USA Political Scams Between 2010–2019

2010–2019

• Alabama State Representative Terry Spicer (D) pled guilty to accepting more than $3000 per month in bribes. (2011)
• Alabama Four state senators and 7 others were indicted for fraud, bribery and conspiracy concerning electronic bingo machines. (2010)Accused include;

1. Harri Anne Smith (R) Ran in 2010 as an Independent.
2. James Preuitt (R)
3. Larry Means (D)
4. Quinton Ross Jr. (D)

• Alabama State Senator Lowell Barron (D) from DeKalb County was arrested and charged with six counts including two counts of ethics violations, and four counts of violation of the Fair Campaign Practices Act by writing checks from his campaign account to former staffer Jill Johnson. (2012)

• Arkansas Treasurer Martha Shoffner (D), has been arrested by the FBI on charges of extortion and bribery.

• Arizona State Representative Ben Arredondo (R/D) has been charged with bribery, fraud and extortion. He was found quilty and sentenced to 18 months of house arrest. (2012)
• Arizona State Senator Scott Bundgaard (R) resigned just before the State Senate Ethics Committee was expected to recommend his expulsion after allegations of assault on his girlfriend.
• Arizona State Representative Richard Miranda (politician) (D) resigned in February 2012 citing family and health reasons. In March 2012 he pled guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion.

• California Assembly Member Mary Hayashi (D) was convicted of shoplifting. (2011)
• California State Senator Roy Ashburn (R) of Bakersfield was noted leaving a gay bar and arrested on two counts of DUI. The divorced father of four confirmed he was gay on a local radio station, even though he had voted against several gay rights initiatives. (2010)
• California Southern California Treasurer Kinde Durkee was arrested for possible mail fraud.
• California State Senator Leland Yee (D) charged with public corruption and gun trafficking (2014)
• California State Senator Ron Calderon (D) charged with wire fraud, bribery, money laundering and falsification of tax returns (2014)
• California Former State Assemblyman Tom Calderon (D) charged with wire fraud, bribery, money laundering and falsification of tax returns (2014)

• Colorado former US Congressman and Gubernatorial Candidate Scott McInnis (R-CO) lost the primary election for governor after revelations surfaced that he plagiarized an essay on water rights, for which he had been paid $300,000.
• Colorado State Representative Douglas Bruce (R), In 2011, Douglas Bruce was convicted of four counts of felony criminal activity including money laundering, attempted improper influence of a public official, and tax fraud. He was sentenced on February 13, 2012 to a total of 180 days in jail, ordered to pay a total of $49,000 in fines, and subject to six months of probation which includes extensive disclosure requirements.

• Connecticut Campaign Manager Joshua Nassiand Campaign Finance Director Robert Braddock, Jr. of House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan(D), have been indicted in an FBI investigation into campaign finance corruption. Donovan has not been charged. (2012)
• Connecticut State Representative Brenda Kupchick, (R) was charged with assault in the third degree and disorderly conduct after a fight with her sister. (2013)
• Delaware State Senator candidate Eric Bodenweiser, (R) was accused of 117 counts of child molestation. Shortly before his arrest, Bodenweiser abruptly ended his State Senate campaign in District 19. Bodenweiser has pled not guilty.(2013)

• Florida State Senator M. Mandy Dawson (D) was arrested for tax evasion in July 2011.
• Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer (R) resigned from his position and was later arrested on six counts of fraud for stealing at least $125,000 from the Republican Party (United States). (2010)

• Florida Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll (R) On March 12, 2013, Carroll abruptly resigned on the same day she was questioned by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement about a gambling racketeering case concerning her consulting work. She has not been charged.
• Florida State Representative Mitch Needelman (R) was arrested for bribery and official misconduct while Clerk of Brevard County.
• Florida Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, Jim Greer (R) was sentenced to 18 months in prison plus one year of probation after pleading guilty to four counts of theft and one count of money laundering, admitting he stole some $200,000 of party donations.

