Corruption In America

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*The First Article here is dated 2016.

Meet America's Most Crooked Politicians
https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/28/meet-americas-most-crooked-politicians.html

#10 Democrat Ray Nagin

Brendan Hoffman | Getty Images

C. Ray Nagin

Scandal: New Orleans Shakedown (2004-2010)

 

Money: $500,000 / worth $600,000 today

He became the public face of a battered city after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. But when the city recently marked the tenth anniversary of the storm, Ray Nagin was nowhere to be seen. That's because the former mayor is serving a ten-year federal prison sentence for corruption before, during, and after Katrina. What his scam lacks in dollars compared to some of the other Great American frauds, it makes up for in audacity. At a time when his city needed help the most, Nagin used the disaster as a revenue source. He installed an associate as the city's "chief technology officer," gaining control over millions of dollars in no-bid city contracts for things like computer systems and crime cameras. And Nagin used his position as mayor to steer redevelopment business to a granite company he owned with his sons. Perhaps worst of all, he let his city down during its darkest hour.

A disaster can be a prime breeding ground for corrupt politicians. Some disasters, like hurricanes, are natural. Others, like the $160 billion savings and loan crisis in the 1980s, are manmade. Taking advantage of that disaster were five politicians, but they're almost universally referred to as one, and that's next on our list.

#9 The Keating Five

The five senators—
Alana Cranston, Democrat of CA 
Dennis DeConcini, Democrat of AZ 
John Glenn, Democrat of OH 
John McCain, Republican of AZ, 
Don Reigle jr, Democrat of MI

Scandal: Savings and Loan Crisis (1989)

Money: $1.3 million / worth $2.5 million today

Far from the warm and friendly institutions depicted in It's a Wonderful Life, savings and loans by the 1980s had become cesspools of risky investments and corruption. None was worse than Charles Keating's Lincoln Savings and Loan in California, which collapsed in 1989 leaving thousands of investors penniless.How did Keating get away with it for so long? Five U.S. senators intervened with regulators on his behalf in exchange for lavish campaign contributions.The Senate Ethics Committee issued a formal reprimand to California Democrat Alan Cranston, and criticized Democrats Dennis DeConcini of Arizona and Donald Riegle of Michigan for acting improperly. Democrat John Glenn of Ohio and Republican John McCain of Arizona were cleared of wrongdoing but the committee formally criticized them for poor judgment. McCain, the only member of the Keating Five still in office, has said the affair taught him a painful lesson about conflicts of interest.

The Keating Five were all Senators. But the other side of the capitol—the House of Representatives—is hardly free of crooks.

#8 Republican Randy “Duke” Cunningham

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Congressman Randy Duke Cunningham (2nd R) walks into Federal Courthouse during the sentencing phase at the U.S. District Courthouse March 3, 2006 in San Diego.

Scandal: Bribery and Corruption (2004-2005)

Money: $2.4 million / worth $3 million today

A decorated Navy flying ace with dashing good looks and the nickname "Duke," it seemed like Randall Cunningham of California had it all when he came to Congress in 1991. But like so many crooked politicians, it wasn't enough. As a member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, the Republican congressman had a line on some of the most lucrative government contracts, and he used that to his advantage—big time. There was the defense contractor who purchased Cunningham's San Diego home for nearly twice its market value, then allowed him to live rent-free on a yacht. There were other favors, cash payments, a Rolls Royce, and more. In 2005, Cunningham pleaded guilty to accepting $2.4 million in bribes, making him arguably the most crooked congressman in history. He served an eight-year prison sentence and today reportedly lives in Arkansas.

While Washington may be teeming with crooks, some of the wildest scams occur in state capitals. Our next two crooked politicians hail from states that have raised graft to practically an art form.

