Free Republic

The state Legislature has defeated a proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage, ending a three-year campaign to overturn its legalization after several lawmakers switched their votes in the final hours of a dramatic legislative battle. The proposed constitutional ban was defeated in a roll-call vote of both houses of the Legislature shortly after 1 p.m. today, triggering a thunderous ovation by gay couples in the State House. The final tally was 151-45, giving supporters of gay marriage a victory by 5 votes. The vote means the ban will be blocked from reaching the 2008 ballot, and that gay marriage has...

A Los Angeles grocery chain entrepreneur was charged with running a lucrative criminal enterprise that orchestrated murders, bribed city officials, laundered money and aided drug traffickers, according to an indictment unsealed today. George Torres, 50, who owns the Numero Uno grocery stores scattered throughout low-income parts of Los Angeles, was arrested Tuesday ... on charges of racketeering, violence in aid of racketeering, tax evasion and fraud. ... If convicted, Torres could face more than 60 years in prison. More than $100 million of the defendants' assets are subject to seizure. Torres was the longtime business partner of Horacio Vignali, who...

Although House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was expected to push later this week for Jefferson's official ouster from his committee, an attempt to head off House Minority Leader John Boehner's resolution calling for an ethics investigation, and -- in an unusual move -- specifically asking the committee to answer whether Jefferson should resign. The House voted 373-26 in favor of launching an investigative panel of the ethics committee to determine whether Jefferson violated the House code of conduct.

<p>Sources tell CBS NEWS that Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) will be indicted this afternoon on more than a dozen counts involving public corruption. Jefferson has been the subject of a ongoing probe in which FBI agents allegedly found more than 90-thousand dollars in cash in his freezer. The Justice Department is expected to unveil the charges later today... Developing...</p>

WASHINGTON - Two Democratic presidential candidates broke previous fundraising records during the first three months of the year, with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton setting a high bar of $26 million in new contributions for the quarter. Former Sen. John Edwards raised more than $14 million since the beginning of the year. Clinton also transferred $10 million from her Senate campaign account, bringing her total receipts for the quarter to $36 million. Unlike Edwards, Clinton aides would not reveal how much of her total was available only for the primary election and how much could be used just in the general...

The new Congress has passed rules prohibiting lobbyists from treating lawmakers to meals, trips, and other amenities — but the legislators have already found ways around those rules. Barred from picking up the tab for a lawmaker’s outing, the lobbyists are instead paying a political fund-raising committee (PAC) set up by the congressman, and the PAC pays the legislator’s way, according to a report by David D. Kirkpatrick in The New York Times. The rules, designed to curb the influence of lobbyists, were passed by both houses in January and have already taken effect in the House. They are expected...

Former strip club owner Michael Galardi bankrolled the plan to bribe San Diego councilmen to repeal a no-touching law at the clubs, but he was not the leader and organizer of the plan and should not be penalized as such, prosecutors said. JERRY RIFE/Union-Tribune Michael Galardi testified in the council bribery trial. In documents filed Thursday with the court, prosecutors took the unusual step of objecting to a sentencing recommendation by the neutral U.S. Probation Office by saying it is too harsh. Prosecutors are better known for objecting when they consider recommendations to be too lenient. The government disputed the...

Corruption Is Issue in New Orleans RaceReuters Updated:2006-11-01 09:04:06 Rep. William Jefferson (Alex Brandon, AP) NEW ORLEANS, Oct 31 (Reuters) - The battle to represent hurricane-battered New Orleans in Congress should turn on which candidate can best help rebuild the city but the buzz is about how $90,000 in cold hard cash ended up in the Democratic incumbent's freezer. Until the FBI found the money wrapped in foil as part of a sting operation in May, eight-term congressman William Jefferson seemed certain to be re-elected on Nov. 7 to represent Louisiana's 2nd district, much of which lay under water after...

