corruption

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Spitzer: I Love New York Senate Mayhem
Spitzer: I Love New York  Senate Mayhem
OPINION
Jun 11, 2009 9:25 AM CDT

Spitzer: I Love New York Senate Mayhem

(Newser) - Madness has descended on Albany, NY. When two Democrats switched sides at the last minute, the Democrats literally locked the Republicans out of the state senate, followed by name calling, court action, and threats to hold a session in an empty field. And that’s actually an improvement, writes Eliot...

Corruption Trial of Ex-Louisiana Rep Kicks Off

Feds say Jefferson took bribes, had $90K stashed in his freezer

(Newser) - Jury selection began today in the trial of former Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. The Democrat is charged with taking bribes and using his office to set up business deals in Africa. “It is good to have my family with me,” he said as...

Like Father, Like Son: Dodd Fights for Future
Like Father,
Like Son: Dodd Fights for Future
INTERVIEW
May 31, 2009 4:32 PM CDT

Like Father, Like Son: Dodd Fights for Future

Conn. senator's recent troubles echo those of his disgraced dad

(Newser) - For the second time in recent memory, a Senator Dodd from Connecticut is accused of corruption and faces a rocky political future, Newsweek reports. The current senator, Chris Dodd, is a 28-year veteran and former presidential candidate, but after devising an AIG loophole and appearing to make shady housing deals,...

Mexican Drug Sweep Snares 10 Mayors
Mexican Drug Sweep
Snares 10 Mayors
May 27, 2009 1:47 AM CDT

Mexican Drug Sweep Snares 10 Mayors

Officials provided 'protection net' to deadly drug cartel

(Newser) - Ten mayors and several police chiefs were busted in a major drug raid yesterday in Mexico's Michoacan state. The public officials provided a "protection net" for the deadly Michoacan Family drug cartel, said law enforcement authorities. The cartel is linked to the murder of 7 people and wounding of...

Blago Brother's Talk With Burris Fair Game for Inquiry

(Newser) - FBI recordings of a conversation between Sen. Roland Burris and the brother of disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich can be released to the Senate Ethics Committee, a judge ruled today. The committee is investigating Burris’ appointment by the now-impeached governor, made after Blagojevich was indicted, the Hill reports. The...

Forget Tea Parties: Irate Brits Talking 'Bout a Revolution

Decades-long tensions come to the fore over latest scandal

(Newser) - Britain’s embattled politicians may have another revolution on their hands, but this time one that’s brewing on their own soil. Citizens are fuming over outrageous personal expenditures—including a miniature “duck house” and the clearing of a moat—by members of Parliament, but tensions have been simmering...

Bitter, Frustrated S. Koreans Mourn Dead Ex-Prez
Bitter, Frustrated S. Koreans Mourn Dead Ex-Prez
ANALYSIS
May 24, 2009 11:46 AM CDT

Bitter, Frustrated S. Koreans Mourn Dead Ex-Prez

Anti-graft leader turned out to be just like corrupt colleagues

(Newser) - South Koreans spent the day yesterday mourning their former president, whose suicide left them sharply divided over his efforts to crush the very kind of corruption of which he was accused, the Los Angeles Times reports. “He was a two-faced person," said one researcher. “He set himself...

Bribed Lawyer Lied to Protect Berlusconi

Italian PM faces calls to resign after court ruling in corruption case

(Newser) - Silvio Berlusconi is facing calls to resign as Italy's prime minister, reports the Times of London, after an Italian court found his lawyer guilty of accepting a bribe to protect him from corruption charges. In a 400-page verdict released yesterday, the judges said that attorney David Mills—the estranged husband...

Iraqi Hospitals Crumble as Drugs Vanish

(Newser) - Filthy, bug-infested Iraqi hospitals still lack basic equipment and supplies that could save thousands of lives, McClatchy reports. With sectarian violence down, doctors and aid groups are blaming government corruption for the nation's health woes. "The government has money," said a fourth-year resident at a Baghdad hospital....

