corruption

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Talk Show Host Grills Blago
 Talk Show Host Grills Blago 
Sep 11, 2009 4:20 PM CDT

Talk Show Host Grills Blago

Bonnie Hunt tells former governor to take responsibility

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich got unexpectedly tough treatment from Bonnie Hunt on her talk show today, the Chicago Tribune reports. In what was probably supposed to be a routine stop on the former governor’s book tour, Hunt, an Illinois native, instead pressed Blago on why he doesn’t take responsibility for...

Ex-Taiwan Prez Convicted of Corruption, Sentenced to Life

Chen Shui-bian and wife both found guilty of embezzlement, taking bribes

(Newser) - The former president of Taiwan was convicted of corruption and sentenced to life imprisonment today, marking a watershed event in the island's turbulent political history. Chen Shui-bian, president from 2000 to 2008, was charged with embezzling $3.15 million from a special presidential fund, receiving bribes worth at least $9...

Blago Book: Senate Deal 'Routine' Politics

Former Illinois gov admits only 'routine' backroom dealing

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich’s memoir makes the case for his innocence with a lot of help from Shakespeare, the Chicago Tribune reports. While blaming his woes specifically on five enemies, he likens his plight to that of Othello and Lear. “You might as well throw in a little Richard the...

Olmert Charged With Corruption
 Olmert Charged With Corruption 
Aug 30, 2009 1:55 PM CDT

Olmert Charged With Corruption

Ex-Israeli PM convinced in court he'll 'be able to prove his innocence once and for all'

(Newser) - Israel’s attorney general has officially indicted former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on corruption charges, the BBC reports. The 61-page charge, filed in court today, accuses Olmert of "fraud, breach of trust, registering false corporate documents, and concealing fraudulent earnings.” Olmert denies all the charges, which relate to...

Tennis Cops Warn Players About US Open Tweeting

Using Twitter during matches could be 'inside information,' violate corruption rules

(Newser) - Tennis authorities are telling participants in the US Open, which begins Monday, to watch their tweeting. Signs are posted in the players' lounge, locker rooms and referee's office at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with the header: "Important. Player Notice. Twitter Warning." The signs, written...

Novel About Corruption May Be Kremlin Official's Work

Close to Zero portrays bribes, fraud as commonplace in contemporary Russia

(Newser) - A novel about a publisher navigating Russia’s complex web of political favors and payoffs may have been written by a top Kremlin official, the Moscow Times reports. Sources at Russky Pioner magazine, which published excerpts of Close to Zero before its release last month, say Vladislav Surkov, a powerful...

Berlusconi: Why the Sex Scandals Don't Hurt Him

(Newser) - Besieged Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is “a national joke,” Michael Wolff writes in Vanity Fair. He’s also immensely popular. In the midst of his most recent sex scandal, he and his party were handily reelected. What’s the deal? To begin with, “he controls his...

'I Told the Truth': Berlusconi's Call Girl

(Newser) - Silvio Berlusconi's antics with models and call girls have threatened to derail his government, but the woman at the center of the sex-and-corruption scandal says she's seen it all before. "This is how Italy always works," Patrizia D’Addario tells the Financial Times. The hooker says she came...

In Kenya, Clinton Blasts Graft, Corruption

Says government responsibility key to 'economic progress'

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton criticized Kenya today for rampant graft and corruption as she made the case that business and trade across Africa cannot grow without good governance and solid democracy. In President Obama's ancestral homeland, the secretary of State said, "True economic progress in Africa will depend on responsible governments...

Israeli Foreign Minister Faces Raft of Corruption Charges

(Newser) - Israeli police have recommended the indictment of the country's foreign minister for bribery, money laundering, and other corruption charges, Haaretz reports. Avigdor Lieberman, who leads the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party and was kingmaker in February's closely-run election, has been under investigation for years and is accused of funneling cash to...

