Political Corruption

After winning a City Council seat last year on a campaign of transparency and accountability, Steve Di Memmo said he quickly found himself the outsider in a clique of clubby officials who shared long-standing ties and mutual interests. But he didn't realize just how far outside he was until Thursday, when he learned he was the sole San Jacinto city councilman not facing felony indictments. The news left him torn. "These people have not been found guilty of anything yet," he said repeatedly over coffee in San Jacinto on Friday.

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon was indicted on charges that the Democrat accepted illegal gifts as mayor and City Council president, including travel, fur coats and gift cards intended for the poor that she allegedly used for a holiday shopping spree. A grand jury indicted Dixon on 12 counts, including four of perjury and two of theft over $500. She was also charged with theft under $500, fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and misconduct in office. State prosecutors, who have been investigating City Hall corruption for nearly three years, said Dixon received holiday gift cards that were to be distributed to needy families, but which she used instead to buy an Xbox, PlayStation 2, camcorder, clothes and other merchandise.

A former deputy to Jack Abramoff was charged in the lobbyist corruption scandal, accused of wining and dining public officials and showering them with gifts to win favors for clients. The government said Todd Boulanger gave government aides "a stream of things of value" to influence actions that would benefit his clients. He was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Abramoff is a former Republican lobbyist who is in prison and cooperating with the Justice Department.

Former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus was named Tuesday in a sweeping criminal complaint ranging from drug charges to misappropriation of pub- lic funds. Former county assessor's employee Gregory Scott Eyler also was also charged in the case. Eyler was arrested and is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, but Postmus was not taken into custody. He will be arraigned Thursday on 11 felony counts, including grand theft . Eyler faces similar charges, none drug-related, however.

A major corruption probe led to the indictment Thursday of all but one member of the San Jacinto City Council on charges that included money laundering, bribery, fraud, perjury, conspiracy and filing false federal documents, prosecutors said. "These illegal activities threaten the integrity of our democracy," Riverside County Dist. Atty. Rod Pacheco said at a news conference announcing the charges. "These elected officials were entrusted with power and misused that power to advance their own political ambition and to satisfy their greed."

A court has sentenced Peru's former attorney general -- long accused of protecting once-feared former intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos -- to 10 years in prison on corruption charges and fined her $570,000. Blanca Nelida Colan was found guilty of charges including cover-up of a crime and illicit enrichment, mostly involving cases related to Montesinos. Prosecutors said she illegally received $10,000 a month from Montesinos and shelved a bribery case involving him. She said she will appeal.

During the stormy years Benazir Bhutto ruled Pakistan, her husband was a top power broker and a prime target of corruption allegations that toppled her. The assassination of the former prime minister has pushed her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, back into the heart of the storm. Their political party this week named Zardari to run its day-to-day affairs while appointing the couple's 19-year-old son to the ceremonial role of chairman.

Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona intends to return to work Monday, ending a 60-day paid leave of absence initiated after he was charged with corruption in a federal grand jury indictment. It remained unclear how much time Carona would spend in the sheriff's Santa Ana headquarters when he returns to work. In a statement, the department said Undersheriff Jo Ann Galisky would continue to handle day-to-day operations after Carona's return.

Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona returned to work Monday after a self-imposed leave of absence, but did not create much of a buzz in department headquarters in Santa Ana. In fact, he did not visit his office at all, department officials said. Carona, who took two months off work to prepare for his June trial on federal corruption charges, announced through a spokesman last week that he would return Monday.

South Africa's governing African National Congress said party President Jacob Zuma would be its candidate in 2009 national elections despite his pending trial on charges of corruption, money laundering, fraud and racketeering. The decision sets the scene for a showdown between the party and prosecutors. Zuma's allies claim he is the victim of a political vendetta. Zuma, a 65-year-old former guerrilla leader, is supposed to go on trial in August. He is accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from the French company Thint to stop investigations of multibillion-dollar arms contracts.