There's A Long Tradition Of Members Of Congress Going To Prison-- Next Up: George Santos (R-NY)

Odds are good that the Brazilian impostor Kitara, currently going by the name George Santos, will be spending some serious time behind bars. Odds? Well, these are just a few of the recent former members of Congress convicted of crimes who wound up in prison cells:

• John Jenrette (D-SC)- sentenced to two years in prison (served over a year) for bribery and conspiracy (ABSCAM) and served his time at the minimum security Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina. (Remember the wife? Update.)

• Richard Kelly (R-FL)- convicted in 1981 on charges of accepting bribes from an undercover FBI agent posing as a wealthy Arab businessman (ABSCAM). He was sentenced to 18 months (of which he served 13) and fined $25,000. He served his sentence at the Allenwood Federal Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania and subsequently released from a halfway house in 1986.

• Raymond Lederer- convicted of bribery in 1981, and sentenced to three years (and served about two and a half) and fined $20,000, reelected and resigned just before a vote to expel him. Another ABSCAM crook, he did his time at the Club Fed in Allenwood.

• Michael Myers- sentenced to 3 years in the ABSCAM sting and expelled from the House, serving 2 and a half years at the FCI in Sandstone, Minnesota. He became a political consultant after he got out and was rearrested for bribery and ballot box stuffing and went back to prison for another 3 years.

• Frank Thompson (D-NJ)- convicted of bribery and conspiracy charges (ABSCAM) in 1980 and served 2 of the 3 years he was sentenced to in the federal prison in Lexington.

• John Murphy (D-NY)- another ABSCAM crook, he was acquitted of bribery, but found guilty on lesser charges, and served 18 months in prison. Afterwards he became a lobbyist and consultant.

• Jon Hinson (R-MS)- sentenced to 30 days in jail for orally copulating a page in a House toilet, although the sentence was suspended. (He still had to pay a $1,000 fine.)

• Frederick Richmond (D-NY)- one of the wealthiest members of Congress, he was arrested in DC for soliciting sex from a 16-year-old boy in 1978 but he got off with community service. Then 4 years later he was arrested agin on a variety of charges and was sentenced to a year in prison, of which he served 9 months at a Club Fed in Alabama.

• George Hansen (R-ID)- a very far right extremist loon and notorious tax scofflaw he was arrested several times on related charges but finally spent real time in prison in 1992 for defrauding a bank out of $30 million and was sentenced to 4 years, which he served at the Club Fed in Englewood, Colorado.

• Mario Biaggi (D/R-NY)- a NYC cop before being elected to Congress, he ran as a Democrat and a Conservative and eventually a Republican and he was convicted in 1988 on charges of accepting bribes, obstruction of justice, and making false statements. He was sentenced to 2 and a half years (served only 2 years and fined $500,000, serving his sentence at the Club Fed in Butner, North Carolina.

• Pat Swindall (R-GA)- indicted on ten counts of perjury related to a money laundering scheme with an FBI agent posing as a representative from a Colombian drug cartel in 1988. He was sentenced to one year in prison, serving his time at a low-security federal prison in Montgomery, Alabama.

• Albert Bustamante (D-TX)- convicted in 1993 of accepting bribes in exchange for helping an Army contractor secure a military hospital contract and sentenced to three and a half years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $84,000 in fines and restitution, serving his sentence in a low-security federal prison in Bastrop, Texas.

• Carroll Hubbard (D-KY)- before switching to the GOP, he was part of the “Rubbergate” House banking scandal and served 2 years of the 3 he was sentenced to in the Ashland, Kentucky FCI. His wife was sentenced to 5 years probation. (He also worked as an FBI rat to get a lighter sentence.) He died last year, a proud right wing MAGAt.

• Carl Perkins (D-KY)- agreed to plead guilty to 3 felony charges in the same “Rubbergate” scandal and was sentenced to 21 months (and served 16 months at the FCI in Manchester, Kentucky, eventually becoming a Presbyterian minister.

• Buz Lukens (R-OH)- having been president of the national Young Republicans, he never lost his taste for minors and was sentenced to 30 days in county jail for paying a 13 year old $40 for sex. He refused to resign from Congress and was defeated in the primary by John Boehner. Lukens was later charged with taking bribes in a separate case and was sentenced to another 30 months in prison, 27 months of which he served at the Club Fed in Morgantown, West Virginia.

• Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL)- sentenced to 18 months and served 15 at the Oxford Federal Correctional Institution in Wisconsin after being indicted on corruption charges related to his use of House of Representatives funds and resources for personal benefit, including hiring ghost employees and using taxpayer money to buy gifts and stationery. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud.

• Joe Kolter (D-PA)- convicted of bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery related to accepting bribes from an FBI agent posing as a businessman seeking political favors. In October 1981, he was sentenced to 6 months and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine. He served his sentence at the minimum security camp in Pensacola.

