2011 of using his position to secure multimillion-dollar state contracts for Cognos, a business intelligence software company, in exchange for kickbacks.
Three-term, Republican Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland, resigned in 2004 and later plead guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, mail fraud and tax fraud. He served 10 months in a federal prison until he was released on Feb. 10, 2006. In 2014, Rowland was again indicted on seven counts for his role in an election fraud case. He was convicted on all seven counts and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Montana Democratic State Rep. Tony Belcourt went to prison in 2014 for seven and a half years for his conviction on federal corruption charges involving projects on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation.
Five Montana state officials, all Republicans, were sentenced in 2010 for violating campaign contribution laws involving the Western Tradition Partnership, a lobbying group for mining and oil interests that fought what it described as “environmental extremism.”
State Rep. Joel Boniek was found guilty of “quid pro quo corruption” in taking $9,060 in contributions from the Western Tradition Partnership. State Rep. Mike Miller admitted to accepting “unlawful corporate contributions” from Western Tradition Partnership, was found guilty, fined $4,000 and agreed not run for public office for four years. State Sen. Scott Sales and and State Sen. Art Wittich also both plead guilty to accepting unlawful contributions.
N.Y. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith was found guilty in 2014 of conspiracy, wire fraud, bribery and extortion for trying to bribe a Republican Party official to let him onto the Republican ballot in the 2013 New York City mayoral race.
N.Y Democratic State Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa was sentenced to a year in jail in 2014 for entering into a sham marriage in order to gain U.S. citizenship.
N.Y. Democratic State Senator Efrain Gonzalez Jr. was convicted of fraud and embezzling $400,000 from the West Bronx Neighborhood Association Inc. and was sentenced to seven years in federal prison in 2010.
N.Y. Supreme Court Justice Thomas J. Spargo, a Republican, was convicted of attempted extortion and attempted soliciting of a bribe for pressuring a lawyer to give $10,000 to his defense fund in 2009.
N.Y. Supreme Court Justice Gerald Garson, a Democrat, was sentenced to 3 and one half to 10 years in prison for accepting expensive gifts in exchange for fixing divorce cases in 2005.
Operation Tennessee Waltz, an FBI sting operation between 2003 and 2007, resulted in bribery charges against five Democratic politicians including State Senator John Ford, who was sentenced to 66 months; State Senator Kathryn Bowers, State Senator Ward Crutchfield, State Senator Roscoe Dixon and State Representative J. Chris Newton.
And in Virginia, GOP State Secretary of Finance John Forbes was sentenced in 2010 to 10 years in prison after he admitted embezzling $4 million in tobacco-region economic development money.
And then there are crimes of passion by the powerful.
Michigan Democratic State Sen. Virgil Smith, Jr. was convicted in 2015 of assault against his ex-wife and shooting at her car and was sentenced to 10 months in jail, five years of probation and not be allowed to hold public office.
Mississippi GOP State Sen. Chris Massey was arrested in 2016 for attacking a maintenance worker with a shovel and was found guilty and given six months’ probation.
N.Y. State Senator Kevin Parker, a Democrat, was charged with felony assaulting and menacing and two misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief for attacking a New York Post photographer. He was found guilty and served three years’ probation.
The above listing is hardly exhaustive and a complete report on political chicanery would be the size of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.”