Posted on 02/26/2008 5:16:12 AM PST by Libloather
Civil suit in iGate case is delayed
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted on Tue, Feb. 26, 2008
LOUISVILLE --The civil case against an indicted Louisiana congressman and a former business associate was delayed Monday until the criminal case against the lawmaker is over.
U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson halted proceedings against Democratic U.S. Rep. William Jefferson; his wife; and Vernon Jackson, former chief executive of the Louisville-based telecommunications firm iGate. Simpson said little could be done to advance the case while the criminal charges are pending.
Jefferson's criminal trial on racketeering and other charges was scheduled to begin Monday in Alexandria, Va., but has been indefinitely delayed while the congressman appeals a ruling in the case.
It could delay the lawsuit brought by iGate stockholder Daniel Cadle of Newton Falls, Ohio, until at least the fall.
Cadle sued Jefferson, his wife and Jackson in February 2007 in U.S. District Court in Louisville alleging the three schemed to funnel money to Jefferson, his family and foreign officials. Cadle alleges that the scheme bilked stockholders in the technology company out of money by using company funds to pay bribes.
The allegations mirror those in Jefferson's criminal case. An indictment alleges Jefferson received more than $500,000 in bribes and demanded millions more between 2000 and 2005, including $90,000 he received from an FBI informant that was later found in the freezer of his Washington home.
Prosecutors allege that he used his influence as chairman of the congressional Africa Investment and Trade Caucus to broker deals in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and other African nations on behalf of those who paid bribes to him.
Jackson, 55, of Louisville, pleaded guilty to paying more than $400,000 in bribes to Jefferson to gain the congressman's help in obtaining business deals in Africa. Jackson is serving a seven year sentence in federal prison. iGate is now defunct.
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