Two associates of former congressman William Jefferson have been given major reductions in their prison terms in exchange for their help in convicting Jefferson on bribery charges.
A federal judge in Alexandria, Va. on Tuesday reduced the prison term for Jefferson's former congressional aide, Brett Pfeffer, from eight years to a little more than three years. Earlier this month, Kentucky businessman Vernon Jackson also had his term reduced from seven-plus years to three years and four months.
Pfeffer and Jackson provided prosecutors with key testimony against their former boss, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans and was convicted earlier this year of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa.
Meanwhile, Congressman Jefferson's niece, Angela Coleman was hospitalized last week with a heart condition about a month before she is scheduled to stand trial in a racketeering conspiracy case.
Coleman was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on a new indictment in the case. But Coleman's lawyer, Valerie Jusselin, said her client was admitted to a hospital on a cardiologist's orders Friday.
In court, Jusselin said Coleman may need triple bypass surgery this week. Jusseline declined questions after the hearing ended.
The other defendants in the case are Coleman's mother, tax assessor Betty Jefferson; her uncle, Mose Jefferson; and former state Rep. and City Councilwoman Renee Gill Pratt. Betty Jefferson and Gill Pratt entered not-guilty pleas Wednesday.
Brett Pfeffer, the former Jefferson aide, is expected to be released in January.
This article was originally published in the December 28, 2009 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper
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