Jesse Jackson Jr. Facing 5 Years in Jail

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for Fancy Watch, Michael Jackson Gear

After resigning from Congress in November and finally confessing that he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds on luxury goods, Jesse Jackson Jr. will plead guilty on all charges could face considerable jail time, according to an anonymous source speaking to Politico. Last week, the former Illinois Congressman, who served eight terms since 1995, signed a plea bargain with the U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., but it wasn't clear how much he owned up to — or which guilty charges would combine to help a judge determine his sentencing. Now it appears that Jackson has admitted that he took funds totaling $750,000 raised for his Congressional campaign and spent them on jewelry, fur coats, and, you know, a $43,000 Rolex. Jackson's confession ended a four-month-long investigation into improper campaign use by him and his wife, Sandi Jackson, who is also implicated in the plea bargain for conspiring with her husband.

While Jackson will likely pay a hefty fine as part of his bargain — possibly as much as $100,000 — it's unclear exactly how long he'll be locked up. According to NBC's Chicago affiliate, his sentence will be decided by a federal judge, who will take into account the recommendation of the case's prosecution. His sentence shouldn't exceed five years — the maximum punishment for misusing campaign funds — but Politico's source suggests the prosecution "will recommend a prison sentence of between 46 and 57 months." The judge will also likely consider the issue of Jackson's mental illness: he took a long leave of absence from Congress in June 2012 for what was later revealed to be treatment for bipolar disorder.

Update (4:30pm): According to the official charges filed Friday afternoon, Jackson spent campaign funds on Michael Jackson, Bruce Lee, Jimi Hendrix, and Martin Luther King, Jr. memorabilia, which prosecutors hope to confiscate. Here are the relevant portions from court documents obtained by the Huffington Post:


Jesse Jackson Jr. Facing 5 Years in Jail for Fancy Watch, Michael Jackson Gear - Politics - The Atlantic Wire

 

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Jesse Jackson Jr., wife agree to plead guilty

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a spectacular fall from political prominence, former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife agreed Friday to plead guilty to federal charges growing out of what prosecutors said was a scheme to use $750,000 in campaign funds for lavish personal expenses, including a $43,000 gold watch and furs.

Federal prosecutors filed one charge of conspiracy against the former Chicago congressman and charged his ex-alderman wife, Sandra, with one count of filing false joint federal income tax returns for the years 2006 through 2011 that knowingly understated the income the couple received. Both agreed to plead guilty in deals with federal prosecutors.

Both face maximum penalties of several years in prison; he also faces hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and forfeitures. But the government did not immediately release the text of its plea agreements. Such agreements almost invariably call for prosecutors to recommend sentences below the maximum.

The son of a famed civil rights leader, Jackson, a Democrat, entered Congress in 1995 and resigned last November. Sandi, as she's known, was a Chicago alderman, but resigned last month amid the federal investigation.

Jackson used campaign money to buy such things as a $43,350 on a gold-plated, men's Rolex watch and $9,587.64 on children's furniture, according to court papers filed in the case. His wife spent $5,150 on fur capes and parkas, the document said.

"I offer no excuses for my conduct, and I fully accept my responsibility for the improper decisions and mistakes I have made," the ex-congressman said in a written statement released by his lawyers. "I want to offer my sincerest apologies ... for my errors in judgment and while my journey is not yet complete, it is my hope that I am remembered for things that I did right."

Several messages left with Jackson's father, the voluble civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, were not returned Friday. The elder Jackson has often declined to comment about his son's health and legal woes over the past several months.

The government said, "Defendant Jesse L. Jackson Jr., willingly and knowingly, used approximately $750,000 from the campaign's accounts for personal expenses" that benefited him and his co-conspirator, who was not named in the one-count criminal information filed in the case. The filing of a criminal information means a defendant has waived the right to have a grand jury consider the case; it is used by federal prosecutors when they have reached a deal for a guilty plea.

The prosecutors' court filing said that upon conviction, Jackson must forfeit $750,000, plus tens of thousands of dollars' worth of memorabilia items and furs. The memorabilia includes a football signed by U.S. presidents, a Michael Jackson and Eddie Van Halen guitar, a Michael Jackson fedora, Martin Luther King Jr. memorabilia, Malcolm X memorabilia, Jimi Hendrix memorabilia and Bruce Lee memorabilia — all from a company called Antiquities of Nevada.

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and other penalties. U.S. District Judge Robert L. Wilkins is assigned to the case.

Tom Kirsch, an attorney for Jackson's wife said she has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and would plead guilty to one tax count.

