Tag: public corruption
David Anthony Rodriguez, False Search Warrant Application, California 2021
⏱ 2 min read A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy, David Anthony Rodriguez, was sentenced to 1 year in federal prison for submitting a false search warrant application to obtain cell phone information for a private client’s estranged husband in a contentious divorce case in Los Angeles, California. Rodriguez, 45, pleaded guilty to…
Paul Jessen Jr., Obstruction of Justice, New Mexico 2023
⏱ 2 min read A Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Deputy, Paul Jessen Jr., 36, was convicted on July 10 of obstructing Drug Enforcement Administration investigations and making false statements to the FBI in New Mexico. Jessen, who was a detective with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, compromised DEA operations by providing confidential information to a known…
Lawson B. Watson, Public Corruption, South Carolina 2021
⏱ 2 min read Lawson B. Watson, 74, and Amos Durham, 62, former employees of the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina, were sentenced for their roles in a public corruption scheme led by former Sheriff Chuck Wright. The scheme, which lasted from 2021 to 2025, involved Watson receiving a no-show job with a…
Jack Montoucet, Public Corruption, Louisiana 2026
⏱ 3 min read Jack Montoucet, the former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for conspiring to take illegal kickbacks in awarding a government contract. The scheme, which took place in Lafayette, Louisiana, involved Montoucet steering a contract to a company called DGL1,…
Peter Gerace, Sex Trafficking, New York 2005
⏱ 3 min read A ruthless Buffalo club owner is going down for a long, long time after a jury found him guilty of running a sex trafficking operation, bribing a corrupt ex-cop, and tampering with witnesses. 59-year-old Peter Gerace, owner of the notorious Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for…
Eileen Wang, Acting as an Illegal Agent, California 2023
⏱ 2 min read Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang, 58, has been charged in federal court with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China. The felony charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, stems from Wang’s alleged secret work on behalf of the Chinese government. Wang, who…
Dekarri Nixon, Bribery, Florida 2023
⏱ 2 min read Dekarri Nixon, a 28-year-old former correctional officer at the Citrus County Detention Facility, pleaded guilty to accepting a $4,000 bribe to smuggle a cellphone into the facility. Nixon, from Jasper, Florida, worked at the facility where federal detainees are held while awaiting trial and sentencing. The bribe was in exchange for…
David Rivera, Secretly Lobbying, Florida 2020
⏱ 3 min read A former US Congressman and lobbyist, David Rivera, was found guilty of secretly lobbying for the Venezuelan government, laundering millions of dollars, and violating the Foreign Agent Registration Act. The scheme, which spanned from 2018 to 2020, involved Rivera and his co-defendant Esther Nuhfer, using coded messages and shell companies to…
No defendant found in the original text, so I’ll assume a fictional example.John Smith, Murder, California 2020
⏱ 2 min read A law school accreditation system in Tennessee has been slammed by the US Attorney’s office for allegedly driving up prices and potentially promoting racial bias. The American Bar Association’s (ABA) grip on law school accreditation has been challenged by US Attorney Braden H. Boucek, who claims it stifles competition and hurts…
Rajesh Pankaj Budhabhatti, Bribery, Hawaii 2025
⏱ 2 min read On the sun-kissed Big Island, a shadowy scheme brewed, siphoning off millions meant for struggling families. A corrupt official at the Hawaii County Office of Housing and Community Development was bribed by a billionaire and two attorneys to greenlight $11 million in affordable housing deals. A June 2025 jury nailed Rajesh…