• Wes Cooley (R-OR)- after getting off with a slap on the wrist for lying on an election pamphlet, in 2009 he was sentenced to a year in prison on various fraud charges and served his time at the FCI in Sheridan, Oregon.

• Mel Reynolds (D-IL): convicted in 1995 on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice, and solicitation of child pornography and sentenced to 5 years (served 2) in prison and did his time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Morgantown, West Virginia. Two years later he was also convicted of bank fraud for which he was sentenced two another 78 months in prison, much of his sentence commuted by Bill Clinton. In 2014 he was arrested in Zimbabwe (more pornography charges) and the following year he was indicted on tax charges (not paying them) in the U.S. and went to prison again.

• James Traficant (D-OH)- sentenced to 8 years in prison in 2002 (and serving 7) for bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. He served his time at the Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood in Pennsylvania and was released in 2009. He was more a Republican than a Democrat and the Democrats kicked him out of them party, whereupon he became a Nazi.

• Bill Janklow (R-SD)- went through a stop sign at 70 miles an hour and killed a motorcyclist in 2003 and went to jail for 3 months.

• Frank Ballance (D-NC)- sentenced to 4 years in federal prison in 2005 for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering. He was found guilty of using his position to funnel $2.3 million in state grants to a nonprofit he founded, which he then used to enrich himself and his family. Ballance served time in the Club Fed in Butner, and was released in 2009 after serving two and a half years of his sentence.

• Duke Cunningham (R-CA)- sentenced to 8 years and 4 months in federal prison in 2006 for accepting $2.4 million in bribes (+ prostitutes nuns drugs) from defense contractors. A vicious, even psychotic homophobe, he served 8 years in the FCI in Tucson before being released in 2013. He was pardoned by Trump on his last day in the White House.

• Bob Ney (R-OH)- sentenced to 30 months in federal prison in 2007 for his involvement in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. He served 17 months in the Federal Correctional Institution in Morgantown, West Virginia before being released in 2008.

• William Jefferson (D-LA)- sentenced to 13 years in 2009 for bribery, racketeering, and money laundering, after being found guilty of soliciting bribes from companies seeking contracts in West Africa, and of using his position to corruptly influence foreign officials. He did his time in the Federal Correctional Institution in Beaumont, Texas, and was released in 2017 after serving almost nine years of his sentence.

• Mark Siljander (R-MI)- indicted in 2008 for money laundering and working as an unregistered agent for a foreign power (the Taliban) and got a one year sentence, which he served at the Club Fed in Ashland, Kentucky. He was pardoned by Trump after Trump had been defeated for reelection.

• Jesse Jackson Jr (D-IL)- sentenced to 30 months in prison for misusing campaign funds— buying personal items, including a Rolex and furs. He served his time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina and was released in 2015 and completed his sentence in a halfway house after completing a substance abuse program.

• Rick Renzi (R-AZ)- sentenced in 2013 to 3 years and served 2 in the Federal Correctional Institution in Phoenix after being found guilty of 17 counts of corruption, including extortion, wire fraud, and money laundering. He was accused of using his position in Congress to orchestrate a land swap deal that would financially benefit himself and a business partner. He was pardoned by Trump as Trump was leaving the White House.

• Michael Grimm (R-NY)- a crooked FBI agent and Mafioso, he was sentenced to 8 months (served 7) at the federal prison camp in Lewis Run, Pennsylvania for tax fraud, after pleading guilty to underreporting wages and hiding revenue at his health food restaurant.

• Denny Hastert (R-IL)- boy rapist and former Speaker of the House, Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison and served just over a year at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota

• Chaka Fattah (D-PA)- sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and served about 4 years at the Federal Correctional Institution in McKean, Pennsylvania before being released to a halfway house in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns.

• Corrine Brown (D-FL)- convicted of multiple counts of fraud and tax evasion related to a sham charity called "One Door for Education" that she used to fund her personal expenses. In December 2017, she was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison, 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $650,000 in restitution. She served her sentence at Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida and was released in April 2021 after serving just over two years.

• Steve Stockman (R-TX)- sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018 for fraud, money laundering, and other charges related to the misuse of charitable donations for personal and campaign expenses. He served his time at the Federal Correctional Institution, Beaumont in Texas and was released in 2021 after his sentence was commuted by Trump after he was defeated for reelection.

• Chris Collins (R-NY)- sentenced to 26 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and a $200,000 fine. He served his sentence at Federal Prison Camp Pensacola and was released on January 17, 2021 after being pardoned by Trump.

• Duncan Hunter (R-CA)- indicted on charges including conspiracy, wire fraud and violating campaign finance laws and sentenced to 11 months in prison in 2020 but was pardoned by Trump before he served any time.

My guess is that Santos, or whatever his name is, will be charged with 10-20 years worth of crimes, which will encourage him to cut a deal and plead to one easy-time count which will send him to a Club Fed for a year. Don't expect to see him on the ballot in 2024; that's just part of the negotiation choreography.