Rep. Jefferson’s Lobbyist Brother Indicted

Keeping with a family tradition of starring in public corruption schemes, the brother of a Louisiana congressman charged with taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes has himself been indicted for bribery, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

Congressman William Jefferson must be proud that his big brother is following his footsteps, adding yet another serious federal indictment to the family accolades. If you recall, the nine-term Democrat from New Orleans was actually video taped by the FBI accepting a $100,000 cash bribe in northern Virginia. Federal agents subsequently raided the lawmaker’s Washington D.C. home and found $90,000 of the money in his freezer, wrapped in aluminum foil and separated into $10,000 increments.

Now big brother the lobbyist has been indicted for bribing a public school official to approve the purchase of millions of dollars worth of software sold by a company he represented. Mose Jefferson repeatedly paid the president of the Orleans Parish School Board to ensure her support for the computer-based algebra curriculum he was pushing.

Last summer the corrupt school board president (Ellenese Brooks-Simms) pleaded guilty in federal court to taking $140,000 in bribes from the elder Jefferson, a well-connected lobbyist and consultant who for decades has served as a chief strategist and campaign organizer for his little brother the disgraced legislator.

Although Mose Jefferson’s indictment is quite substantial, with seven felony counts, the crown in this battle of the crooked siblings undoubtedly goes to little brother who has appropriately earned the title of “Dollar Bill.” William’s massive 94-page indictment is more than an inch thick and could help send him to jail for the rest of his life.