The Fight Continues |
Bribery incidents in the United States:
"In 2009, for instance, Louisiana Rep. William J. Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years in prison for bribery after $90,000 in cash was found in his freezer for what he maintained were perfectly legitimate reasons. They weren't. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office after it was discovered he solicited bribes for political appointment after Barack Obama became president and left an empty seat in the Senate in 2008. Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. Corruption forced the little city of Crystal City, Texas, to basically start over after its mayor, city manager, mayor pro tempore, a city councilman and a former councilman were arrested by federal agents in February for charges of bribery linked to illegal casino operations." - Colin Wood, GovTech, 2016 |
Preventing Corruption
“Public corruption, the FBI’s top criminal investigative priority, poses a fundamental threat to our national security and way of life. It can affect everything from how well our borders are secured and our neighborhoods protected to how verdicts are handed down in courts to how public infrastructure such as roads and schools are built. It also takes a significant toll on the public’s pocketbooks by siphoning off tax dollars—it is estimated that public corruption costs the U.S. government and the public billions of dollars each year. The FBI is uniquely situated to combat corruption, with the skills and capabilities to run complex undercover operations and surveillance." - Public Corruption, What We Investigate, FBI
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"In 2008, the FBI created the International Corruption Unit (ICU) to oversee the increasing number of investigations involving global fraud against the U.S. government and the corruption of federal public officials outside of the continental U.S. involving U.S. funds, persons, businesses, etc.” - Public Corruption, What We Investigate, FBI
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