Two Muslim clerics purportedly caught on camera allegedly taking bribes for declaring fatwas were suspended as ulemas on Monday, decided to form a body to monitor issuance of religious edicts. All India Milli Council set up an inquiry committee and announced "a social boycott" of those involved in the fatwas racket. Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband suspended Mufti Habibur Rehman and Meerut's Shahi Jama Masjid removed Maulana Imran following reports that they were seen accepting the money in return for issuing fatwas. Darul Uloom Vice-Chancellor Marghoobur Rehman said a four-member panel would investigate the matter and if found guilty Habibur...

SCATTERED AMONG the loose papers and bound files unearthed last week at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry in Baghdad was "letter no. 140/4/5," labeled "Confidential and Personal" and addressed to "The President's Office--Secretariat." The letter concerns George Galloway, a pro-Saddam member of the British Parliament, who founded a charity known as the Mariam Appeal, ostensibly to aid Iraqi children suffering under U.N. sanctions. The missive, from the Iraqi Intelligence Service, is a request that money be funneled directly to Galloway. It reads in part: His projects and future plans for the benefit of [Iraq] need financial support to become a motive...

As Saddam Hussein was picking the U.N.'s pockets of billions of dollars, officials simply looked the other way, an investigation by ABC News has revealed. An international investigation conducted by ABCNews uncovered widespread corruption in the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program involving from $2 billion to $3 billion in bribes and kickbacks from the program, massive graft U.N. officials told ABCNews they were powerless to stop. "Everybody knew it, and those who were in a position to do something about it were not doing anything," said Benon Sevan, the executive director of the Office of Iraq Program. When asked if that...

How to Ensure Diverse Promotion RatesQ. What policies and procedures do you have to ensure promotion rates by race, ethnicity and gender match work-force-representation rates? Rohini Anand, senior vice president and chief diversity officer, Sodexho(No. 14): "Sodexho has clearly defined policies on affirmative action, equal-employment opportunity and discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Our affirmative-action department closely monitors and reports quarterly progress relative to the affirmative-action plans. We provide training annually to all plan owners to ensure we are meeting goals. Additionally, we use an innovative scorecard that holds all incentive-eligible managers accountable for the hiring, promotion and retention of women and...

**EXCLUSIVE** Sources on the Insurance Commissioner campaign trail have made an interesting discovery. According to finance reports, Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon has recently granted licenses to out of state companies to operate in Louisiana, sources tell THE DEAD PELICAN. This is not unusual by itself, but the timing is; both of them were granted licenses AFTER they donated to Jim Dandelions's campaign for insurance commissioner. A source close to THE DEAD PELICAN has cited this as "yet another example of the political cost businesses must pay if they want to operate in Louisiana." According to sources, on March 20th,...

http://www.wrecradio.com/cc-common/mainheadlines2.html?feed=118786&article=524931 Another Tennessee Waltz Indictment Hooks Jr. indicted, joins father as defendant in Tennessee Waltz. MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Former Memphis city school board member Michael Hooks Jr. became the 11th person indicted in the public corruption investigation known as Tennessee Waltz. His father, Shelby County Commission Chairman Michael Hooks Sr., has already been indicted on charges he took bribes from undercover FBI agents. Hooks Jr., whose great uncle was the civil rights pioneer and NAACP executive director Benjamin Hooks, was indicted Tuesday on four counts, including embezzlement, impeding an investigation and lying to FBI agents. The indictment says Hooks and...

WASHINGTON: The one-upmanship between India and Pakistan may have become a no-contest now with New Delhi’s economic and strategic leap forward, but there is one area where Islamabad is a clear winner. Its munificent leaders are by far the most generous visitors to Washington, lavishing expensive gifts on American government officials from President Bush down to unnamed CIA officers. A list of gifts accepted by U.S officials from foreign government sources in 2004 published in the Federal Register last week shows that Pakistan outdid most countries in the world, gifting U.S officials carpets, rugs, shawls, jewelry and antique pieces. Pakistan's...

