jessie jackson jr Archives

Jessie Jackson Jr Starts his Prison Sentence

Jessie Jackson Jr. entered a North Carolina prison Tuesday to begin serving a 2 1/2-year term for illegally spending $750,000 in campaign money on everything from cigars to a gold watch – a day after he tried but failed to get into the federal complex.

In an odd twist to Jackson’s long-running legal saga, the 48-year-old former Illinois U.S. representative had sought to enter the Butner Correctional Center Monday but was turned away because of ‘a snafu,’ C.K. Hoffler, an Atlanta-based attorney who had accompanied the Chicago Democrat, told reporters Tuesday evening.

‘He was ready to pay his debt,’ she said during a news conference in Atlanta about why the son of civil rights leader the Reverend Jesse Jackson chose to report days earlier than required.

‘The sooner he reported, the sooner he’d be able to get back home to his children to begin the process of healing.’
Jackson bid farewell to his wife, Sandi, and two children on Sunday, in Washington, D.C., then went to the prison in a heavily wooded area 30 miles north of Raleigh Monday afternoon.

Jesse Jackson Jr. Could Spend Up to 4 Years in Jail

Politico is reporting that the Federal prosecutors are seeking a four-year prison sentence for former Illinois Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who has pleaded guilty to illegally diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds to personal use.

Under the Justice Department recommendations, Jackson would have to forfeit the $750,000 he stole from his campaign, and pay back another $750,000 to his reelection committee. Prosecutors are asking that someone not related to Jackson be appointed to run the campaign, which would then be “wound down.”

Jackson, the son of well-known civil rights advocate Rev. Jesse Jackson, is scheduled to be sentenced early next month.

In a break for Jackson and his wife — former Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson, who also pleaded guilty in the case — prosecutors have requested that their prison sentences be staggered so that both aren’t in prison at the same time. Sandi Jackson faces up to 18 months in federal prison as part of the couple’s illegal scheme. The couple have two young children.

Once a rising star in Democratic politics, the 48-year-old Jackson pleaded guilty in February to using more than $750,000 from his campaign to cover a stunning range of personal expenses in thousands of transactions, including including home renovations, furniture, school tuition, groceries, a $43,000 Rolex watch, fur coats and memorabilia associated with Michael Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Bruce Lee.