Official Corruption Convictions for August 2012
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during August 2012 the government reported 48 new official corruption convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 14.3% over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants convicted for official corruption-related offenses are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. (See Table 1)
When monthly 2012 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was down (-3.5 percent). Convictions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are down 14.6 percent from levels reported in 2007.
The decrease from the levels five years ago in official corruption convictions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of official corruption convictions of this type recorded on a month-to-month basis. Where a prosecution was initially filed in U.S. Magistrate Court and then transferred to the U.S. District Court, the magistrate filing date was used since this provides an earlier indicator of actual trends. The superimposed line on the bars plots the six-month moving average so that natural fluctuations are smoothed out. The one and five-year rates of change in Table 1 and in the sections that follow are all based upon this six-month moving average. To view trends year-by-year rather than month-by-month, see TRAC's annual report series for a broader picture.
Within the broad category of official corruption, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
Case types within official corruption are
Federal Corruption - Procurement
Federal Corruption - Program
Federal Corruption - Law Enforcement
Federal Corruption - Other
State Corruption
Local Corruption
Other Public Corruption
The largest number of convictions of these matters in August 2012 was for "Corruption(Govt Off)-State", accounting for 22.9 percent of convictions. Convictions were also filed for "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Other" (20.8%), " Corruption(Govt Off)-Local" (20.8%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Law Enforcement" (12.5%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Other" (12.5%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Program" (6.3%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Procurement" (4.2%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for official corruption convictions in August 2012 was FBI accounting for 58 percent of convictions. Other agencies with substantial numbers of official corruption convictions were: Postal (15% ), DHS (4%), Justice Other (4%). See Figure 3.
Official Corruption Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In August 2012, no defendants in official corruption cases for these matters were filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. These courts handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In addition, complaints are sometimes filed in the magistrate courts before an indictment or information is entered. In these cases, the matter starts in the magistrate courts and later moves to the district court where subsequent proceedings take place.
Official Corruption Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In August 2012, 48 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during August there were an additional 0 defendants whose cases moved from the magistrate courts to the U.S. district courts after an indictment or information was filed. The sections which follow cover both sets of cases and therefore cover all matters filed in district court during August.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of official corruption matters filed in U.S. District Court during August 2012.
Lead Charge Count Rank 18 USC 666 - Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds 8 1 More 18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 6 2 More 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 5 3 More 21 USC 843 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts C 5 3 More 18 USC 201 - Bribery of public officials and witnesses 3 5 More 18 USC 1709 - Theft of mail matter by officer or employee 3 5 More 42 USC 1973 - Denial/abridgement of right to vote 3 5 More 18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally 2 8 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 2 8 More 15 USC 1212 - Violations; misdemeanor; penalties 1 10 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 1 10 More 18 USC 500 - Money orders 1 10 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 1 10 More 18 USC 1029 - Fraud and related activity - access devices 1 10 More 18 USC 1703 - Delay or destruction of mail or newspapers 1 10 More 18 USC 1791 - Providing or possessing contraband in prison 1 10 More 18 USC 1952 - Racketeering -interstate/foreign travel/transport 1 10 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 1 10 More 26 USC 7201 - Attempt to evade or defeat tax 1 10 More Table 2: Top charges for convictions
"Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 666) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Public money, property or records" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 641.
Ranked 3rd were "Hobbs Act" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1951 and "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts C" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 843.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In August 2012 the Justice Department said the government obtained 18.8 official corruption convictions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the number of official corruption convictions in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of convictions of this type last month are shown in Table 3.
The Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta)—with 6 convictions—was the most active during August 2012.
The Northern District of Ohio (Cleveland) ranked 2nd.
Southern District of California (San Diego) and Eastern District of Kentucky (Lexington) are now ranking 3rd.
Top Ranked District Judges
At any one time, there are about 680 federal District Court judges working in the United States. The judges recorded with the largest number of new official corruption crime cases resulting in convictions of this type during August 2012 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Jones, Steve CarMichael Ga, N 4 1 More Bencivengo, Cathy Ann Cal, S 3 2 More Caldwell, Karen K. Ken, E 3 2 More Lioi, Sara Elizabeth Ohio, N 3 2 More Bramlette, David C., III Miss, S 2 5 More Smith, Charles Lynwood, Jr. Ala, N 1 6 More Phillips, Virginia A. Cal, C 1 6 More Wright, Otis D., II Cal, C 1 6 More Jackson, Amy Berman D. C. 1 6 More Cooke, Marcia G. Fla, S 1 6 More Evans, Orinda Dale Ga, N 1 6 More Batten, Timothy C., Sr. Ga, N 1 6 More Murphy, G. Patrick Ill, S 1 6 More Reagan, Michael Joseph Ill, S 1 6 More Fallon, Eldon E. La, E 1 6 More Brady, James J. La, M 1 6 More Blake, Catherine C. Maryland 1 6 More Saylor, F. Dennis, IV Mass 1 6 More Howard, Malcolm Jones N Car, E 1 6 More Pisano, Joel A. N. J. 1 6 More Rodriguez, Joseph H. N. J. 1 6 More Ross, Allyne R. N. Y., E 1 6 More Hicks, Larry R. Nevada 1 6 More Pro, Philip Martin Nevada 1 6 More Gaughan, Patricia Anne Ohio, N 1 6 More Sargus, Edmund A., Jr. Ohio, S 1 6 More Heaton, Joe L. Okla, W 1 6 More Goldberg, Mitchell S. Penn, E 1 6 More Conaboy, Richard Paul Penn, M 1 6 More Cerezo, Carmen Consuelo Puer Rico 1 6 More Mays, Samuel H., Jr. Tenn, W 1 6 More Vescovo, Diane K. Tenn, W 1 6 More Cummings, Samuel Ray Texas, N 1 6 More Hinojosa, Ricardo H. Texas, S 1 6 More Cacheris, James Chris Virg, E 1 6 More Skavdahl, Scott W. Wyoming 1 6 More Table 4: Top 10 judges
A total of 19 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of official corruption convictions , while the remaining 17 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 36 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Steve CarMichael Jones in the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta) ranked 1st with 4 convicted in official corruption convictions.
Judges Cathy Ann Bencivengo in the Southern District of California (San Diego), Karen K. Caldwell in the Eastern District of Kentucky (Lexington) and Sara Elizabeth Lioi in the Northern District of Ohio (Cleveland) ranked 2nd with 3 convicted in official corruption convictions.
Report Generated: November 19, 2012