• Georgia, Gwinnett County Commissioner Shirley Lasseter (R) resigned and pled guilty to bribery. (2012)
• Georgia State Senator Charles Walker (D) from Augusta, was convicted of 127 felony charges related to various schemes. Walker paid $698,047 in restitution and another $200,000 in fines and court fees. July 13, 2013
• Georgia gubernatorial candidate Linda Schrenko(R) served as the state’s schools superintendent for eight years and then made a run for governor. She stole $600,000 in federal funds set aside for educational services for deaf children and the governor’s honors programs. She used the funds for her campaign for governor and facial plastic surgery.(2006) She pled guilty to fraud andmoney laundering, and was sentenced to 8 years in prison, fined and will be required to serve 3 yearsprobation.
• Georgia State Representative Robin Williams a Republican from Augusta, stole more than $2 million from the local community mental health center. He was convicted of conspiracy; theft; health-care fraud; money laundering; and bribery. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by three years of supervision.

• Idaho State Senator John McGee (R) was arrested in June for drunk driving and grand theft auto after drunkenly driving away with someone else's truck. (2011) On July 16, 2011, the Republican Central Committee for the State of Idaho approved a no-confidence motion on McGee. On February 22, 2012, McGee, submitted his resignation amid sexual harassment charges asserted by a senate attachė.
• Idaho 2008 gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell(R) was arrested for felony jury tampering concerning an elk poaching trial in which he eventually pled guilty. (2011)
• Idaho former gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell (R) was arrested for battery after he confronted a couple he alleges were trespassing. (2011)

• Illinois State Senator Suzi Schmidt (R) announced she would not run for office in 2012. She had been criticized for telling a 911 operator to "just ignore" calls from her husband, "because he knows I have connections".
• Illinois State Representative La Shawn K. Ford is aDemocratic, representing the 8th District. On November 29, 2012, he was indicted on charges of bank fraud.
• Illinois Alderman of Chicago, Sandi Jackson (D) pled guilty to one count of filing false tax returns in conjunction with her husband US RepresentativeJesse Jackson, Jr. pleading guilty to fraud in February 2013.
• Illinois Comptroller and Treasurer for Dixon, IL,Rita Crundwell was arrested for fraud after allegedly embezzling as much as $30 million over many years. The money was used to support a lavish lifestyle and support her horse ranch, the Meri-J.On February 14, 2013, Crundwell was sentenced to 19 years and 7 months in prison, just under the maximum 20-year sentence.
• Illinois State Representative Derrick Smith (D) was arrested for accepting a $7000 bribe. (2012)

• Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White (R) was convicted of 6 of 7 felony charges including perjury, theft and voter fraud.
• Indiana Deputy Attorney General Jeff Cox (R) was fired on February 24, 2011 after he sent a Twitter stating that Wisconsin police should "Use live ammunition" to evict protestors from the state capitol. He later continued, "You're damned right I advocate deadly force".
• Indiana while serving as Florida Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett (R) in 2013 resigned his position in Florida after reports that, while in Indiana, he upped the grade of a charter school run by a major GOP donor.
• Iowa State Senator Kent Sorenson (R) resigned after a special investigator found it “manifestly clear“ he violated ethics rules by accepting money connected to presidential candidate Michele Bachmann's campaign and then denying he'd done so.(2013)

• Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline (R) had his law license suspended by the Kansas Supreme Court who cited “clear and convincing evidence” of professional misconduct. He was found to have violated 11 rules governing the professional conduct of attorneys during his tenure as the state’s highest law enforcement officer and while he served as Johnson County District Attorney.

• Maine Representative Frederick Wintle (R) On May 21, 2011, Wintle was arrested for pointing a handgun at a photographer at point-blank range in aDunkin' Donuts parking lot. Wintle was arrested for criminal threatening. In September 2011, Wintle resigned from the House of Representatives.

• Maryland County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) of Prince George's County on December 6, 2011, was sentenced to seven years and three months inButner federal prison in North Carolina and fined $100,000.
• Maryland Director of Communications Paul E. Schurick, a Republican and the campaign manager of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., (R-MD) was sentenced to home detention and community service Thursday for approving Election Day robocalls to keep black voters from the polls. 2012