#7 Democrat Edwin W. Edwards

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards

Scandal: Racketeering and Extortion (1991-1997)

Money: $3 million / worth $4.6 million today

The four-time governor of Louisiana once famously boasted that the only way he could lose an upcoming election was "if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy." He seemed equally invincible in the courts,beating 24 different corruption cases against him since the early days of his career in the 1970s. But on the 25^th case, his luck ran out. In 1998, a federal grand jury indicted him for a scheme to extort millions of dollars in payments for casino licenses in the state. Edwards was convicted on 17 counts and spent more than 8 years in prison. But he wasn't done with public life just yet. In 2014, at age 87, he tried to stage one more political comeback. With his 35-year-old wife Trina and their one-year-old son by his side, Edwards announced he was running for Congress. It wasn't meant to be however, and with his loss, the most colorful career in Louisiana politics came to an end. Or did it?

#6 Democrat Paul Powell

Scandal: Shoebox Scandal (1965-1970)

Money: $800,000 / worth $4.8 million today

No list of crooked politicians would be complete without a visit to Illinois, where four governors since 1968 wound up in prison. But perhaps the most brazenly corrupt Illinois public official was Secretary of State Paul Powell, once quoted as saying, "There's only one thing worse than a defeated politician, and that's a broke one." For Powell, those were words to live by.Illinois residents applying for driver's licenses in the 1960s would make their checks payable not to the state, but to "Secretary of State Paul Powell."Naturally, Powell took that literally. Add in a healthy dose of Illinois patronage, and Paul Powell was set for life. When he died of a heart attack in 1970, investigators found $800,000 in cash in his Springfield hotel room, much of it stuffed in shoeboxes. A few months later, Illinois Senator Adlai Stevenson III famously quipped, "Paul Powell left behind some pretty big shoeboxes to fill."

While people in Illinois may have come to expect that their elected officials may turn out to be crooks, voters in many other parts of the country still have high expectations for the people they elect. That can make a fall from grace all the more stunning. Next on our list is a case in point.

#5 Democrat Kwame M. Kilpatrick

Bill Pugliano | Getty Images

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

Scandal: Detroit's Crime Boss Mayor (2002-2008)

Money: $4.5 million / worth $5 million today

Considered a rising Democratic star and celebrated as the "HipHop Mayor" after he took office as Detroit's 68^th mayor in 2002, Kwame Kilpatrick quickly set about building a criminal enterprise in City Hall. Some of his antics may have even helped set the stage for Detroit's historic bankruptcy in2013. Profiled in a 2014 episode of American Greed, Kilpatrick was dogged by scandal almost from the start, from rumors of a wild party at his taxpayer-funded residence, to hundreds of thousands of dollars in unexplained deposits to his personal bank account. In 2013, a federal jury in Detroit convicted Kilpatrick on 24 counts in what prosecutors called an "astonishing"scheme to establish a "pay-for-play" system, fleecing city contractors and taxpayers for his personal gain. Kilpatrick, who is serving a 28-year prison sentence, has appealed his case to the Supreme Court.

The next three crooked politicians on our list were all presidents. After all, the highest office in the land can offer some pretty high returns for a president willing to go that route.

#4 Republican Warren G. Harding

Scandal: Teapot Dome (1921)

Money: $400,000 / worth $5.3 million today

Warren Harding was never personally implicated, and most of the details emerged after his death. But Teapot Dome forever sullied the reputation of America's 29^th president.Widely considered the granddaddy of American political scandals, the scheme was fairly tame and straightforward by today's standards. The real villain is Harding's Interior Secretary Albert Fall, a member of the so-called "Ohio Gang"of confidantes Harding brought with him to Washington. Accused of accepting nearly $400,000 in bribes in exchange for oil leases in Wyoming, Fall became the first former cabinet member in history to be sent to prison for crimes committed while in office.

#3 Republican Richard M. Nixon

Dirck Halstead | Liaison | Getty Images

Richard Nixon announces his resignation from the White House, August 9, 1974.

