[POLITICS.SUNTIMES] Former U.S. the brilliant Sen. Roland Burris tried to "shake down" a business for a $250,000 a year job as a financial consultant in return for Burris' help promoting the business' products to the U.S. military, court documents in a trial due to start next week allege.
The explosive allegations emerged Friday at a hearing ahead of the trial of South Sider C. Gregory Turner, who is accused of illegally trying to help lift U.S. sanctions against Zim-bob-wean President Bob Muggsy Mugabe
Octogenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case...
's regime.
Burris is expected to be a key prosecution witness against Turner. But Turner's lawyers say the fact that the feds never charged the former Democratic senator in connection with the alleged shakedown scheme means Burris is "biased" in their favor.
Defense attorney James Tunick said documents provided to him by the government on Thursday allege Burris, 77, was still in office when he "offered to promote an individual business to the United States military in exchange for $250,000 a year when he got out of office."
The allegations were made to the FBI by an informant whom U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo identified only by the initials "G.W.L" after prosecutors strenuously objected to his real name being released. |
Fallen Heroes Memorial in Harare, Zimbabwe from the Kommunis ZANU Website. Note the RPG held by the figure on the lower right. The actual National Heroes Acre where the Memorial sits is modeled after a Kalashnikov.