• Massachusetts State Treasurer Tim Cahill (I) was indicted by a grand jury on April 2, 2012 on charges that he used $1.65 million of Massachusetts State Lottery advertising to aid his 2010 campaign for governor.
• Massachusetts State Representative Carlos Henriquez (D) was charged with assault and kidnapping of a woman in July 2012 and released after posting $1000 bond.
• Massachusetts State Representative Stephen Stat Smith (D) has agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of deprivation of rights under color of law for his role in a voter fraud scheme.
• Massachusetts Middlesex County Sheriff James DiPaola (D) was questioned by Boston Globereporters for exploiting a state pension loophole.The next day, DiPaola phoned the Globe and confessed. On November 27, 2010, DiPaola was found dead in Wells, Maine from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
• Massachusetts: Chairman and Executive Director of the Essex Regional Retirement Board Timothy A. Bassett was fined $10,000 by the state Ethics Commission, which found that Bassett had illegally used public time and facilities to further his lobbying business.
• Massachusetts: Former State RepresentativeBrian P. Wallace was indicted on criminal campaign finance violations on July 21, 2011.

• Mississippi Judge Bobby DeLaughter, who was made famous for finally convicting Byron De La Beckwith in 1994 for the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, pled guilty to one count of lying to the FBI in an unrelated case and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
• Mississippi Press Secretary Dan Turner resigned from the staff of Governor Haley Barbour (R) after Turner e-mailed jokes about the Japanese earthquake and Democratic Attorney General Janet Reno were made public. (2011)
• Mississippi State Representative Brian Aldridge(R) of Tupelo has been indicted on embezzlement charges. He has served in the House since 2004. (2013)

• Michigan Democrat Mayor of Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick was found guilty on 40 counts of racketeering and extortion.
• Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway, a Democrat elected in 2008, resigned on January 21, 2013 following a judicial commission’s recommendation that she be suspended for “blatant and brazen” ethics violations concerning her real estate transactions which were investigated by the FBI. (2013)

• Montana State Senator Jason Priest a Republican representing District 30 in Red Lodge, was arrested for domestic violence and resisting arrest.

• Nevada Democratic State Representative Steven Brooks was arrested September 5, 2013 just hours after the legislature found him too dangerous and unpredictable to serve out his elected term. Lawmakers wept Thursday as they cited concerns about their own safety and evidence collected about an increasingly bizarre series of public incidents.

• New Jersey the staff of Governor Chris Christie (R)partially closed the City of Fort Lee's entrance to the George Washington bridge allegedly as political retribution directed toward the Democratic Mayor of Fort Lee for non support of Governor Christie. Christie stated that he was “embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my staff.”

1. Bridget Anne Kelly Christie's Deputy Chief of Staff was fired.
2. Bill Stepien Christie's Campaign Manager resigned on Thursday. His emails showed Stepien gloating over the traffic chaos that resulted when two out of three local approach lanes to the bridge were shut.
3. Bill Baroni Mr. Christie’s top appointee to the bridge Port Authority, resigned in December after port officials testified the men had violated protocols and had sought to hide their plans for the lane closings from Fort Lee officials.
4. David Wildstein Christie's No. 2 appointee at the Port Authority — who attended high school with Christie — also resigned.

• New Jersey state senate candidate Phil Mitsch (R) was dropped by the state GOP saying this man is "not worth supporting." Mitsch had sent two twitters stating that, "a woman should be a maid in the living room and a whore in the bedroom".
• New Jersey State Representative Robert AndrewsD resigned while being investigated for possible ethics violations related to using campaign funds for personal use.

• New Hampshire State Representative Gary Wheaton (R) resigned from the legislature after being arrested for speeding and driving on a suspended license, his second traffic arrest.

• New York State Senator Carl Kruger (D) resigned his seat and pled guilty to charges of corruption and bribery. (2011)
• New York State Assemblyman William Boyland, Jr.(D) was arrested for soliciting bribes. The assemblyman's chief of staff, Ry-Ann Hermon, was also arrested on related charges.
• New York State Senator Hiram Monserrate (D) of the 13th District, was expelled by the New York State Senate on February 9, 2010 in connection with a misdemeanor assault conviction against his girlfriend.
• New York businessman Carl Paladino (R) running for Governor of New York and supported by the Tea Party movement admitted to his wife and children that he also has a ten-year-old daughter from anextramarital relationship with former employee, Suzanne Brady.
• New York State Senator Efrain Gonzalez (D) On May 25, 2010, Gonzalez was sentenced to 84 months (7 years) in prison, followed by two years supervised release, after pleading guilty to twoconspiracy counts and two wire fraud counts in May 2009.
• New York Democratic State Senator Malcolm Smith was indicted along with 5 Republicans for trying to bribe his way onto the NY City mayoral ballot.
• New York State Assemblyman William Scarborough (D) charged with corruption. (2014)
• New York City Council member Larry Seabrook (D) On February 9, 2010, a federal grand jury indicted Seabrook on 13 counts of money laundering, extortion, and fraud. Seabrook was convicted on 9 charges in July 2012.

