| Bill Jefferson |
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United States House Of Representatives since 1991 , representing the 2nd District of Louisiana , which includes much of the Greater New Orleans area ( map ) Jefferson was born in Lake Providence, Louisiana , was educated at Harvard University . Before entering the House, he was a lawyer, a law clerk for District Judge Alvin B. Rubin, legislative assistant to Senator J. Bennett Johnston and elected as a member of the Louisiana Senate as a Republican and the first African American elected to state office since Reconstruction . He twice unsuccessfully ran for Mayor Of New Orleans , first challenging Ernest N. Morial in 1982 , and then being narrowly defeated by Sidney Barthelemy in a run off in 1985 . He is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus . In 1999 , he was the Democratic nominee for Governor Of Louisiana , but he lost to the incumbent, Murphy J. Foster, Jr. . ACCUSATIONS OF MISCONDUCT On August 3 , 2005 , federal agents executed search warrants against Jefferson's homes, car, and offices as part of an undisclosed investigation. ABC News reported on Jefferson's apparent misuse of National Guard resources to check on his personal belongings and property at the height of the Hurricane Katrina rescue efforts. According to a military source, Jefferson delayed two heavy trucks, a helicopter and several National Guard members for over an hour while he went back into his house to retrieve "a laptop computer, three suitcases and a box about the size of a small refrigerator". {Link without Title} In of California . In addition to personal corruption, Jefferson faces a threat from the demographic fallout from Katrina: some post-Katrina analyses indicate that the political fallout from Katrina may lead to an unseating of incumbents generally [http://www.fairvote.org/katrina/], and for demographic reasons, Democratic incumbents in particular. LEGAL PROSECUTION OF ASSOCIATES In January 2006, Brett M. Pfeffer , a former aide for Mr. Jefferson, implicated him in a corruption scheme involving an Internet company being set up in Nigeria . Mr. Pfeffer was President of an investment company in McLean, Virginia. In return for political support for the deal, Mr. Jefferson had legal work directed toward his family's operations. It was also said that a daughter of his was put on retainer of the Virginia investment company to the tune of $5,000 a month. Mr. Jefferson also is said to have arranged for his family a 5% to 7% ownership stake in the Nigerian Internet company. Mr. Pfeffer plead guilty to charges of aiding and abetting bribery of a public official and conspiracy on January 11, 2006 in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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