Posted on 01/09/2010 1:38:20 PM PST by Libloather
William Jefferson's wife says she's entitled to assets sought by feds
By Bruce Alpert, Times-Picayune
January 05, 2010, 4:06AM
The wife of former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, is entitled to half the proceeds of some assets the Justice Department is seeking from her husband as restitution for his corruption convictions last summer, an attorney for Andrea Jefferson says in a new court filing.
Federal Judge T.S. Ellis III ruled in November that Jefferson, who was convicted on 11 of 16 corruption charges, must forfeit $470,653 the government says he obtained through the illegal activities at the core of the guilty verdicts.
David Smith, Andrea Jefferson's attorney, said because Louisiana is a community property state, a spouse is entitled to half her mate's assets.
Smith said the Justice Department has already agreed to let Andrea Jefferson keep half the $380,000 in the former congressman's thrift savings account that the government has sought under the forfeiture order. But Smith said Andrea Jefferson also wants half the $15,000 deposited in a bank account for the Nigerian telecommunications project her husband championed and half the proceeds of a buyout agreement from William Jefferson's former New Orleans law firm. The buyout amount is a $200,000, according to a bankruptcy filing by the couple.
Smith has asked Ellis to schedule a hearing on the matter.
Meanwhile, the attorneys for William Jefferson, 62, have given an outline of the issues they expect to raise in their appeal of the guilty verdicts before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.
In a "non-binding statement" of issues they might raise on appeal, filed late last month, the defense team, led by Washington D.C. lawyers Amy Jackson and Robert Trout listed the following:
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Well, you don’t necessarily have to write “(felon)”, you could just simply write “Democrat”;))
One half of a refrigerator.
Andrea Jefferson learned well from her crook husband. I love the ‘he crooked it while we were married, so I gets half’ mentality. Can’t believe that the injustice department went along with it ... no wait, I lied ... it makes perfect sense in a Holder kinda way.
Sorry lady ‘rat, but you also showed poor judgement when you married that theif.
Put her in jail too
I’m sure she was in on it from the get go. This ain’t Madoff.
she is implicating herself to the crime if she want a claim on it.
Ignorant
She is entitled to half of his ill-gotten gains as “restitution”?? How does that work again?
Why are these people still in office? Why were they ever in office?
Willie stol dat fah and squah. It’smine!
Because we let people who don't pay taxes to vote.
Thread win.
From the comments after the article
posted by merrymg
January 04, 2010, 7:16PM
She still has her job at Southern ($72,000 a year)..
and did not miss any pay checks..
It is unfortunate that in these tough times for higher education that the Southern University system continues to pay $72,100 and Mrs. Jefferson continues to accept her salary. This is the type of waste that is plaguing our higher education systems,” Republican State Rep. Cameron Henry said.
State Sen. Julie Quinn, also a Republican, said, “Mrs. Jefferson’s ‘paid leave of absence’ ... doesn’t pass the ‘smell test,’ particularly when higher education has been forced to increase tuition and fees due to budget cuts.”
Jefferson serves as vice president of institutional development. Her responsibilities include marketing, public relations and alumni affairs. The Southern University system would not elaborate on Jefferson’s paid leave, but Brox said such moves are often done to keep executives on staff.
“If she is such an important administrator, you might want to keep her on the payroll to prevent her from leaving and going elsewhere,” said Brox.
And Jefferson’s daughter, Jamila Jefferson, told WDSU it’s paid leave “earned” by her mother: more than 13 weeks of “accrued time off.” The university system would not confirm it directly, but Jamila Jefferson shared an e-mail from the system stating as much.
Here is my understanding.
He has to make restitution for all the ill gotten gains. There were probably assets that were legal.
The wife is entitled to half of the legal assets. The problem rises in determining if the remaining assets are adequate to exceed the total required for restitution. The wife can claim half of what is left after restitution in full.
The source of a specific legal assets account is irrelevant. Restitution must be made from all assets until paid in full.
She is not entitled to anything the government gets though.
You are correct but a good lawyer will still try
Nobody is entitled to any part of their partner’s ill gotten gains, unless they also accept an equal part of their sentence as well.
Darn right she is. Politicians never ack alone.
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