• North Carolina state representative Stephen LaRoque, an outspoken Republican from Kinston, was supposed to redirect loans from the U.S Department of Agriculture to small business owners in rural areas with limited access to capital, instead he took $300K for himself. He was convicted on 12 counts including theft, money laundering and filing false tax returns. (2013)
• Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina Patrick Cannon(D) charged with accepting bribes (2014)
• North Carolina three associates including the Campaign Finance Director of Governor Bev Perdue(D) have been indicted for obstructing justice. Perdue was not implicated.
• Northern Mariana Islands Governor Benigno Fitial, (R) resigned citing his personal health, barely weeks after being impeached by the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives on 13 charges of corruption, felony, and neglect of duty including the release of a prisoner to serve as a personal masseuse. He is the first United States territorial governor to be impeached.

• Ohio State Representative W. Carlton Weddington(D) was convicted on bribery charges and sentenced to three years in prison in June 2012.

• Oklahoma State Representative Randy Terrill (R-Moore) was found guilty of bribery in connection with the 2010 Oklahoma political corruption investigation concerning the Office of the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner in which he bribed State Senator Debbie Leftwich (D-Oklahoma City) to give up her seat so State Representative Mike Christian(R-Oklahoma City]] could run for it instead. Terrill was sentenced to one year in prison. Christian and Leftwich were not charged.(2013) 
• Oklahoma State Senator Mike Morgan (D) was sentenced to five years’ probation for bribery and ordered to pay $12,000 in 2013.

• Northern Mariana Islands Governor Benigno Fitial, (R) resigned citing his personal health, barely weeks after being impeached by the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives on 13 charges of corruption, felony, and neglect of duty including the release of a prisoner to serve as a personal masseuse. He is the first United States territorial governor to be impeached.

• Ohio State Representative W. Carlton Weddington(D) was convicted on bribery charges and sentenced to three years in prison in June 2012.

• Oklahoma State Representative Randy Terrill (R-Moore) was found guilty of bribery in connection with the 2010 Oklahoma political corruption investigation concerning the Office of the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner in which he bribed State Senator Debbie Leftwich (D-Oklahoma City) to give up her seat so State Representative Mike Christian(R-Oklahoma City]] could run for it instead. Terrill was sentenced to one year in prison. Christian and Leftwich were not charged.(2013)
• Oklahoma State Senator Mike Morgan (D) was sentenced to five years’ probation for bribery and ordered to pay $12,000 in 2013.

• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin (R) submitted her resignation a month after she and her sister Janine Orie pled guilty on February 21, 2013 of using government judicial staff, as well as the government staffers of another sister, former state Sen. Jane Orie, to work on their campaigns in 2003 and 2009.
• Pennsylvania legislator Joe Brennan (D) is accused of punching and choking his wife at their Fountain Hill home and was charged with assault. (2012)
• Pennsylvania State Senator and RepublicanMajority Whip of the Pennsylvania Senate, Jane Orie(R) was convicted in March 2012, of 14 counts of forgery, conflict of interest and theft of services, which included 5 felonies. (2012)
• Pennsylvania State Representative & Speaker of the House of Representatives John M. Perzel (R), pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, including two counts of conflict of interest, two counts of theft, and four counts of conspiracy, concerning a scheme to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on computer technology from Aristotle, Inc. for the benefit of GOP political campaigns. (2011)
• Pennsylvania Perzel’s Chief of Staff Brian Preski(R) was sentenced to 2½ years.
• Pennsylvania State Representative Brett Feese (R) sentenced to 4 to 12 years in state prison, an additional 2 years of probation, a $25,000.00 fine, and $1,000,000.00 in restitution for his role in the Computergate state government corruption scandal.

