More than two dozen members of Congress have been indicted since 1980
More than two dozen members of Congress have been indicted since 1980
By Hunter Schwarz July 29 at 2:40 PM
Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) was indicted Wednesday for -- what else -- allegations of mishandling money.
And he's in plenty of company. More than two dozen members of Congress have been indicted since 1990. A handful of the indictments were about sex, and one was about lying about military service. But the vast majority, like Fattah's, are about money -- specifically, members of Congress accused of accepting bribes in exchange for pulling strings on their end.
You see the word "racketeering" pop up a lot while reading about their charges. Everyone's looking to get ahead, and for some members of Congress, the pull of using their office for personal gain is too strong.
Here's a recap of members indicted since 1980. Did we miss any? The comments section awaits.
2015
Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) - on 29 counts (with others involved), accused of racketeering and misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars following his failed run for mayor of Philadelphia in 2007.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) - on 14 counts, including eight counts of bribery, in connection with helping a friend and supporter with his business interests. The case is still open, and Menendez is still in the Senate, vowing to fight.
Former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, center, leaves following his sentencing at federal court Friday, July 17, 2015, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Grimm was sentenced to 8 months in prison on Friday for tax evasion. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen)
2013
Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) - on 20 counts, including five counts of mail and and wire fraud and three counts related to filing false tax returns, in connection with a Manhattan restaurant he ran called "Healthalicious." He was sentenced this month to eight months in prison.
2008
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) - on seven counts, including making false statements, in connection with more than a quarter of a million dollars allegedly gifted from oil company executives to upgrade his home. His subsequent conviction was later overturned.
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) - on 35 counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering, and accused of influencing a land deal in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
2007
Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) - on 16 counts, accused of accepting about $500,000 in bribes. He was sentences to 13 years in prison.
2001
Rep. James Traficant (D-Ohio) - on multiple counts, including bribery, tax evasion and accepting illegal gifts, and accused of a "pattern of racketeering" by soliciting bribes in return for official favors. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.
1996
Rep. Wes S. Cooley (R-Ore.) - on two counts, for allegedly lying to voters about his military service in official state voter guides. He accepted a deal to avoid jail time, but he lost his reelection.
Rep. Nicholas Mavroules (D-Mass.) - accused of accepting illegal gifts and misusing his office for private gain. He was sentences to 15 months in prison.
1994
Sen. David Durenberger (R-Minn.) - indicted in 1993 and re-indicted in 1994 for misuse of public funds and improper reimbursement. He pleaded guilty to five misdemeanors in 1995 and served no jail time.
Rep. Mel Reynolds (D-Ill.) - on 20 counts including child pornography and aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child, in connection with allegations he had sex with a female teenage campaign worker and asked her to take pornographic photos.
He served in prison until 2001, when then-President Bill Clinton commuted a later sentence for bank fraud.
Rep. Walter R. Tucker III (D-Calif.) - on 10 counts, including extortion and filing false tax returns, and accused of accepting bribes from Compton Energy Systems. He was sentenced to 27 months.
Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) - on 17 counts, was accused of corrupt activity including having 14 "ghost employees" who performed little or no official work but instead did things like house and yardwork for him. He served 15 months in federal prison.
Rep. Joseph Kolter (D-Pa.) - on five counts, accused of embezzling more than $40,000 in taxpayer money, in relation to the Rostenkowski case. He was sentenced to six months.
1993
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) - on a misdemeanor count and four felony charges, in connection with allegations she used state employees and time to conduct political and personal business. She was acquitted and served two more decades in the Senate.
Rep. Albert Bustamante (D-Texas) - on 10 counts, and accused he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and used his office for criminal racketeering. He was convicted.
1989
Rep. Donald E. Lukens (R-Ohio) - on misdemeanor chargers he had sex with a teenage girl. He was also accused of paying the girl's mother to have sex with her daughter. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and resigned.
1988
Rep. Patrick Swindall (R-Ga.) - on 10 counts, and accused of lying about his knowledge of drug profit laundering money that was used as the source of a home loan he tried to obtain. He was sentenced to one year.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-N.Y.) - on seven counts, in connection with the same company as below. He served three months in jail.
1987
Rep. Mario Biaggi (D-N.Y.) - on 21 counts, accused of accepting bribes and extorting money from Wedtech Corp., a New York company. He was sentenced to two and a half years.
1983
Rep. George Hansen (R-Idaho) - on four counts of filing false financial disclosure statements. He was accused of not reporting major financial transactions. He served 15 months.
1980
Sen. Harrison A. Williams (D-N.J.) - on nine counts of bribery and conspiracy in connection with an FBI operation involving agents pretending to be Arabs seeking political favors. He was convicted.
Rep. John Jenerette (D-S.C.) - in the same FBI operation as above. He was convicted.
Rep. Richard Kelly (R-Fla.) - in the same FBI operation as above. He was convicted.
Rep. Raymond Lederer (D-Penn.) in the same FBI operation as above. He was convicted.
Rep. Michael Myers (D-Penn.) - in the same FBI operation as above. He was convicted.
Rep. Frank Thompson (D-N.J.) - in the same FBI operation as above. He was convicted.
Rep. John Murphy (D-N.Y.) - in the same FBI operation as above. He was convicted.
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