A Doubting Washington Greets Karzai
 A Doubting 
 Washington 
 Greets Karzai 

ANALYSIS
May 6, 2009 7:46 AM CDT

A Doubting Washington Greets Karzai

Afghan president has 'plateaued,' diplomats say

(Newser) - Nearly eight years after the fall of the Taliban, Hamid Karzai comes to the White House today to meet an administration distinctly unimpressed with his governance of Afghanistan. In interviews with two dozen Washington officials, the Washington Post finds anger and frustration with a president overseeing a weak and corrupt...

Texas Firm Charged in Kickback Case

Pension 'pay to play' scheme had tentacles in many states: Cuomo

(Newser) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the SEC brought criminal charges yesterday against Saul Meyer, founder of Aldus Equity Partners, saying the firm had been involved in a “pay to play” scheme to manage part of New York’s pension scheme. And that’s just the tip of...

Fierce Rivalries Shape, Threaten Kenyan Politics
Fierce Rivalries Shape, Threaten Kenyan Politics
Analysis
Apr 25, 2009 4:54 AM CDT

Fierce Rivalries Shape, Threaten Kenyan Politics

Power sharing compromise has resulted in a rancorous impasse

(Newser) - Election violence in 2007 gave way to an uneasy coalition between Kenyan PM Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki, but that move seems only to have transformed the fighting on the streets into squabbling in the capital. Now, "Kenya does not have a functioning executive at all, just an...

NYC Probes Rattner's Firm in Pension Scandal

Quadrangle paid finders fees to indicted adviser's company

(Newser) - New York City authorities are investigating whether Quadrangle Group, formerly led by Obama car czar Steven Rattner, deceived managers of the city's pension funds, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rattner's firm, Quadrangle, paid finders fees to Searle & Co., which had been headed by now-indicted political adviser Hank Morris,...

Burris, Unsure on '10 Election Run, Faces Cash Crunch

Senator collected only $845 in first quarter

(Newser) - Roland Burris says he hasn’t decided if he’ll run for election to his Senate seat in February 2010, but an aide says he has begun fundraising efforts, the Chicago Tribune reports. The “very aggressive” push to raise money “as quickly as possible” can’t come soon...

Blago Can't Hit Costa Rica for Reality Show

NBC wanted ex-guv in Costa Rica for celeb program

(Newser) - A federal judge has barred Rod Blagojevich’s bid to leave the country to join a reality-show cast, the Chicago Tribune reports. The ex-governor’s lawyers hoped he’d get permission in court today to travel to Costa Rica for NBC’s I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of ...

Rattner, Obama's Auto Chief, Caught Up in Kickbacks Probe

Source says Rattner linked to pension fund pay-for-play deal

(Newser) - Steven Rattner, the head of President Obama's auto task force, is involved in an SEC probe of a kickback scandal involving New York state's pension fund, a source tells the Wall Street Journal. Rattner is not accused of any wrongdoing, but is believed to have directed a $1.1 million...

Reality TV Show Seeks to Dump Blago in Jungle

Ex-gov offered space on NBC show if judge gives the OK

(Newser) - NBC wants to pluck Rod Blagojevich from the political wilderness and dump him in the Costa Rican jungle, the Chicago Tribune reports. The ex-Illinois governor, who pleaded not guilty to corruption charges yesterday, has been offered a spot on a new season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of ...

Blago Pleads Not Guilty in Criminal Case

Brother also pleads not guilty to corruption charges

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich and his brother pleaded not guilty to corruption charges today in a 10-minute US district court hearing, the Chicago Tribune reports. The former Illinois governor’s lawyer spoke for him as he faced several questions from the judge, including one on his education. “Mr Rod Blagojevich would...

Vastly Corrupt Afghan Cops Await US Trainers

Obama's plan to train cops faces tough challenge

(Newser) - The 4,000 troops President Obama is sending to train Afghanistan's police and army will run straight into a formidable wall of corruption that undermines national security at every turn, American soldiers tell the New York Times. Cops pilfer gas, judges take money, top officials profit from the drug trade,...

House Ethics Watchdog Investigating Jackson Jr.

(Newser) - A House ethics panel has launched a “preliminary review” of Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr's bid for President Obama’s vacant Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Office of Congressional Ethics, formed last year as an “investigative entity” of private citizens, will look at communications between Jackson’...

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