• Pennsylvania A Federal probe of using government staff for campaign work and paying them bonuses with public funds was dubbedBonusgate and led to the arrest of six members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly plus staff. Including;

1. State Senator Jane Orie (R)
2. State Senator Robert Mellow (D) now retired, was charged with one count of filing a false tax return. (2012)
3. State Representative Bill DeWeese (D) was convicted of five felony charges on February 6, 2012.
4. State Representative Brett O. Feese (R) was sentenced to 4–12 years in prison for corruption.
5. Staff to Freese, Jill Seaman
6. State Representative Mike Veon (D) was found guilty on 14 counts of illegal campaign fund raising. (2010)
7. Staff to Veon, Annamarie Peretta-Rosepink
8. State Representative John M. Perzel (R) pled guilty to eight criminal charges, concerning a scheme to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on computer technology from Aristotle, Inc. for the benefit of GOP political campaigns.

• Pennsylvania State Senator Vince Fumo (D) On March 16, 2009, Fumo was found guilty of 137 counts of corruption. His former aide, Ruth Arnao, was found guilty of 45 counts. On July 14, 2009, Fumo was sentenced to 55 months in prison.Aides were found guilty of destroying evidence.
• Pennsylvania Attorney General Ernie Preate In 1995, the former Republican candidate for governor went to jail after pleading guilty to corruption charges.

• Rhode Island State Representative and Minority Leader Robert A. Watson (R) was stopped in Connecticut at a police checkpoint and was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalian, and driving under the influence.
• Rhode Island State Representative Daniel P. Gordon (R) of Porstmouth when arrested for drunk driving told police it was due to PTSD from being wounded in the Gulf War. A check revealed he was never in combat, but did reveal an extensive arrest record in Massachusetts for assault and attempted murder. Both the House Speaker and GOP leader have asked him to resign. (2011)
• Rhode Island House of Representatives speakerGordon Fox (D) charged with corruption (2014)
• State Representative Daniel P. Gordon (R) of Portsmouth when arrested for drunk driving told police it was due to post-traumatic stress disorderfrom being wound in the gulf war. A check revealed he was never in combat, but did reveal an extensive arrest record in Massachusetts for assault and attempted murder. (2011)

• South Carolina State Representative Thad Viers(R) was arrested on January 6, 2012 on charges of harassing a 28-year-old woman described as an ex-girlfriend. He was released and subsequently withdrew his bid for another term in office. Viers was also charged in 2006.
• South Carolina State Representative Kris Crawford(R) from Florence County, was charged with seven counts of failure to file state tax documents. (2010)
• South Carolina Lt. Governor Ken Ard (R) resigned his position and pled guilty to 7 counts of mis-use of campaign funds. He was sentenced to 5 years probation, fined $5K and given 300 hours community service. (2011)
• Texas State Representative Ron Reynolds (D) was arrested and charged with violating the state barratry law (unlawful solicitation of clients by lawyers).

• TexasA three-judge federal court found the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature guilty of discriminating against Latinos and blacks in the drawing of new election districts and threw out its redistricting plans for both the U.S. House of Representatives and the state Legislature.
• Texas State Representative Drew Darby (R) is facing a felony charge after he attempted to take a weapon through a security screening at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Darby was booked into Travis County Jail at 7:22 a.m. on Nov. 14 after carrying a .38 caliber Ruger and six rounds of ammunition.

• Utah State Representative Sheldon Killpack (R) The Utah House Majority Leader resigned after being charged with suspicion of DUI. (2010)
• Utah Attorney General John Swallow (R) resigned amid questions about widespread ethics violations. Mr. Swallow said “I have vigorously maintained my innocence of all allegations.” A special committee and the Lieutenant Governor’s office have both been looking into whether he had given preferential treatment to his donors and failed to disclose other conflicts of interest.

• Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell (R) and his wife were indicted on 14 Federal corruption charges including conspiracy, wire fraud and making false statements. (2014)

• Washington State Representative Matt Shea (R) brandished an illegal handgun and chased another motorist at 60 mph through a residential area. The Spokane Police cited Matt Shea with two violations of the State’s firearm law. 2012

• Wyoming State Representative Bob Nichols (R) was arrested in Florida for beating his son at a restaurant.