Brit Kidnappings Linked to Iraqi Officials

(Newser) - The kidnapping of five British men in Baghdad two years ago appears to have been masterminded by Iraqi officials instead of insurgents, a Guardian investigation finds. Technology specialist Peter Moore and his bodyguards were seized from Iraq's Finance Ministry by 40 men in police uniforms. Interviews with Iraqi and British...

Suspect in NJ Probe Sold Black-Market Kidneys

Corruption bust yields strange side business

(Newser) - The FBI says it's made the first organ trafficking arrest in US history, a strange byproduct of the sweeping corruption probe that nabbed dozens of New Jersey officials and rabbis, the Star-Ledger reports. Levy Izhak Rosenbaum is accused of dealing in kidneys: He'd buy them from donors in Israel for...

Nabbed NJ Pols Lived in 'Ethics-Free Zone': Feds

(Newser) - The 44 New Jersey politicians and New York and New Jersey rabbis arrested this morning were the subject of a 10-year probe, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. “The politicians willingly put themselves up for sale,” the US Attorney says. “For these defendants, corruption was a way of life....

NJ Mayors, NY Rabbis Busted in Corruption Probe

Syrian Jews accused of money-laundering

(Newser) - In a huge corruption bust, FBI agents arrested 30 people today, including the mayors of Hoboken and Secaucus, the deputy mayor of Jersey City, a New Jersey assemblyman, and several Brooklyn and New Jersey rabbis, the Star-Ledger reports. The arrests stem from a 2-year money-laundering probe centered on New York’...

Federal Judge Ends Oversight of LAPD

(Newser) - A judge has ended eight years of federal oversight imposed on the LAPD after a massive corruption scandal, the Los Angeles Times reports. The judge said the police force had reformed substantially under a “consent decree” that saw tough independent audits and more thorough investigations into abuse allegations. "...

Obama: 'Blood of Africa' in Me
 Obama: 'Blood of Africa' in Me 
Jul 11, 2009 9:55 AM CDT

Obama: 'Blood of Africa' in Me

(Newser) - President Obama today warned Africans that corruption and strong-arm tactics must be overcome if the continent is to see prosperity, and he promised US support to nations on the right path, Politico reports. “America will be with you,” Obama said in Ghana. “As a partner. As a...

US-Built Bridge Supports Afghan Drug Trade

$37M project facilitates opium smuggling into Tajikistan

(Newser) - A US-built bridge linking Afghanistan and Tajikistan that cost taxpayers $37 million has greatly benefited exporters of Afghan opium, McClatchy reports. The bridge over the Panj river was supposed to facilitate commerce between the two nations, but the surging flow of opium across Afghanistan’s northern border threatens to turn...

Burris Won't Face Perjury Charges: Ill. Prosecutor

Evidence on Blago contacts insufficient

(Newser) - Sen. Roland Burris will not be charged with perjury for neglecting to tell an Illinois House impeachment panel about additional discussions he had with associates of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the State Journal-Register reports. While Burris did omit conversations about the Senate appointment with members of Blagojevich’s inner circle, they...

With Friends Like These...
With Friends Like These...
OPINION
Jun 17, 2009 10:48 AM CDT

With Friends Like These...

My client was drunk, stupid, sleazy—oh, and black, argues Jefferson's lawyer

(Newser) - What do you say when you’re defending William Jefferson, on trial for allegedly taking $100,000 in bribe money and hiding it in his freezer? Pretty much whatever the heck you can think of, writes Dana Milbank of the Washington Post. The lawyer for the then-Congressman opened his defense...

Africa Well Rid of Thieves Like Gabon's Bongo
Africa Well Rid of Thieves Like Gabon's Bongo
Analysis
Jun 11, 2009 11:43 AM CDT

Africa Well Rid of Thieves Like Gabon's Bongo

(Newser) - Gabon is officially in mourning for Omar Bongo, who was, until his death Monday, the world’s longest-serving president in the world. But unofficially, “it’s worth remembering that Bongo was precisely the kind of leader Gabon, and Africa, could have done without,” Alex Perry writes for Time....

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