Politicians Behaving Badly | featured news

Anthony Weiner says he will soon decide whether to run for mayor of New York. As the former congressman weighs the pros and cons, he might want to keep an eye on Mark Sanford's comeback attempt in South Carolina.

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.

Six New York politicians were arrested on Tuesday for their alleged role in a bribery scandal that saw a prominent Democrat pay top Republicans for permission to run on their ticket in the city's upcoming mayoral race, prosecutors said.

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....

Republican Assemblyman Steve Katz has been charged with marijuana possession after a Thursday morning traffic stop on the Thruway. The 59-year-old was initially stopped at 10 a.m. for allegedly driving 80 mph northbound on the toll road close by the town of Coeymans.

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.

Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has signed a plea deal regarding the inappropriate use of official funds, Fox News has learned. Details of the deal are unclear, but Fox News has learned that it also pertains to a "social acquaintance" of the former Illinois Democratic congressman.

More than a decade ago, Ray Nagin was elected mayor of New Orleans on a vow to root out corruption in a city plagued by decades of it. On Friday, the former mayor was indicted on charges he lined his pockets with bribe money, payoffs and gratuities while the chronically poor city struggled to recover from Hurricane Katrina's punishing blow.