Politics
Jesse Jackson Jr. pleads guilty to campaign fund misuse
Jackson’s father, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, sat in the front row. Before the hearing started, he wrote notes on a small piece of paper. When the proceedings started, he sat expressionless and virtually motionless, hands folded.
Jackson, 47, used campaign money to buy items including a US$43,350 gold-plated men’s Rolex watch and US$9,587.64 worth of children’s furniture, according to court papers filed in the case. His wife spent US$5,150 on fur capes and parkas, the court documents said. Prosecutors said that upon conviction Jackson must forfeit US$750,000, plus tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of memorabilia items and furs.
The charge against Sandra Jackson carries a maximum of three years in prison. However, one of her lawyers, Tom Kirsch, says the plea agreement “does not contemplate a sentence of that length.” Sandra Jackson was a Chicago alderman before she resigned last month during the federal investigation.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