House of Reps Boots Democrat from Committee It’s about time that bribe taker and thief, William Jefferson, Democrat Louisiana, was booted off his committee assignments in the House of Reps. Now, obviously we should not ask him to resign until the investigation is complete, but it is perfectly sensible to tell him to vacate his position on any committees where he can influence legislation. The House stripped Democratic Rep. William Jefferson of his committee seat on Friday in an unprecedented action against a lawmaker ensnared in scandal, but not under indictment. (article) Interesting that they feel they have to say...

On May 12, 2005, over dinner with business partner and FBI informant Lori Mody, Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) furtively scrawled the letter "c" on a sheet of paper, and next to it wrote some numbers indicating that he was demanding a much larger personal stake in an African business deal than previously agreed to. "The 'c' is like for 'children,' " the congressman told Mody, as an FBI tape recorder rolled. "I make a deal for my children. It wouldn't be for me." As court records, sworn affidavits, plea agreements and search warrants attest, it was quite a deal,...

With the separation of powers, the Founders created a system with inevitable tension between Congress and the executive. Congress has been the biggest offender in stealing power from the executive in the modern era, but the May 20 FBI raid on the legislative office of William Jefferson (D., La.) seems a case in which the Justice Department has gone overboard, and even been insubordinate. Both Republican and Democratic leaders in the House have protested, prompting media clucking that Members aren't "above the law." Having spent years trying to get Congress to live by the laws it imposes on the rest...

Jefferson's CurseThe Nation Thu May 25, 11:58 AM ET AP - Mon May 15, 5:25 PM ET U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, speaks to the media at a news conference in New Orleans on Monday May 15, 2006. Congressman Jefferson declared his innocence in light of a federal bribery probe. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) The Nation -- As John wrote a few days back, William Jefferson was one of the worst Democrats in the House even before he started hiding bribes in the freezer. Now he's a drag on his party and a disgrace to his district--which happens to represent...

Feds Are Intruding, Says Angry La. Lawmaker Tied to BribesBy Renee D. Turner, BET.com Staff Writer Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) Posted May 23, 2006 – Democratic Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson, rebutting claims by the FBI that he is on tape accepting a bribe, said Tuesday that he would not step down. "I expect to continue to represent the people who have sent me here," Jefferson told reporters, emphasizing that he will seek re-election in November. The Saturday- through-Sunday search into Jefferson’s D.C. congressional offices was an “outrageous intrusion,” the New Orleans representative said at a news conference. “…There are two...

FBI agents videotaped a politician accepting $US100,000 ($132,700) in cash they said was intended as a bribe for a Nigerian official, according to a court document. They later found $US90,000 of the money hidden in the freezer of Representative William Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, the document says. It says the eight-term congressman received the cash from an FBI informant, who approached the bureau in March 2005 with her suspicion that Mr Jefferson and two business associates conspired to defraud her out of $US3.5 million. Mr Jefferson, a senior member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has been under...

See for example this thread or this thread first. Congressman William Jefferson had his offices in Washington subject to a raid for they say bribes were paid involving a Ni-ger-i-un.

The US Senate is looking into allegations that a former US senator urged Baghdad to give a US company lucrative contracts under the much-criticised United Nations oil-for-food programme. This is the first time that a leading US lawmaker has been linked to the controversial UN programme, whose shortcomings have been an important element of the Bush administration's critique of the UN. The investigation involves one of the most vivid figures in US east coast politics, former senator Robert Torricelli, a New Jersey Democrat who was forced to pull out of the 2002 election after being "severely admonished" by the Senate...

Latin America: Ecuador's government deserves all the trouble it's got coming now that it's decided expropriation is the way to get rich. But the trouble won't come from the U.S. It's headed their way from Ecuadoreans....The loss of Ecuador's hard-won free-trade pact with the U.S., something it was on the razor's edge of signing, is virtually guaranteed. Ecuador also will probably lose all practical access to U.S. markets when its 2006 Andean trade preferences expire.Two free-trade-pact neighbors, Peru and Colombia, will gladly help themselves to Ecuador's market share in exports of flowers, shrimp and other regional specialties. About 60% of...

