"Why is Nancy Pelosi so upset? Big deal.
I used the freezer to cool off some hot cash."
Posted on 06/06/2006 12:19:24 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
GREENBELT, Md. - Nigeria's vice president sought up to $500,000 and a stake in a technology venture in his country, according to statements Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record) made to an FBI informant that were detailed in court documents filed in a bribery probe of the congressman.
Jefferson allegedly told the FBI informant that he had delivered "African art," which authorities believe was code for cash, to the Potomac, Md., home of the wife of Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar at midnight last July 31.
Details of the alleged deal were included in an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court to secure a warrant to search Abubakar's house in Potomac. The affidavit was unsealed Monday by the federal court in Greenbelt.
The affidavit says delivery of the money came shortly after Jefferson allegedly received $100,000 in cash from the FBI informant that was supposed to help smooth the way for a Kentucky telecommunications company, iGate Inc., to conduct business in Nigeria.
It is unclear if any of that money was delivered to the vice president's home, and his possible role is described only by Jefferson in wiretaps the FBI made.
According to another search warrant affidavit for Jefferson's congressional office, filed last month, $90,000 in cash was found in a freezer at Jefferson's Washington home. A briefcase similar to the one Jefferson used to carry the money was found in a later search of his New Orleans home, according to federal court documents filed there.
The 39-page affidavit released Monday in Maryland, some sections of which remain sealed, does not mention Abubakar by name. But it does identify the Potomac home as the residence of Jennifer Douglas, Abubakar's wife. It also refers to "the Vice President of Nigeria" when detailing the alleged scheme. Although the search of the Potomac residence was mentioned in documents previously released by the courts, names and titles were redacted to keep them secret.
Jefferson has denied wrongdoing in the probe.
An attorney for Abubakar did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In Nigeria, where Abubakar last week kicked off his campaign for president, his spokesman Mohammed Yakubu said they have yet to see details of the allegations. "We don't have anything to say until we have seen these reports or allegations," he said by telephone from Abuja.
The informant was a northern Virginia businesswoman identified by law enforcement officials as Lori Mody. She went to the FBI when she believed Jefferson and others were defrauding her on the business deal. Jefferson discussed with her the "payment of bribes to high-ranking foreign government officials," including Abubakar, according to the affidavit.
Jefferson wrote a letter dated June 21, 2005 to Abubakar at the Nigerian embassy in Washington, alerting him to "a U.S. Company" that wanted to invest $50 million to provide high speed Internet access in Nigeria using Nigerian telecom company Nitel's lines.
The congressman then met with Abubakar on July 18 in Potomac and the vice president "agreed to help secure the necessary approvals" for iGate to begin work in Nigeria. In return, Abubakar wanted at least 50 percent of the profits from another Nigerian company working on the deal and a payment of up to $500,000 before the deal was completed.
Jefferson allegedly described the payment as the "front end" and the profit-sharing deal as the "back end."
On Aug. 1, the night after he allegedly delivered cash to the vice president's home, the FBI recorded a conversation between Mody and Jefferson on whether the deal was completed. Jefferson allegedly said: "I gave him the African art that you gave me and he was very pleased."
Jefferson allegedly told Mody earlier that he was arranging the deal to benefit his five daughters. The affidavit states he demanded that one daughter, lawyer Jamila Jefferson, be retained to help set up the Nigerian venture.
Jefferson, who represents most of New Orleans, has served in Congress since 1990. The raid on his Capitol Hill office sparked outrage from congressional leaders who claimed the Bush administration was violating the separation of powers doctrine. President Bush later sealed FBI files on the raid for 45 days.
Former Jefferson aide Brett Pfeffer has pleaded guilty and was given an eight-year term for his role in the bribery scandal. He is cooperating with authorities. Vernon Jackson, chief executive of iGate, also pleaded guilty to paying more than $400,000 in bribes to Jefferson.
Nigerian Bank Scam meets The Culture of Corruption ...
"Why is Nancy Pelosi so upset? Big deal.
I used the freezer to cool off some hot cash."
I feel a whole lot better, knowing our congress-critters are getting in on the Nigerian scams! At least there is hope for our country!
No wonder Hastert doesn't want the FBI snooping around........they might find out how utterly clueless our estemed members of congress are!
His actual statement was thus: "I was going to have some CHOCOLATE ice cream for a treat and instead found some of my savings from mowing lawns in my youth!" Yeah, that's the ticket, that'll sell like hotcakes with the Nagin crowd of fools!
You can forget that. Pelosi has retreated. The Black Caucus is yelling bigotry! The Times and Post have had sympathetic articles of this bum. He stays unless , of course, Fitzgerald decided to indict him!!! Oh and if the Dems win in Nov., he will be a chair of a House commt. Talk about a culture of corruption.
Guess who was at the Clinton State Dinner for Ghanian President Jerry Rawlings...Joseph and Valerie Wilson and Rep. William J. Jefferson, D-La., and Andrea G. Jefferson, vice chancellor, Southern University at New Orleans (warning: .pdf file).
Geez...what a coincidence {wink, wink}.
Also found this interesting tidbit in my search:
Ex-Conyers aide who skipped fraud sentencing arrested in Africa
LOL ...
My Dear Mr. William Jefferson,
In order to complete the transaction regarding my late dear father's vast hidden estate, which unscrupulous officials are scheming to steal from me, you will need to provide a mere $50,000 for financial transfers, transaction costs, etc. Then you can be assured of receiving the promised 30% of the $60 million which we are trying to secure with your bank in the USA. My poor precious mother, who is ailing and needs to make an immediate change of scenery and climate, will be most happy to arrive in your country and provide you in person with your $18 million once our business is completed. Sincerely,
Mr. Fraudulent Nkrahme
Nigerian Prince
Man, them's a lotta lawns he mowed. Anyhow, all them N'orlawns types will buy that excuse.
Using his seat to influence and be influenced by foreign powers borders on treason in a strict legal sense.
If the FBI can prove that Jefferson cast votes or introduced legislation intending on bolstering his personal business relationship with the Nigerians, the Democrats have a huge scandal on their hands.
The [ New York ] Times writes that this documentation suggests Jefferson was "aggressive seeking to lobby officials in Nigeria and other West African nations", a mastery of understatement.
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/007149.php
Snicker---Demos better start worrying----that's a cinch to prove.
Americans are getting sick and tired of these hyphenate types who are not Americans in the first sense, but are on their knees fellating foreign leaders, and use the power of the US government to enrich foreign governments.
"The men who do not become Americans and nothing else are hyphenated Americans; and there ought to be no room for them in this country. The man who calls himself an American citizen and who yet shows by his actions that he is primarily the citizen of a foreign land, plays a thoroughly mischievous part in the life of our body politic. He has no place here; and the sooner he returns to the land to which he feels his real heart-allegiance, the better it will be for every good American. There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else...." Theodore Roosevelt.
Another big worry for Jefferson and the Democrats---Congress provided in the Civil Rights Act of 1866 declaring persons born in the US who are subject to a foreign power are deemed to be non-citizens of the United States.
This should give Jefferson and the Dims the jitters: the FBI can execute a National Security Letter to demand confidential financial records as per legislation signed December 2003.
The FBI should go after him.
Hopefully they will be allowed to follow the money.
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