Official Corruption Prosecutions for January 2013
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during January 2013 the government reported 44 new official corruption prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 57.1% 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 2013 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was down (-15 percent). Prosecutions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that prosecutions of this type are down 16.3 percent from levels reported in 2008.
The decrease from the levels five years ago in official corruption prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of official corruption prosecutions 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 prosecutions of these matters in January 2013 was for "Corruption(Govt Off)-Local", accounting for 36.4 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Program" (15.9%), " Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Other" (13.6%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Law Enforcement" (11.4%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Other" (11.4%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-Fed Procurement" (9.1%), "Corruption(Govt Off)-State" (2.3%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for official corruption prosecutions in January 2013 was FBI accounting for 66 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of official corruption referrals were: Defense (7% ), DEA (5%), HUD (5%), Postal (5%). See Figure 3.
Official Corruption Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In January 2013, 7 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.
In the magistrate courts in January the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 18 U.S.C Section 666 involving the "Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds". This was the lead charge for 71.4 percent of all magistrate filings in January.
Official Corruption Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In January 2013, 37 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during January there were an additional 2 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 January.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of official corruption matters filed in U.S. District Court during January 2013.
Lead Charge Count Rank 18 USC 666 - Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds 13 1 More 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 6 2 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 4 3 More 18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 4 3 More 18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally 2 5 More 18 USC 1709 - Theft of mail matter by officer or employee 2 5 More 18 USC 1962 - RICO - prohibited activities 2 5 More 18 USC 201 - Bribery of public officials and witnesses 1 8 More 18 USC 208 - Acts affecting a personal financial interest 1 8 More 18 USC 1341 - Mail Fraud - Frauds and swindles 1 8 More 18 USC 1711 - Misappropriation of postal funds 1 8 More 18 USC 1791 - Providing or possessing contraband in prison 1 8 More 19 USC 1459 - Reporting requirements for individuals 1 8 More Table 2: Top charges filed
"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 "Hobbs Act" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1951.
Ranked 3rd were "Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 371 and "Public money, property or records" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 641.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In January 2013 the Justice Department said the government brought 15.2 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 of this type last month are shown in Table 3.
Judicial District Count Rank Texas, S 6 1 More Fla, S 4 2 More La, E 3 3 More N. Y., E 3 3 More Mass 2 5 More Mich, E 2 5 More N Car, W 2 5 More S Car 2 5 More Ala, M 1 9 More Cal, N 1 9 More Delaware 1 9 More Ga, N 1 9 More Ill, S 1 9 More Kansas 1 9 More Ken, W 1 9 More Mo, E 1 9 More N Car, E 1 9 More N. Y., W 1 9 More Penn, E 1 9 More Penn, M 1 9 More Texas, N 1 9 More Texas, W 1 9 More Virg, E 1 9 More Table 3: Top 10 districts
The Southern District of Texas (Houston)—with 6 prosecutions—was the most active during January 2013.
The Southern District of Florida (Miami) ranked 2nd.
Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans) and Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn) 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 of this type during January 2013 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Hanen, Andrew S. Texas, S 3 1 More Cohn, James I. Fla, S 2 2 More Duval, Stanwood R., Jr. La, E 2 2 More Conrad, Robert James, Jr. N Car, W 2 2 More Miller, Gray Hampton Texas, S 2 2 More Fuller, Mark E. Ala, M 1 6 More Illston, Susan Yvonne Cal, N 1 6 More Robinson, Sue Lewis Delaware 1 6 More Cooke, Marcia G. Fla, S 1 6 More Scola, Robert Nichols, Jr. Fla, S 1 6 More Carnes, Julie E. Ga, N 1 6 More Gilbert, John Phil Ill, S 1 6 More Vratil, Kathryn Hoefer Kansas 1 6 More Russell, Thomas B. Ken, W 1 6 More Berrigan, Helen Ginger La, E 1 6 More Wolf, Mark Lawrence Mass 1 6 More Woodlock, Douglas Preston Mass 1 6 More Cook, Julian Abele, Jr. Mich, E 1 6 More Tarnow, Arthur J. Mich, E 1 6 More Autrey, Henry Edward Mo, E 1 6 More Boyle, Terrence William N Car, E 1 6 More Ross, Allyne R. N. Y., E 1 6 More Weinstein, Jack Bertrand N. Y., E 1 6 More Matsumoto, Kiyo A. N. Y., E 1 6 More Arcara, Richard Joseph N. Y., W 1 6 More Surrick, R[ichard] Barclay Penn, E 1 6 More Jones, John E., III Penn, M 1 6 More Godbey, David C. Texas, N 1 6 More Crane, Randy Texas, S 1 6 More Moses, Alia Texas, W 1 6 More Allen, Arenda Lauretta Wright Virg, E 1 6 More Table 4: Top 10 judges
All 31 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of official corruption filings . (Because of ties, there were a total of 31 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Andrew S. Hanen in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 1st with 3 defendants in official corruption cases.
Judges James I. Cohn in the Southern District of Florida (Miami), Stanwood R. Duval, Jr. in the Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans), Robert James Conrad, Jr. in the Western District of North Carolina (Asheville) and Gray Hampton Miller in the Southern Dis trict of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd with 2 defendants in official corruption cases.
Report Generated: March 5, 2013
