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Corruption Of William Jefferson

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Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives William Jefferson, while maybe not so known, was able to use his political power to gain for himself. He was a bribe taker during his terms in office making him a grafter. A grafter is someone who secretly takes money for political favors. These types of actions when discovered can get the person who has done them in many different kinds of trouble, including loss of job and even charges pressed. This crime by many is seen to be corruption, rightfully so, as things happen that might not have happened if money was not involved. Those who are guilty of being a grafter are the ones who end up in circle 8 of Dante’s “Inferno”. William started his political career serving as an officer in the Judge …show more content…

In 2005 it was revealed that he was using his position to receive bribes from American companies interested in opening businesses in Africa. Jefferson from 2000 to 2005 sought hundreds of millions of dollars for both himself and others he was working with from companies whose success depended on the approval of specific U.S. and West African government agencies. From doing this he pocketed more than $478,000, but all this money gained was wasted through his attempt to continue his doings. (“A Look Back at the William J. Jefferson Corruption Case | Federal Bureau of …show more content…

As clearly stated in Dante’s Inferno being a grafter leads people to end up in circle 8 of Hell. Hell, to Dante’s beliefs, is a place of punishment with 9 different circles that are formed in the shape of an inverted cone, with punishments for all kinds of sinners. Working down from the top, the sins of those in each circle continuously get worse, as seen in Dante’s eyes, with the punishments of those sinners matching their sins. Circle 8 is designated for those who have frauded. The circle is divided into 10 different ditches designated for all different kinds of fraudsters. The one grafters end up in is ditch 5. In ditch 5 there is a tar-like pit that is boiling hot with demons equipped with grappling hooks and pitchforks to poke sinners if one pokes their head out. This punishment fits the crime of a grafter as the sticky tar almost represents the sticky fingers of the grafters, since they like money and trickery, and the grappling hook represents their desire to grab everything they can get their hands on.

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