Scandal: Watergate (1972-1974)

Money: $500,000 to $1 million / worth $2.8 million to$5.6 million today

Legend has it that when Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were investigating the burglary at Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington's Watergate complex, the confidential source known as "Deep Throat" told them to "follow the money." Deep Throat—who turned out to be Associate FBI Director Mark Felt—never actually uttered those words. But Watergate, the only scandal to topple a U.S. president, definitely had money at its heart—along with a dizzying array of dirty tricks. To cover up the break-in, President Nixon funneled as much as half a million dollars in campaign funds to the Watergate burglars. And he is heard on one of the infamous White House tapes barely flinching over the prospect of raising another million in hush money. "You could get it in cash," he says. Nixon resigned in 1974, days after the House Judiciary Committee approved the first of three articles of impeachment. Among other things, it accused him of authorizing payment of "substantial sums of money" to silence witnesses.

#2 Republican Ulysses S. Grant

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Ulysses S. Grant

Scandal: Whiskey Ring (1871-1875)

Money: $3 million / worth $63.7 million today

Corruption was so rampant in the 18^th U.S. president's administration that it came to be known as "Grantism." That means there are plenty of Grant scandals to choose from. But the most notorious one—and the one that came closest to the President himself—involved a scheme to siphon millions of dollars in whiskey tax revenues from the U.S. treasury. The conspiracy was vast, involving revenue agents, distillers, and politicians. The president was not directly involved—in fact he ordered the raids that eventually broke up the ring. But he conveniently waited until after his 1872 re-election to do so. He may also have lied to cover up the actions of his personal secretary, Orville Babcock, who was one of 350 people indicted in the scandal but was eventually acquitted, in part because the President personally vouched for him.

While the presidency can offer seemingly unlimited opportunities for the committed crook, the top name on our list proves once and for all that just like all politics, all fraud is local. In fact, when adjusted for inflation, no politician in American history—from presidents on down—has come even close to this one's take. So without further ado, here is America's most crooked politician.

#1 Democrat William M. “Boss” Tweed

C. T. Brady Jr | Museum of the City of New York | Getty Images

William Marcy 'Boss' Tweed

Scandal: Tammany Hall / The Tweed Ring (1869-1877)

Money: $6 million to $200 million / worth $129 million to $4.3 billion today

William Magear Tweed was a prodigious crook, elected to Congress before he turned 30. But the real money was at home in New York, where he would soon return to begin his climb to the top of the city's powerful Democratic machine known as Tammany Hall. Boss Tweed became a wealthy man—and one of the city's biggest land owners—thanks to some fairly basic scams, such as allowing over billing by favored contractors, rampant patronage, and accepting plenty of well-placed bribes and kickbacks. But in one of the early triumphs of investigative reporting, a series of reports by the New York Times beginning in1871 helped bring down the Tweed Ring. Tweed was eventually convicted on hundreds of criminal charges, and New York City successfully sued him for $6 million.But the money, believed to be a fraction of what he and his cronies actually stole, was long gone. He died in jail at age 55, secure in the knowledge that he stole more than any American public official before…or since.

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https://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/blog-post/when-power-corrupts-16-biggest-political-scandals-last-50-years

Including only $$$ Scandals

 

Republican Jack Abramoff

Gifts for favors – that’s the easiest way to describe the scandal involving former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was known as the “Man Who Bought Washington.” His massive web of political corruption involved his clients, millions of dollars, free meals, tickets, trips to famous golf courses and members of Congress. Digging by the Washington Post eventually led to an inquiry by the Justice Department. Abramoff and others, including the then-chair of the powerful House Administration Committee, went to prison. After Abramoff left prison, he wrote a book about the scandal. 

