Ex-congressman with fondness for cold cash gets 13-year term

Last update: November 13, 2009 - 8:09 PM

ALEXANDRIA, VA. - A former Louisiana congressman who famously stashed cash in his freezer was sentenced on Friday to 13 years in prison for taking hundreds of thousands in bribes in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa.

The sentence was far less than the nearly 30 years prosecutors had sought for William Jefferson, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans for nearly 20 years.

Jefferson was convicted in August of 11 counts, including bribery and racketeering. Prosecutors at his two-month trial said he took roughly $500,000 in bribes and sought millions more.

The investigation started in March 2005. In August of that year, FBI agents searched Jefferson's Washington home and found $90,000 wrapped in foil and hidden in boxes of frozen pie crusts in his freezer. Prosecutors said he had planned to use the money to pay a bribe to the then-vice president of Nigeria to secure a multimillion-dollar telecommunications deal.

The defense argued that Jefferson was acting as a private business consultant. AP

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