Jefferson’s wife could be in scheme

• By GERARD SHIELDS
• Advocate Washington bureau
• Published: Jun 30, 2009 - Page: 5A

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal judge said Monday that the wife of former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson could be considered part of his alleged bribery conspiracy.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis made the comments during the beginning of the third week of the Jefferson trial. Jefferson’s wife, Andrea, has not been charged with a crime. She has been sitting in the front row of the courtroom behind her husband since the trial began in federal court here and declined to comment Monday on the accusation.

Andrea Jefferson, an assistant vice president at Southern University’s Baton Rouge campus, owns a consulting company called The ANJ Group along with her five daughters.

Government prosecutors accuse William Jefferson of steering payments to the company

in return for pushing a project in Africa for a Kentucky telecommunications company, iGate.

The president of iGate, Vernon Jackson, testified earlier in the trial that he paid the ANJ Group $330,000 though they did no work for him.

“She knew her husband was using her company to further iGate’s ambitions,” Asst. U.S. Attorney Mark Lytle told Judge Ellis.

Jefferson’s attorneys objected, saying Andrea Jefferson did not know about any alleged wrongdoing.

“There’s no connection,” Jefferson’s lead attorney, Robert Trout, told Ellis.

William Jefferson has pleaded innocent to 16 public corruption charges including bribery, conspiracy, racketeering and money laundering. Jefferson is accused of demanding money for himself and family members in return for pushing numerous business projects in Africa.

Jefferson’s attorneys have said that he was acting as a private businessman and did not commit official legislative acts on behalf of companies such as voting, introducing legislation or appropriating government money.

Prosecutors spent much of Monday trying to prove that Jefferson himself benefited from his wife’s company. Jefferson’s former campaign and personal treasurer, Jack Swetland, was on the stand for most of the day.

Swetland, who was also the accountant for ANJ, said the company listed receiving $330,000 in 2004 for services rendered to iGate by members of the Jefferson family and Jefferson himself. The company was created in 2001 and by the end of 2005, William Jefferson was sending out 60 percent of the company checks, Swetland said.