December 7, 2008 [LINK / comment]
Crooks always think they are clever enough to get away with it, but in the end they learn that crime doesn't pay. It was very gratifying to learn that voters in New Orleans elected Republican Anh "Joseph" Cao to represent them in Congress, sending incumbent Rep. William J. Jefferson into early retirement. (He had served for nine terms.) Cao thus becomes the first Vietnamese American to win election to Congress. He and his family fled Saigon in 1975 when North Vietnamese Communists took over. See Washington Post.
How corrupt was Rep. Jefferson? In May 2006, FBI agents seized wads of cash ($90,000) that he had stuffed in his freezer, hoping to hide the filthy loot which he received in bribes, as federal prosecutors allege. The trial is still pending.