Former Virginia governor and wife charged with accepting gifts

The former Virginia governor and his wife have been charged with illegally accepting gifts from a local businessman in a lengthy indictment dripping with allegations of luxury shopping trips, rounds of golf and undisclosed cash loans.

Bob McDonnell, whose term finished as governor last November, had been considered a hard-working, accomplished politician who came to office with no suggestion of corruption.

Touted as a possible running mate for Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election, Mr McDonnell is the first governor in Virginia to face criminal charges.

Some US states, like Illinois, have had a long history of corruption in their state legislatures, but not Virginia, which has always prided itself on its relatively clean reputation.

The indictment details how he and his wife, Maureen, allegedly accepted cash and gifts from Jonnie Williams Sr, and in return tried to help him with state support for his business of dietary supplements.

They allegedly began accepting gifts even before he took office, with Mrs McDonnell asking Mr Williams to help her buy a new dress for her husband's inauguration, according to the indictment.

In an email in late 2009 to an adviser to her husband who had told her it was not appropriate for Mr Williams to buy the dress, Mrs McDonnell wrote: "Bob is screaming about the thousands I'm charging up in credit card debt. We are broke, have an unconscionable amount in credit card debt already, and this Inaugural is killing us!!"

Mrs McDonnell allegedly said she would take a "rain check" from Mr Williams, and in 2011, insisted he take her shopping in New York ahead of an important dinner.

Mr Williams "paid for the entire luxury shopping trip", the indictment says, "and spent approximately $10,999 at Oscar de la Renta, approximately $5,685 at Louis Vuitton, and approximately $2,604 at Bergdorf Goodman.

In return, it is claimed that Mr Williams was seated next to the governor at a dinner later that night at the Union League Club. In all, the pair allegedly received $140,000 worth of gifts from Mr Williams.

Mr McDonnell has acknowledged accepting gifts but insisted he did nothing wrong and he and his wife are due to fight the allegations.

"I deeply regret accepting legal gifts and loans from Mr Williams, all of which have been repaid with interest, and I have apologised for my poor judgment, for which I take full responsibility," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

"However, I repeat emphatically that I did nothing illegal for Mr Williams in exchange for what I believed was his personal generosity and friendship."

Ακολουθήστε το Euro2day.gr στο Google News!Παρακολουθήστε τις εξελίξεις με την υπογραφη εγκυρότητας του Euro2day.gr

FOLLOW USΑκολουθήστε τη σελίδα του Euro2day.gr στο Linkedin

According to the indictment, the governor and his sons played numerous rounds of golf at a private club on Mr Williams' tab; had work done at his home, including the installation of a hot tub; and his wife received a $50,000 loan to help with payments on their rental house.

She also allegedly asked Mr Williams for a Rolex after she noticed him wearing one, and requested that it be engraved "7lst Governor of Virginia" on the back.

Worried about the cost of catering for their daughter's wedding, Mrs McDonnell got $15,000 from Mr Williams to cover the costs, according to the indictment.

If true, it turned out to be an ill-judged request. When a chef at the governor's mansion was questioned over allegations about the theft of food, he tipped off the authorities to potential wrongdoing over the catering.

The Washington Post has reported that Mr Williams is co-operating with prosecutors in the investigation. He is not yet facing any charges.

© The Financial Times Limited 2014. All rights reserved.
FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd.
Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.
Euro2day.gr is solely responsible for providing this translation and the Financial Times Limited does not accept any liability for the accuracy or quality of the translation