Former United States Democratic representative and son of the legendary civil rights activist, Jesse Jackson, Jr., plead guilty Wednesday to charges of embezzlement of $750,000 in campaign funds for personal use.
The wife of the former congressman, Sandra, is also charged with falsifying tax documents from 2006 through 2011. Both members of the Jackson family agreed to enter into a guilty plea facing the impending charges.
Jackson allegedly purchased a $43,350 Rolex watch using campaign funds. His wife also lavished herself with gifts including $5,150 on capes and parkas, according to court documents. He acknowledged his actions to the U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Wilkins simply by saying “I did these things.”
Jackson resigned from office in November after a 17-year career in Congress. Jackson later admitted to the court, "I lived (off) my campaign. I used monies that should have been used for campaign purposes, and I used them for myself personally, to benefit me personally."
The recent charges against Jackson are similar to those of former Democratic state senator, Pedro Espada Jr., who was convicted and charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the nonprofit health care network he owned in the Bronx. Along with his son, Pedro Gautier Espada, who plead guilty to lying on his taxes and embezzlement, their expenses included $180,000 in personal expenses through the company credit card and over $3,000 in gifts from Edible Arrangements.
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