The Worst Corruption Scandal in Each State
1. Alabama
> Scandal: Gov. Bentley resigns
> Year: 2017
Facing impeachment for misusing campaign contributions, Robert Bentley was forced to resign as governor in 2017. Bentley pleaded guilty to using campaign contributions for personal gain and to failing to report campaign contributions. Prosecutors say he did this to conceal an affair with a former staffer. A state House Judiciary report released just before his resignation included testimony from current and former state employees who said they were pressured to keep Bentley’s affair secret.
2. Alaska
> Scandal: Sen. Stevens investigation tainted
> Year: 2008
Sen. Ted Stevens was hobbled by a corruption scandal in 2008 that probably cost him the election. Prosecutors had claimed Stevens failed to report the full value of renovations performed on a house he owned in Alaska, which were provided by an oil company executive.
However, a federal judge in 2012 determined from a special investigation report that Justice Department prosecutors hid evidence that could have potentially helped Stevens defend himself — including statements from a renovation foreman that indicated Stevens tried to renovate his home ethically by paying full price for the services. Stevens never got the chance to try to clear his name. He died in a plane crash in 2010. A special counsel report found that prosecutors “abandoned all decency and sound judgment when they indicted and prosecuted” Stevens.
3. Arizona
> Scandal: Keating Five savings and loan scandal
> Year: 1989
Arizona senators John McCain and Dennis DeConcini were two of five senators involved in the Keating Five scandal. The incident involved legislators who intervened on behalf of the failed savings and loan Lincoln Savings and Loan Association to help the business fend off a federal investigation into potential misconduct. All of the senators had received political contributions from Lincoln executive Charles Keating.
Eventually, Lincoln was seized by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Lincoln’s bailout cost taxpayers over $2 billion. A Senate Ethics Committee said DeConcini’s conduct was “inappropriate” but did not break any rules. The committee determined that McCain had exercised “poor judgment” when he met with regulators, but he was cleared of all charges.
4. Arkansas
> Scandal: Whitewater real estate scandal
> Year: 1992
The scandal that followed the Clintons to the White House originated in their business dealings with a real estate company and a savings and loan. In 1978, then-Arkansas Attorney General Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary partnered with James and Susan McDougal to form the Whitewater Development Corp. to build vacation homes. The alleged improprieties stemmed from loans on land deals from James McDougal’s savings and loan Madison Guaranty.
Questions about speculative land deals drew the interest of federal investigators in 1984. Investigations into alleged misconduct involving Whitewater and Madison Guaranty would continue throughout Clinton’s presidency. The Clintons never faced any charges related to the inquiry.
5. California
> Scandal: Salary scandal in town of Bell
> Year: 2010
City officials bilked the blue-collar town of Bell, California, out of $5.5 million in a scandal that broke in 2010. Robert Rizzo, the former city manager, received a 12-year prison sentence and was ordered to make restitution of $8.8 million. He pleaded no contest to 69 charges of fraud and misappropriation of public funds. Rizzo had drawn a salary of $800,000 in a city of about 40,000 where one-fourth of the residents live below the federal poverty level. Rizzo also was guilty of income tax evasion.
6. Colorado
> Scandal: Convention center bid-rigging scheme
> Year: 2018
The city of Denver was recently rocked by a nearly quarter-billion dollar scandal relating to the Colorado Convention Center expansion project. In 2018, reports surfaced that Trammel Crow, the company managing the project, and construction company Mortenson Construction had colluded to rig the bids for the project, which had been valued at $233 million. Mortenson workers reportedly received confidential information about the project to help them win the bid.
In late 2020, both companies agreed to pay a $9 million settlement to cover the cost of delays to the project, which is now slated for completion in late 2023.
Map Created by: UNISHKA Research Service, Inc.
Original Content from: 24/7 Wall St.
