Ex-Rep. Jefferson, free after 5-year prison stint, wants $392,000 back
WASHINGTON _ Former Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson, fresh off a five-year, five-month stay in federal prison for soliciting bribes and committing wire fraud, now wants $392,000 wiped from a civil court order.
A judge last fall threw out seven of the 10 original charges he was convicted of in 2009. Another has since been tossed. He began serving his sentence in 2012 and was released in October.
Now, he's arguing, a decade-old civil case against him holds no water since the convictions on which the civil case rested have been thrown out.
The civil case was filed 11 years ago by Daniel Cadle of Ohio on behalf of himself and other investors in a now-shuttered telecommunications company, iGate Inc.
"No basis any longer exist(s) on which this court may maintain its judgment and order" for Jefferson to pay the investors $392,000, Jefferson's motion states, according to NOLA.com.
Jefferson served nine full terms in the House from 1991 to 2009. He lost his re-election campaign in 2008 while under indictment for the bribery, corruption, and fraud charges. He was originally convicted partly for accepting money to use for his congressional office to lobby for business deals for certain individuals and companies in African countries.
Jefferson co-chaired the Africa Trade and Investment Caucus and the Congressional Caucus on Nigeria during his time in the House.
Jefferson was originally sentenced to 13 years in prison.
_CQ-Roll Call