Kirsch said his client and her husband have supported each other. He said the episode has been stressful for Sandi Jackson, but she "expected to be held responsible ... and wants to put (it) behind her and her family."

The charge against Sandi Jackson carries a maximum of three-year prison sentence. But Kirsch says the agreement "does not contemplate a sentence of that length."

The court papers said that Jackson filed false financial reports with the U.S. House of Representatives in an attempt to conceal his and his wife's conversion of campaign funds for their personal benefit.

A black and red cashmere cape cost $1,500, a mink reversible parka cost $1,200 and a black fox reversible cost $1,500, prosecutors wrote.

According the government's court papers:

—Jackson and his wife carried out the scheme by using credit cards issued to Jackson's re-election campaigns to pay personal credit card bills for $582,772.58 in purchases by Jackson. Jackson provided his wife and a long-time campaign treasurer $112,150.39, solely for having the two carry out transactions that personally benefited Jackson.

—In a false filing with the House, the owner of an unidentified Alabama-based company issued a $25,000 check to pay down a balance on one of Jackson's personal credit cards. Jackson's financial disclosure statement with the House omitted the payment made on Jackson's behalf.

—In a false campaign filing with the Federal Election Commission, an unidentified treasurer for Jackson's campaigns reported that the campaign spent $1,553.09 at a Chicago Museum for "room rental-fundraiser." In fact, said the court papers, Jackson spent those funds to buy porcelain collector's items.

Jackson's resignation ended a once-promising political career tarnished by unproven allegations that he was involved in discussions to raise campaign funds for imprisoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for appointment — which never came — to President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat. The House Ethics Committee, which no longer has any power over Jackson, may choose to issue a report on the matter.

Jackson denied any wrongdoing in the Blagojevich matter. But the suspicions, along with revelations that he had had an extramarital affair, derailed any aspirations for higher political office. It wasn't clear from the court papers whether the woman with whom he had the affair was among the half dozen people identified the documents by letters of the alphabet rather than by their names.

Since last June, Jackson has been hospitalized twice at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for treatment of bipolar disorder and other issues, and he stayed out of the public eye for months, even during the November elections.

Jesse Jackson Jr., wife agree to plead guilty - Yahoo! News

 

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Wow.

 

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Ex-congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. pleads guilty to fund misuse

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., the son of a civil rights leader and a one-time rising star in Democratic politics, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to misusing about $750,000 in campaign money.

Jackson, 47, of Chicago, wept quietly as he entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Washington, where Judge Robert Wilkins accepted the plea.

"Guilty, your honor. I misled the American people," Jackson said after the judge asked his plea.

Jackson, who dropped out of public view last year and underwent treatment for bipolar disorder, could be sentenced to five years - the maximum allowed by law - under an agreement with prosecutors.

Wilkins scheduled sentencing for June 28.

Jackson's father, Jesse Jackson Sr., sat in the front row of a courtroom filled with family, friends and reporters during the hour-long hearing on Wednesday.

The former congressman's wife, Sandi, is expected to appear at a
separate hearing at 2:30 p.m. (1930 GMT) and plead guilty to filing false tax returns that did not report the campaign money as income. She is a former member of the Chicago City Council.

Born with a name that would be known across the United States because of his father's activism and campaigns for president, Jesse Jackson Jr. was once considered among the nation's most promising black politicians.

He ran for Congress and won at age 30, serving from 1995 until resigning on November 21, citing health reasons and acknowledging he was under investigation by the FBI.

At the hearing, he expressed regret for living off his political campaign's money for years. "I fully understand the consequences of my actions," he said.

Jackson was accused of shipping a $43,350 men's Rolex watch purchased with campaign funds to his Washington address. He also shipped fur capes and parkas purchased with $5,150 in campaign funds to the Beverly Hills home of an unnamed person, the documents said.

Jackson disappeared from public view last summer and speculation swirled for weeks about his condition. He said in late June he had taken a leave of absence two weeks earlier for treatment of what was described as exhaustion.

He issued a statement on July 5 saying his health problems were more serious and he needed extended in-patient treatment for unspecified "physical and emotional ailments."

On July 11, his physician said the congressman was receiving intensive care for a "mood disorder" and was expected to make a full recovery. The Mayo Clinic announced on July 27 that Jackson had been admitted.

Jackson was treated for at least six weeks at Mayo for bipolar disorder, sometimes called manic depression. It is marked by highs and lows of mood, and can be treated by medication and psychological counseling.

Ex-congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. pleads guilty to fund misuse - Yahoo! News