CIA Director Porter Goss abruptly resigned yesterday amid allegations that he and a top aide may have attended Watergate poker parties where bribes and prostitutes were provided to a corrupt congressman.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A technology executive pleaded guilty Wednesday to paying more than $400,000 in bribes to a congressman in charges stemming from an investigation of Rep. William Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat. Vernon Jackson, 53, chief executive of the Louisville, Ky.-based telecommunications firm iGate Inc., admitted to bribery of a public official and conspiracy to bribe a public official during a plea hearing in U.S. District Court

Peoria man pleads guilty in diploma mill case Latest News more>> Truck pulling horse trailer full of illegals crashes SPOKANE, Wash. An Arizonan has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors for his role in a gigantic diploma mill operation. Richard John Novak pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Spokane, Washington, to conspiracy and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Novak, who formerly lived in Spokane and now lives in Peoria, could face up to ten years in prison and (m) millions of dollars in fines. Novak is the second person to reach a plea agreement with the Justice Department...

Customs agent let drugs slip through Case is example of border official lured to 'dark side' by easy money By JAMES PINKERTON Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle PROGRESO - With surveillance cameras secretly rolling, U.S. Customs Inspector Lizandro Martinez greeted the driver of a truck that pulled into his inspection lane at 5:30 a.m. The driver, a pal from the inspector's days as a police officer more than a decade earlier, told Martinez that the cargo he'd been expecting was right behind his truck. And sure enough, a white Ford pickup appeared. It carried 1,635 pounds of marijuana, packed and ready...

"U.S. War Plan Leaked to Iraqis by Russian Ambassador" Documents dated March 5-8, 2003 Two Iraqi documents dated in March 2003 — on the eve of the U.S.-led invasion — and addressed to the secretary of Saddam Hussein, describe details of a U.S. plan for war. According to the documents, the plan was disclosed to the Iraqis by the Russian ambassador. The first document (CMPC-2003-001950) is a handwritten account of a meeting with the Russian ambassador that details his description of the composition, size, location and type of U.S. military forces arrayed in the Gulf and Jordan. The document includes...

Hey, look what I found. Here is a website full of illegal aliens talking about how they can pass liberal laws, get amnesty, get licenses, and taxpayer tuition breaks! Can you believe that these illegal aliens are flagrantly organizing online to push their agenda? I'm going over there to set these people straight. Anyone want to join me? This is the web page: http://www.cosaonline.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2540 This is typical of what they are saying: "Democrats always have our backs. I used to identify with the Republican party, no more. Independent from now on, and I think we would of been better off...

There is a somewhat blurry video tape of a pilot’s first aerial victory, taken through the gun camera on his F-4C Phantom II, which shows an AIM-9 Sidewinder zeroing in on a Mig-21 Fishbed’s heat signature as the Soviet made fighter tries to elude the Mach 2.5 missile by turning away low and to the left. As the action continues, the missile - easily followed by the tell tale smoke trail from its solid rocket motor - acquires, locks, and then flies up the jet exhaust of the fleeing aircraft, and detonates, blowing off the tail section of the opposing...

A stunning investigation of bribery and corruption in Congress has spread to the CIA, ABC News has learned. The CIA Inspector General has opened an investigation into the spy agency's executive director, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, and his connections to two defense contractors accused of bribing a member of Congress and Pentagon officials. The CIA released an official statement on the matter to ABC News, saying: "It is standard practice for CIA's Office of Inspector General — an aggressive, independent watchdog — to look into assertions that mention agency officers. That should in no way be seen as lending credibility to...

March 3, 2006 — A stunning investigation of bribery and corruption in Congress has spread to the CIA, ABC News has learned. The CIA Inspector General has opened an investigation into the spy agency's executive director, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, and his connections to two defense contractors accused of bribing a member of Congress and Pentagon officials. The CIA released an official statement on the matter to ABC News, saying: "It is standard practice for CIA's Office of Inspector General — an aggressive, independent watchdog — to look into assertions that mention agency officers. That should in no way be seen...

