Jury finds Dallas City Council member, others guilty in bribery and extortion case scheme

September 30th, 2009 NJ jurors quizzed on willingness to watch sex tapeMAYS LANDING, N.J. — Potential jurors in a video blackmail case involving an Atlantic City councilman and his political rivals are being asked if they are willing to watch a sex tape as part of the evidence.

September 11th, 2009 Hartford mayor pleads not guilty to extortionHARTFORD, Conn. — Hartford, Conn., Mayor Eddie Perez has pleaded not guilty to allegations that he tried to extort $250,000 from a real estate developer.

August 22nd, 2009 Ex-La. congressman's brother convicted of briberyNEW ORLEANS — A federal jury has convicted New Orleans political operative Mose Jefferson of bribery charges less than a month after his brother, a former Louisiana congressman, was found guilty of unrelated corruption charges. The jury of six men and six women on Friday convicted Jefferson of two counts each of bribery and obstruction of justice for paying $100,000 in kickbacks to former New Orleans school board president Ellenese Brooks-Simms.

August 6th, 2009 Jury rules ex-congressman must forfeit $470,000ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal jury has ruled that a former Louisiana congressman must forfeit roughly $470,000 in bribery receipts.

July 29th, 2009 Prosecutors: Jefferson had numerous bribe schemesALEXANDRIA, Va. — Prosecutors say the $90,000 cash found in the freezer of a former Louisiana congressman was just the most recent bribe money he'd received.

July 16th, 2009 Detroit consultant, former lawmaker indictedDETROIT — A federal grand jury has indicted a political consultant on corruption charges, accusing him of working with a Detroit City Council member to shake down businesses for bribes in exchange for favors. The charges against Sam Riddle filed Wednesday came less than three weeks after his former boss, Monica Conyers, pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and quit the council.

July 14th, 2009 Jailed pol wants Atlantic City to pay legal billsATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — According to Atlantic City's jailed former city council president, sex, lies and videotape were all in a day's work.

July 7th, 2009 SEC freezes assets of Dallas companyDALLAS — Federal regulators have frozen the assets of a company accused of running a $485 million Ponzi scheme centered on the oil and gas industry. In a statement issued Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission says the scheme was orchestrated by three Dallas businessmen through a company called Provident Royalties LLC.

June 27th, 2009 Bribery charges stand against ex-congressman's kinNEW ORLEANS — A federal judge has refused to throw out bribery charges against the brother of a former Louisiana congressman. Friday's ruling says a newspaper report forecasting Mose Jefferson's indictment didn't taint the grand jury proceedings.

June 26th, 2009 Detroit councilwoman charged with taking bribesDETROIT — City Council member Monica Conyers, the wife of a powerful Democratic congressman, was charged Friday in a bribery scandal, accused of accepting cash bribes in a filing that typically signals a plea deal has been struck. Conyers was expected to appear at a court hearing Friday morning in Detroit, and was not immediately available for comment.

June 26th, 2009 Detroit lawmaker pleads guilty to taking bribesDETROIT — City Council member Monica Conyers, the wife of powerful Democratic congressman John Conyers, pleaded guilty Friday to accepting cash bribes in exchange for supporting a sludge contract with a Houston company. Conyers, a 44-year-old fiery first-term council member, spoke quietly as she pleaded guilty in federal court to a single count of conspiracy to commit bribery, responding only to questions from Judge Avern Cohn.

June 17th, 2009 Detroit councilwoman under scrutiny, scolds mediaDETROIT — In the glare of a corruption investigation, City Council member Monica Conyers tended to home repairs and chaired a meeting on strip clubs Wednesday but said nothing publicly about an alleged scheme to trade votes for money. "I am not going to talk to you.

June 15th, 2009 Key figure pleads guilty in Detroit sludge probeDETROIT — A Detroit businessman pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to bribe a City Council member in exchange for supporting a $47 million-a-year sludge-hauling contract. Rayford Jackson says he arranged for bribes totaling more than $6,000 to the council member, who was not named in federal court documents or during the plea hearing.

June 15th, 2009 US files more charges in Detroit sludge probeDETROIT — Federal authorities have charged a man with conspiring to pay at least $6,000 to a Detroit City Council member in exchange for supporting a sludge-hauling contract with a Texas company. Rayford Jackson was charged with conspiracy Monday.

April 29th, 2009 2 Bahamians plead not guilty in Travolta caseNASSAU, Bahamas — An ambulance driver and a former senator have pleaded not guilty to charges that they tried to extort $25 million from actor John Travolta following the death of his teenage son in the Bahamas. Former Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater remains free on $50,000 bail as does Tarino Lightbourne.