Official Corruption Prosecutions for February 2007
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during February 2007 the government reported 37 new official corruption prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 21.3% over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with 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 2007 prosecutions are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the filings were down (-12.1 percent). Prosecutions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that the prosecutions are down 28.1 percent from levels reported in 2002.
The decrease from the levels five years ago in official corruption prosecutions is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of official corruption prosecutions recorded on a month-to-month basis. 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.
Within the broad category of official corruption, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
Case types within official corruption are
Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Procurement
Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Program
Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Law Enforcmnt.
Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Other
Corruption(Govt Off)-State
Corruption(Govt Off)-Local
Corruption(Govt Off)-Other
The largest number of prosecutions in February 2007 was for "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Procurement", accounting for 27 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Law Enforcmnt." (18.9%), " Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Other" (16.2%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Other" (16.2%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Local" (10.8%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for official corruption prosecutions in February 2007 was FBI accounting for 32 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of official corruption referrals were: Defense (24% ), IRS (8%), Postal Service (8%). See Figure 3.
Lead Charge in Official Corruption Prosecutions
US Magistrate Courts
In February 2007, 22 percent of official corruption cases took place in U.S. Magistrate Courts which handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In the magistrate courts in February the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 18 U.S.C Section 371 involving the "Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US". This was the lead charge for 37.5 percent of all magistrate filings in February.
US District Courts
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of official corruption matters filed in U.S. District Court during February 2007.
Lead Charge Count Rank 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 5 1 Details 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 5 1 Details 18 USC 201 - Bribery of public officials and witnesses 3 3 Details 18 USC 1709 - Theft of mail matter by officer or employee 3 3 Details 18 USC 666 - Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds 2 5 Details 18 USC 1962 - RICO - prohibited activities 2 5 Details 18 USC 2243 - Sexual abuse of a minor or ward 2 5 Details 18 USC 205 - Activities of officers and employees 1 8 Details 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 1 8 Details 18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 1 8 Details 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 1 8 Details 18 USC 1030 - Fraud and related activity - computers 1 8 Details 18 USC 1201 - Kidnaping 1 8 Details 18 USC 1503 - Influencing or injuring officer or juror generally 1 8 Details
Table 2: Top charges filed for prosecutions
"Fraud by wire, radio, or television" (18 U.S.C Section 1343) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Hobbs Act" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1951.
Ranked 3rd was "Bribery of public officials and witnesses" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 201.
Judicial District Count Rank Cal, S 4 1 Details N Car, E 4 1 Details Texas, S 3 3 Details Mich, W 2 4 Details Ohio, N 2 4 Details Penn, E 2 4 Details Virg, E 2 4 Details Cal, C 1 8 Details D. C. 1 8 Details Delaware 1 8 Details Fla, N 1 8 Details Ken, E 1 8 Details Maryland 1 8 Details Mass 1 8 Details N. J. 1 8 Details Ohio, S 1 8 Details Utah 1 8 Details
Table 3: Top districts for prosecutions
Official Corruption Prosecutions by Judicial District
In February 2007 the Justice Department said the government brought 11.9 official corruption prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the number of official corruption prosecutions that are filed in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of prosecutions last month are shown in Table 3.
Southern District of California (San Diego)—with 4 prosecutions—was the most active during February 2007.
Eastern District of North Carolina (Raleigh) ranked 1st as well.
Southern District of Texas (Houston) is now ranking 3rd.
Top Ranked District Judges
At any one time, there are about 680 federal District Court judges working in the United States. For the entire nation, the judges recorded with the largest number of new official corruption crime cases during February 2007 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Boyle, Terrence William N Car, E 3 1 Details Hinojosa, Ricardo H. Texas, S 3 1 Details Phillips, Virginia A. Cal, C 1 3 Details Urbina, Ricardo M. D. C. 1 3 Details Sleet, Gregory Moneta Delaware 1 3 Details Collier, Lacey A. Fla, N 1 3 Details Reeves, Danny C. Ken, E 1 3 Details Blake, Catherine C. Maryland 1 3 Details Gertner, Nancy Mass 1 3 Details Bell, Robert Holmes Mich, W 1 3 Details Quist, Gordon Jay Mich, W 1 3 Details Linares, Jose L. N. J. 1 3 Details Economus, Peter C. Ohio, N 1 3 Details Adams, John R. Ohio, N 1 3 Details Smith, George Curtis Ohio, S 1 3 Details Kauffman, Bruce C. Penn, E 1 3 Details Kelly, Robert F. Penn, E 1 3 Details Cassell, Paul G. Utah 1 3 Details Brinkema, Leonie M. Virg, E 1 3 Details Cacheris, James Chris Virg, E 1 3 Details
Table 4: Top judges for prosecutions
Judge Terrence William Boyle in the Eastern District of North Carolina (Raleigh) ranked 1st with 3 defendants in official corruption cases.
Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 1st as well with 3 defendants in official corruption cases.
Judge Virginia A. Phillips in Central District of California (Los Angeles) ranked 3rd with 1 new official corruption cases.