28 Of 31 Senate Dems Who Signed AG "Conflict Of Interest" Letter Received Jack Abramoff Affiliated $$$ "Considering 28 of the 31 Democrats have received Abramoff affiliated funds themselves, it appears their hypocrisy has exceeded even their partisanship. What Harry Reid and the Abramoff Democrats lack in judgment, they make up for in sheer audacity." -Tracey Schmitt, RNC Press Secretary Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), And 31 Senate Democrats, Have Accused Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Of "Appearance Of Conflict" In Abramoff Case: "Thirty-One Senate Democrats On Thursday Asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales To Remove Himself From The Investigation Into The Jack...

I never thought in my wildest dreams that my latest documentary The Rats Below was going to touch so deeply the Cuban exile community in Miami, betrayed by eight American presidents! But now add a seemingly benign huge U.S. corporation to the list of enemies, and the community responded! There have been all sorts of discrimination – even being excluded from a jury for being Cuban American for a trial in Miami. And being derided, maligned and literally dragged through the mud by the liberal U.S. media, openly calling them “Miami Mafia,” has left deep scars in the heart of...

Before his recent fall from grace, John Briatta, the mayor's brother's brother-in-law, served as secretary of the Laborers' Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. That's the pension board that oversees retirement benefits for about 9,500 city workers and retirees, most of them from the Department of Streets and Sanitation. In carrying out that responsibility, the board also has control over the investment of $1.7 billion in assets. And if you've lost track, this is the same John Briatta who was fired from his $94,000 city water department job last summer in an alleged payroll scam -- who then last week...

Tennessee's driving certificate for illegal immigrants isn't supposed to be valid as a form of ID, but it's so popular that people are paying hundreds of dollars and traveling hundreds of miles to get one. Tennessee has issued more than 51,000 certificates since 2004 when it became the first state in the nation to offer them _ since joined by Utah. But not every certificate has gone to someone living in Tennessee. Two major federal arrests in recent months exposed black-market shuttles carrying South and Central American immigrants south from New Jersey and north from Georgia to state licensing centers...

Four people have been indicted for participating in a conspiracy to bribe Tennessee Department of Safety driver license examiners, and two others have been charged with accepting the bribes in exchange for issuing driver licenses and certificates. Bryan Guess, Shelia Robertson, Shun Gao, who is also known as “Gordon,” and Syed Abbas Parvez, also known as “Andy,” are charged with conspiracy to commit bribery. Bryan Guess, the owner and operator of Winchester Driving School, and his former employee Shelia Robertson, were charged with paying Teresa Jones more than $5,000 in bribes during the period Jones worked for TDOS. Jones, who...

Link as per copyright complaint.The jist of the article is this: A DEMOCRAT district attorney in Knoxville, Tennessee has given his opinon that it is completely legal for a state trooper to take money or gifts in exchange for some future favors --- as long as the favor is not specified when he takes the bribe. In other words, give the trooper $1000, leave, come back 15 minutes later and THEN ask them to tear up a DUI ticket and it's okay. This tortured opinion comes on the heals of MANY ethics complaints under the current Democrat governor, Phil Bredesen.

Former Aide to Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., Pleads Guilty to Bribery, Implicates Congressman ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A Louisiana congressman demanded bribes in exchange for his help in promoting a pair of business deals in Africa, according to court documents filed Wednesday with a guilty plea by one of the congressman's former staffers. Brett Pfeffer, 37, a former legislative director to Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting bribery of a public official and conspiracy. He could get 20 years in prison when sentenced March 31. A spokeswoman for Jefferson declined to comment. Specifically, Pfeffer said in federal...

"THIS IS A REPUBLICAN scandal," Harry Reid, the Democrats' leader in the Senate, told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace in December. Wallace had asked Reid about his relationship with Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist who last week pleaded guilty, in two separate investigations, to five counts of mail fraud, tax evasion, wire fraud, and conspiracy. Reid said there was no relationship. "Abramoff gave me no money," he said. "So don't lump me in with Jack Abramoff."Reid might not have taken money directly from Abramoff, a lifelong Republican and conservative activist, but he did accept donations--some $66,000 worth--from Abramoff's clients, Indian...

