Political Scandals: Where Are They Now?

A new Congress with ethics reform topping its agenda doesn’t mean the scandals of yesteryear — from the titillating instant messages sent by Mark Foley, a.k.a. Maf54, to the Rolls-Royce-wielding "Dukester" — are said and done.  Here’s a look at where they stand:    Mark Foley: While it is unlikely the U.S. Attorney’s Office will file federal charges against the former Republican congressman from Florida, Foley is still being investigated by the state of Florida.  After stepping down last year following ABC News’ reporting of the sexually explicit instant messages he sent to former congressional pages, Foley checked himself in a pricey Tucson rehab center for alcoholism, announced he is homosexual and claimed he was sexually abused as a child. Since then, he has reportedly been seen in and about West Palm Beach, Fla. William Jefferson: Despite winning a runoff election in December to keep his congressional seat, the Louisiana Democrat still faces opposition within the House.  Kicked off the powerful Ways and Means Committee, the "Cold Cash Congressman" is still the target of a federal investigation into corruption.  According to court papers, Jefferson was filmed accepting marked money supposedly to pay a bribe to a Nigerian official. The FBI says $90,000 in marked bills was later found in his freezer during a raid.  Jefferson strongly denies all allegations of wrongdoing. Bob Ney: The former Republican Ohio congressman was sentenced to 30 months in prison last month after being the first elected official to plead guilty to bribery charges in the scandal involving convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.  Amongst the most juicy of his corrupt activities were his acceptance of a lavish golf trip to Scotland, tickets to Washington, D.C., sporting events and thousands of dollars in meals and drinks at Abramoff’s restaurant, Signatures.  Former Congressman Ney, now known as Inmate 28882-016, remains "in transit."  No date has been set for his sentence to begin. Jack Abramoff: The convicted lobbyist traded his suit and fedora hat for prison duds when he reported to the minimum-security Federal Prison Camp deep in western Maryland coal country in mid-November.  He is serving his six-year sentence handed down in a Florida casino boat scheme as he continues to work with federal prosecutors investigating how far his influence-peddling extended on Capitol Hill.  According to sources close to the investigation, Abramoff has provided information on dozens of members of Congress, including what Abramoff has reportedly described as "six to eight seriously corrupt Democratic senators."  If he continues to cooperate, Abramoff could end up being sentenced to another 9 1/2 to 11 years, instead of the maximum 20, for the federal charges to which he pled guilty.  His next appearance before a judge is March 2, 2007. Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage. Tom DeLay: Nicknamed "The Hammer" in Congress, the former Republican congressman from Texas may have gone too far in his quest for a Republican majority.  DeLay is currently free and awaiting trial after being indicted in the fall of 2005 on charges of violating state campaign finance law, money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  The first charge of violating state campaign finance law was thrown out, but the prosecutor in the case, District Attorney Ronnie Earle, has appealed that decision, holding the case up in appeals court indefinitely. In June of last year, DeLay resigned from Congress and has since kept busy by starting his own conservative Web blog, appropriately named TomDeLay.com. He maintains the charges against him are baseless and the work of "an unabashed partisan zealot." Randall "Duke" Cunningham: Cunningham, the former California Republican congressman who pled guilty to, prosecutors say, the corruption case with no parallel in the history of the U.S. Congress, remains in a prison work camp in Tucson, Ariz.  Cunningham, a.k.a Inmate 94405-198, transferred at the start of January to the work camp, where he will serve out the remainder of his eight-year-and-four-month sentence, the longest prison term handed down to a former congressman. As a member of the House subcommittee charged with awarding Defense Department contracts, the "Dukester" was notoriously known for his "bribe menu," which, according to documents submitted by federal prosecutors, details how much it would cost contractors to essentially order multi-million-dollar government contracts. For the price of $140,000, which Cunningham received in the form of the yacht he dubbed the "Duke-stir," he handed out a $16 million defense contract. Other bribes besides the 42-foot yacht for contracts included a Rolls-Royce, the purchase of Cunningham’s Del Mar home for $1.675 million and countless antiques and Persian rugs. Kyle "Dusty" Foggo: The former No. 3 official at the CIA may be indicted on charges of fraud in the next several weeks, two government officials familiar with the investigation told the Associated Press last week.  The officials said federal prosecutors are planning to ask a San Diego grand jury to return charges of fraud and conspiracy against Foggo and his longtime friend, defense contractor Brent Wilkes.  Foggo resigned as the executive director of the intelligence agency, where he was in charge of day-to-day activities, after being implicated in a widening corruption scandal, reportedly involving poker parties, prostitutes and sweetheart contracts.  Although Foggo admitted attending Washington, D.C., poker parties, he has denied seeing any prostitutes at those parties and vehemently denies any impropriety involving CIA contracts. The lawyer representing Wilkes, who was dubbed "Co-conspirator #1" in former Congressman Cunningham’s plea deal for allegedly bribing Cunningham to win defense contracts, says he has no knowledge of any impending charges. George Ryan: Although the former Republican governor of Illinois and 2003 Nobel Peace Prize nominee was initially ordered to report to prison on Jan. 4, 2007, Ryan, now known as Inmate 16627-424, is still free on bond until his appeal hearing scheduled for Feb. 20, 2007.  Ryan was found guilty on multiple fraud and racketeering charges in April of last year. In addition to bribes for government contracts, at the core of the corruption scandal was an exchange of campaign contributions worth millions of dollars that prosecutors say ultimately put thousands of unqualified truck drivers on the road, endangering the lives of thousands of Illinois citizens. Check out the slideshow: Political Scandals: Where Do They Stand?