Businessman pleads guilty to paying bribes to Jefferson

WASHINGTON -- Federal authorities ratcheted up their case against Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, on Wednesday, when a Kentucky businessman admitted in court to paying more than $400,000 in bribes to a bogus company controlled by the congressman's wife and family in exchange for official favors.

Vernon L. Jackson's guilty plea is the second since January in the case, an investigation into what prosecutors describe as Jefferson's four-year scheme to promote a small technology company in the United States and in Africa for secret monthly payments and a share of the company's stock and profits.

Jefferson has not been charged and said Wednesday that he was "surprised and disappointed" by Jackson's plea. He again denied taking improper payments for performing his public duties and said in a statement that "this simple fact will be established in the proper forum, as I am innocent."

Despite the controversy swirling around him, Jefferson has maintained a high-profile schedule, including flying with President Bush aboard Air Force One last week to survey hurricane damage in his New Orleans district.

The Department of Justice, however, said Jackson's admissions are evidence of a serious crime.

"Vernon Jackson got favorable treatment from a congressman because he paid for it," said Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher, who has been nominated to lead the department's criminal division. "Public corruption is not a victimless crime -- all of us lose when people believe public officials can be bought."

A cut of sales

Jefferson is not named in the court documents, which refer to "Representative A," but details in the allegations, including Jefferson's relationship with Jackson, point to the eight-term congressman as the target of the criminal probe that became public in August when the FBI raided his homes in New Orleans and Washington.

As part of his plea to bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery, Jackson, 53, told U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III that starting in January 2001, "Representative A" demanded 5 percent of iGate Corp.'s gross sales over $5 million, and then upped it to 35 percent as it appeared the business was gaining a foothold in Nigeria. Jackson said the representative insisted that all payments go to a company set up by the his wife and daughters....