William Jefferson Appeal: Supreme Court Rejects Hearing Challenge From Former Congressman

Supreme Court Rejects Appeal Of Former Congressman
FILE - In a Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009 file photo, former Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson walks to federal court in Alexandria, Va. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond will hear oral arguments in Jefferson's case Friday, Dec. 9, 2011 but won't rule immediately. Jefferson, a Democrat, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for soliciting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa. The FBI in 2005 videotaped Jefferson accepting a briefcase filled with $100,000 in cash, most of which was later found in his freezer. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)
FILE - In a Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009 file photo, former Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson walks to federal court in Alexandria, Va. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond will hear oral arguments in Jefferson's case Friday, Dec. 9, 2011 but won't rule immediately. Jefferson, a Democrat, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for soliciting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa. The FBI in 2005 videotaped Jefferson accepting a briefcase filled with $100,000 in cash, most of which was later found in his freezer. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)

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WASHINGTON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the appeal of former Louisiana congressman William Jefferson, who had challenged his 2009 conviction on multiple charges of bribery and money laundering.

In March, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, had upheld 10 of 11 guilty counts against the former Democratic lawmaker.

A federal jury had found Jefferson guilty of soliciting bribes, money laundering and participation in a racketeering scheme. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison but remained free while pursuing an appeal.

Prosecutors accused him of soliciting millions of dollars in bribes from companies while using his office to broker ventures such as telecommunications transactions in Ghana and Nigeria, oil concessions in Equatorial Guinea, investments in a Nigerian sugar plant and satellite transmission contracts in Botswana, Equatorial Guinea the Republic of Congo. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Howard Goller and Bill Trott)

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