 

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Republican Tom DeLay

One of the lawmakers caught in the Abramoff web was former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Indictments over alleged money laundering, combined with his ties to the Abramoff scandal, led DeLay to leave Congress in 2005. Grand juries alleged that a PAC set up by DeLay skirted Texas campaign finance laws in an effort to elect state legislators who would vote for redistricting legislation supported by DeLay. A jury convicted the Republican from Texas in 2010 for money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. A Texas appeals court eventually threw out DeLay’s conviction.

 

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Democrat Jim Traficant

The colorful congressman from Ohio had served 17 years before he was thrown out of office by the House of Representatives in July of 2002. A few months earlier, he had been convicted of bribery, racketeering and corruption. “It was only the second time since the Civil War and fifth time in its 213-year history that the House chose to impose the ultimate penalty for unethical conduct and strip a member of office,” the New York Times reported. Traficant was famous for using “Star Trek” references during his floor speeches, such as, “Beam me up!” He served seven years in prison and died in 2014. 

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Republican Spiro Agnew

Richard Nixon’s first vice president became the second in American history to resign after accusations of tax evasion and bribery. Despite declaring in September 1973 that he “will not resign if indicted,” Agnew resigned in October in exchange for a plea bargain that kept him out of jail. Nixon appointed House Minority Leader Gerald Ford as Agnew’s replacement, and the rest is history. 

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Democrat John Edwards

The charismatic senator from North Carolina was a rising star in Democratic Party after running on John Kerry’s presidential ticket in 2004. During his presidential run four years later, Edwards faced tabloid allegations of an extramarital affair with Rielle Hunter, a filmmaker hired to work on his campaign. He later admitted that the allegations were true and that he fathered a child with Hunter. Three years later, Edwards faced a federal grand jury on charges of using campaign money to hide his affair. He was acquitted on one count and received a mistrial on the others. There were dozens of lies under oath charges for Edwards and his staff.

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Republican Scooter Libby and Valerie Plame Wilson

After former Ambassador Joe Wilson published a 2003 op-ed questioning the Bush administration’s decision to go to war in Iraq, his wife and her role as an undercover CIA spy were exposed in a newspaper column. Did the Bush White House out her in retaliation for her husband’s views? That was the question in the federal investigation that followed. I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, was convicted of lying to the FBI, perjury and obstructing the investigation into the leak.  President George W. Bush later commuted Libby’s prison sentence to 30 months. 

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Democrat Dan Rostenkowski & House post office and banking scandals

Hundreds of congressmen and members of President George H.W. Bush's cabinet faced scrutiny when it was discovered that the House Bank allowed members Of Congress to overdraft on their bank accounts without facing a penalty. Meanwhile, another scandal was brewing at the House post office, where members of Congress and office employees allegedly engaged in embezzlement and misuse of public funds. The scandal effectively ended the career of Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. He eventually served prison time for his role in the House post office scandal. President Clinton pardoned him in 2000.

 

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Democrat Alcee Hastings Convicted of corruption, lying under oath, accepting bribes, etc was punished by being elected to the HOR. 

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Impeachment_Hastings.htm

Brief History of the Case

In 1981, a federal grand jury indicted Judge Alcee L. Hastings, appointed to the federal district court in 1979, along with his friend William A. Borders, a Washington, D.C. lawyer. Hastings was charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice for soliciting a $150,000 bribe in return for reducing the sentences of two mob-connected felons convicted in Hastings’ court. A year after Borders was convicted of conspiracy, the result of an FBI sting effort, Hastings's case came before the criminal court. Despite Borders’ conviction, and the fact that Hastings had indeed reduced the sentences of the two felons, he was acquitted in a criminal court in 1983 and returned to his judicial post. 

Subsequently, suspicions arose that Hastings had lied and falsified evidence during the trial in order to obtain an acquittal. A special committee of the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals began a new probe into the Hastings case. The resulting three-year investigation ended with the panel concluding that Hastings did indeed commit perjury, tamper with evidence, and conspire to gain financially by accepting bribes. The panel recommended further action to the U.S. Judicial Conference, which, in turn, informed the House of Representatives on March 17, 1987, that Judge Alcee Hastings should be impeached and removed from office.