News Washington Bureau Chief1/5/2006 WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will donate to charity $2,000 in contributions from Indian gambling interests once represented by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, her campaign said Wednesday as members of the New York congressional delegation reacted to the spreading scandal. Ann Lewis, Senate campaign spokeswoman for the New York Democrat, told The Buffalo News "after examining our records we found two contributions for $1,000 from tribes which have been clients of Jack Abramoff in the past." "To ensure that there is no question of any connection with Mr. Abramoff, Friends of Hillary will contribute the...

Today, indicted uber-whore-lobbyist Jack Abramoff pled guilty to several of many counts in two separate federal indictments against him. I knew Abramoff, not well, but met him and immediately thought him to be a huge sleazebag. Those were my instincts, and that was back in the mid-'90s. I warned prominent friends of mine, in Congress and the private sector, not to do business with him. Some listened and recently thanked me for my warnings. Others did not, and--although they had no connection to his unethical, criminal enterprises--are hoping they escape public scrutiny. I told others of my suspicions that he...

Tribal Clients And Associates Of Jack Abramoff Have Contributed Over $3.1 Million To Democrat Party Interests Between 1997 And 2004. (Campaign Finance Analysis Project Website, www.campaignfinanceanalysisproject.com, Accessed December 2005; Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed December 2005) National Democrat Party Affiliated Committees Received Over $1.2 Million From Indian Tribe Clients And Lobbying Associates Of Jack Abramoff. (Campaign Finance Analysis Project Website, www.campaignfinanceanalysisproject.com, Accessed December 7, 2005; Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed December 7, 2005; Internal Revenue Service Website, www.irs.gov, Accessed April 21, 2005) The Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Received Over – $430,000 The Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)...

VIENNA (AFP) - The United Nations gains a new weapon in its fight against corruption with the entry into force of the first legally binding international agreement against such crime. "The world will have a powerful new tool to control corruption on a scale that has never existed before," Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said in a statement. The "Convention Against Corruption" adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in October 2003, has been signed by 140 countries after a conference in Merida, Mexico, and ratified by 38. The notion that...

Rep. Bob Filner has paid at least $505,000 in campaign funds to his wife for political consulting services since 1995. For the past five years she has run her unregistered business out of their condominium in Washington, D.C. Filner has properly reported the payments to his wife's business, called Campaign Resources, on his campaign statements. He also has filed annual financial disclosure reports stating that his wife earns an undisclosed salary as a "self-employed consultant." However, the District of Columbia government has no record of Campaign Resources existing as a business, and directory assistance has no phone listing for that...

State reforms after Waltz order city, county rules In the wake of Tennessee Waltz, local municipal and county leaders have not so much as tweaked their ethics policies, let alone revamped them. But if the state legislature has its way, local officials might not have a choice. A provision inserted into a proposed ethics reform bill for state officials would require cities and counties across Tennessee to work "in concert" to come up with their own legislation for establishing new local ethics rules. Specifically, the bill instructs local governments to come up with legislation that would regulate lobbying efforts. "It's...

The link below is a great source (w/internal links) of all things corrupt, regarding Ex Democratic Tennessee State Senator John Ford. http://www.600wrec.com/fordpage.html

Cronies' deals may have put GIs at risk By George E. Condon Jr., Copley News Service WASHINGTON - Rep. Randy Cunningham's dramatic fall from power represents more than just a historic case of personal corruption unprecedented in the long history of the Congress. It is also betrayal on a grand scale. Cunningham betrayed his friends, his constituents, his colleagues and, certainly most important, the U.S. combat troops he so loudly championed. By steering contracts vital to the Iraq war effort to cronies, he may have put those troops at greater risk by judging contracts more for what they would do...

Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and tax charges and tearfully resigned from office, admitting he took $2.4 million in bribes to steer defense contracts to conspirators. Cunningham, 63, entered pleas in U.S. District Court to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud, and tax evasion for underreporting his income in 2004. Cunningham answered "yes, Your Honor" when asked by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns if he had accepted bribes from someone in exchange for his performance of official duties. Later, at a news conference, he wiped away tears as he announced his...