William J. Jefferson

William Jennings "Bill" Jefferson ( born March 14, 1947 in Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, Louisiana ) is a former American politician. Between 1991 and 2009 he represented the state of Louisiana in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

William Jefferson attended Griffin High School in Lake Providence and then studied until 1969 at the Southern University and A & M College in Baton Rouge. After a subsequent law degree from Harvard University and his made ​​in 1972 admitted to the bar he began to work in his new profession. Between 1972 and 1973 he worked for the Federal District Judge Alvin B. Rubin. In the years 1973 and 1975 he was on the staff of U.S. Senator Bennett Johnston of Louisiana.

Politically, Jefferson was a member of the Democratic Party. From 1979 to 1990 he sat in the Senate from Louisiana. In the years 1982 and 1986, he ran unsuccessfully for the respective office of mayor of New Orleans. In the congressional elections of 1990, Jefferson was the second electoral district of Louisiana in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC chosen, where he became the successor of Lindy Boggs on 3 January 1991. After eight re- election he was able to complete in Congress until January 3, 2009 nine legislative sessions.

Since 2006, William Jefferson was under surveillance by the FBI, which was investigating him for corruption. Nevertheless, he was elected again this year in Congress. In the 2008 elections he was defeated probably because of the charges against him the Republican Joseph Cao. On 13 November 2009 William Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years in prison for corruption by a court in Virginia. This is the highest fine ever imposed on a congressman for this offense. Even some of his relatives were sentenced to similar penalties for complicity.

823241
de