On August 3, 1988, following an investigation by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, the House of Representatives voted 413 to 3 to adopt H. Res. 499, approving 17 articles of impeachment against Hastings, the greatest number of articles in any impeachment proceeding to date. Charges included conspiracy, bribery, perjury, falsifying documents, thwarting a criminal investigation, and undermining the public confidence "in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary." The Senate received the articles on August 9, 1988.  

Following the precedent set in the 1986 Claiborne impeachment case, the Senate again chose to refer the matter to a special committee as authorized by impeachment rule XI. On March 16, 1989, the Senate rejected a motion by Hastings to dismiss the case, and adopted S. Res. 38, creating a 12-member trial committee to hear evidence and then report to the full Senate on contested and uncontested facts. The committee was not tasked with making a recommendation on guilt or innocence. Committee hearings continued from July 10, to August 3, 1989. Consisting of six Republicans and six Democrats, the committee heard evidence for and against Hastings, and took testimony from 55 witnesses, including Borders. The House managers presented convincing evidence that Hastings had, indeed, conspired with Borders to solicit the bribe. Hastings, who appeared in his own defense, objected to the use of the committee, insisting that the full Senate should be required to hear evidence. His motion failed. Hastings also insisted that the Senate trial amounted, in legal terms, to "double jeopardy" since he had already been acquitted in a court of law.   

The trial committee presented its report on October 2, 1989. Sixteen days later, the trial began in the U.S. Senate, with prosecution and defense given two hours to summarize their cases. The Senate deliberated in closed session on October 19, 1989. The following day, the Senate voted on 11 of the 17 articles of impeachment, convicting Hastings, by the necessary two-thirds vote, on 8 articles (1-5, 7-9). On two articles (6, 17) the vote fell short of the required majority to convict. On article 11, the Senate voted 95 not guilty to 0 guilty. Having achieved the necessary majority vote to convict on 8 articles, the Senate’s president pro tempore (Robert C. Byrd) ordered Hastings removed from office. The Senate did not vote to disqualify him from holding future office. 

Four years later, Hastings was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for the term beginning January 3, 1993. 

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Democrat Charles Rangel, even though found guilty on 11 or 12 charges of corruption and ethics refused to accept any blame for anything he did. He later "apologized for mistakes he made in tax evasion etc" while he was head of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Committee that wrote the tax codes he violated. Rangel was later "censured" which meant that nothing whatsoever consequential actually happened to him.

House Panel Finds Rangel Guilty

• By David Kocieniewski

• Nov. 16, 2010

A House panel on Tuesday found Representative Charles B. Rangel guilty of 11 counts of ethical violations, ruling that his failure to pay some taxes, improper solicitation of charitable donations and failure to accurately report his personal income had brought dishonor on the House.

After a public hearing on Monday that was truncated when Mr. Rangel walked out in protest, an adjudicatory subcommittee of the House ethics committee deliberated for four hours before finding him guilty of all but one of the 13 counts against him. (Two counts, involving Mr. Rangel’s misuse of House mailing privileges, were merged into one.)

In a somber tone, Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California and the chairwoman of the panel, announced the findings just before noon. Ms. Lofgren described the contentious process as “difficult and time-consuming.” The entire committee is to decide on Thursday what punishment to recommend for Mr. Rangel. The full House must vote on the recommendation.

While the rules permit a range of penalties, up to expulsion, ethics experts and panel members have said that Mr. Rangel, 80, is more likely to face a reprimand or a formal censure. Mr. Rangel, a Harlem Democrat, did not appear before the panel as it announced its verdict, but he released a statement shortly afterward calling it unfair because he could no longer afford a lawyer to mount a defense. And, even though he was the one who stormed out of the proceedings on Monday, he complained that the panel had taken action when he was not present.