Political Corruption | featured news

New York State Sen. Malcolm Smith and five other politicians pleaded not guilty Tuesday to corruption charges in connection with an alleged plot to buy a line on New York City's mayoral ballot. The allegations revived public concerns about a documented culture of exploitation in Albany that has prompted officials to seek legal recourse to induce change.

Feds busted a Bronx assemblyman today for allegedly pocketing envelopes of cash to push legislation in Albany — marking the second corruption case against a state lawmaker this week. Assemblyman Eric Stevenson [D-Bronx] got caught in a sting operation in which two co-defendants paid bribes to another, unidentified assemblyman who was cooperating with authorities, according to the Manhattan US Attorney's Office.

More than a month after testimony ended, a jury has reached a verdict in the trial of the so-called "Bell 6," who are accused of misappropriation of public funds in a scandal that left a small city southeast of downtown Los Angeles nearly bankrupt.

A lawyer for IMF chief Christine Lagarde says French investigators have searched her Paris home today as part of an inquiry into her role in a $400 million arbitration deal in favor of a tycoon. The laywer, Yves Repiquet (eev ruh-PEE-kay), says Lagarde has nothing to hide and he welcomed Wednesday's search as another step in proving her innocence.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is spending his time in federal prison teaching Civil War history and learning to play the guitar, while his attorneys work on an appeal, his wife said on Friday, the one-year anniversary of the beginning of his 14-year term for corruption....

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll abruptly resigned amid law enforcement questions about a Florida Internet sweepstakes company at the center of a nationwide criminal investigation. Florida Department of Law Enforcement interviewed Carroll Monday about her connections to the company, Allied Veterans of the World, a Florida-based non-profit that operates a chain of Internet cafes.

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was found guilty of multiple counts of racketeering and extortion, a jury decided Monday. Kilpatrick was convicted of 24 charges, including racketeering, extortion, attempted extortion, bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud and filing false tax returns. Both Kilpatrick and contractor Bobby Ferguson were found guilty on most counts. Kilpatrick's 71-year-old father, Bernard Kilpatrick, was only found guilty of one tax count.

The former city leader is given a 1-year sentence, plus probation, community service and must pay $17,000 in restitution... A former Cudahy mayor was sentenced Monday to a year in federal prison for his part in taking $17,000 in bribes from a man who wanted to open a medical marijuana dispensary in the city in southeast Los Angeles County.

Spain's governing Popular Party announced Saturday that it will investigate the financial activities of a former treasurer whom a court said had amassed an unexplained €22 million ($29 million) in Swiss bank accounts.

Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered the arrest of the prime minister on Tuesday on corruption allegations, ratcheting up pressure on a government that is also facing street protests led by a cleric who has a history of ties to the army.