Politics can be a murky world where people can get caught up in corruption to enrich themselves and their friends.
The majority of people who get involved do so for the right reasons, but some bad apples have found themselves embroiled in major frauds involving huge sums of money.
There have been a number of cases of US politicians stepping over the line when it comes to legality.
This greed led to them ending up in prison for corruption. The most recent example is the Republican George Santos, who’s facing a lengthy sentence for an extraordinary string of corruption charges.
Here’s a look at some corrupt politicians who ended up in jail for crimes including bribery and stealing public money.
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Rod Blagojevich – Illinois
Former Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested in 2008, leading to a circus of media and legal scrutiny that revealed his attempts to sell Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat.
It seems crazy this is even a thing, but this is how it happened.
After Barack Obama was elected President in November 2008, his U.S. Senate seat for Illinois became vacant.
As governor, Blagojevich had the power to appoint Obama’s successor.
Blagojevich was caught on wiretapped phone calls discussing several ways he could benefit from appointing a new senator.
Image: U.S Department of Justice/Wiki Commons
He considered a variety of personal gains, including:
- A high-paying job for himself at a nonprofit or an organization affiliated with labor unions.
- A position for his wife on corporate boards where she could earn up to $150,000 a year.
- Promises of campaign funds, including a payment of $500,000 and a total of $1 million to secure a particular candidate.
- A cabinet post or ambassadorship in the new Obama administration.
Blagojevich expressed his thoughts on the wiretap, famously remarking that the Senate seat was “a valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.”
It wasn’t just that.
Blagojevich was involved in numerous corrupt practices, including withholding important state funding for children’s hospitals to extract campaign donations and personal benefits.
His 2011 conviction on multiple corruption charges resulted in a 14-year prison sentence.
His sentence was commuted by President Trump in 2020 and released the same day.
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Ray Nagin – New Orleans
Once the mayor of a beleaguered New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, Ray Nagin was convicted in 2014 of charges including bribery, wire fraud, and money laundering.
Nagin’s tenure was marred by the acceptance of $500,000 in bribes from business contractors and the embezzlement of funds earmarked for city recovery efforts.
His actions redirected essential resources away from a city in dire need, compounding the devastation of the disaster with corruption.
Nagin was released in March.
Image: Wiki Commons
Buddy Cianci – Rhode Island
The charismatic and controversial Buddy Cianci, who served as the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, was known both for his dynamic leadership and his corrupt practices.
This is something of an irony considering he stood on a campaign of being the “anti-corruption candidate.”
Cianci operated a criminal enterprise out of City Hall, extorting money from city contractors and using his office to embezzle funds.
His conviction peeled back the curtain on a pervasive culture of corruption within his administration.
He was jailed for five years.
Cianci died in 2016 after being diagnosed with colon cancer. It was also rumored he wore a toupee (see main picture).
Image: Bill Price III/Wiki Commons
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Rick Renzi – Arizona
Former U.S. Representative Rick Renzi’s 2013 conviction shed light on his fraudulent activities, including extortion, wire fraud, and money laundering.
Renzi was found guilty of embezzling funds from his family insurance business to finance his political ambitions.
He was also involved in corrupt land swap deals that required kickbacks for facilitating public land exchanges.
He was jailed for three years before being pardoned by President Trump in 2021″arrogant and defiant”
Image: United States Congress/Wiki Commons
Kwame Kilpatrick – Detroit
The former mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick presided over a network of criminal activities that led to his 2013 conviction on charges of racketeering, bribery, and extortion.
Kilpatrick’s embezzlement of public funds financed a lavish lifestyle and vacations, contributing to the fiscal instability that plagued Detroit.
His actions were a significant factor in the financial crisis that eventually led the city to declare bankruptcy.
He was initially jailed for four months in October 2008, with the judge calling him”arrogant and defiant.”
He was jailed again in 2010 after missing a restitution payment for the money he stole.
His sentence was one-and-a-half to five years for violating his probation terms.
More corruption charges followed the same year.
After long investigations, he was eventually jailed for 28 years in 2013.
He was found guilty by a jury on two dozen counts including racketeering, extortion, mail fraud, and tax evasion.
