| For Immediate Release Mar 1, 2001 |
Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
Former Jackson Attorney Guilty of Fraud And Rainbow/PUSH Oversight Official Stole $1.2 Million From Homeless & Pregnant Teens (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption has identified two associates of Rev. Jesse Jackson that received controversial “last minute” pardons from former President Clinton on January 20, 2001. The already controversial Clinton pardons raise additional troubling questions concerning Rev. Jackson’s potential involvement in possibly brokering pardon deals as alleged against Denise Rich, Hugh Rodham and others. Neither of Rev. Jackson’s associates had clemency applications before the Justice Department. Rev. Jackson’s pardoned associates include John Bustamante, 70, of Cleveland, Ohio. Bustamante is a former attorney for Jesse Jackson, and was prominent in Cleveland's black community as chairman of First National Bank Association of Cleveland. Bustamante was also publisher of the Call and Post newspaper. In 1993, Bustamante pleaded guilty to a federal charge of defrauding an insurance company and was placed on probation. He pleaded after a federal judge threw out his 1991 conviction on five felony fraud charges. Bustamante was among those persons without clemency applications on file with the Department of Justice prior to President Clinton’s clemency grants of January 20, 2001. Rev. Jackson’s other pardoned associate is Dorothy Rivers, a member of Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Oversight Committee. Ms. Rivers was convicted of stealing $1.2 million in federal money intended for programs to help homeless families and pregnant teens. Prosecutors said Rivers used the stolen money to purchase furs, expensive clothing and a Mercedes-Benz for her son. Ms. Rivers was also among those persons without clemency applications on file with the Department of Justice prior to President Clinton’s clemency grants of January 20, 2001. “The pardons for Rev. Jackson’s criminal friends need to scrutinized along with the other highly suspect pardons Clinton traded away on his last day,” stated Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman. “Let’s get Jesse Jackson under oath and ask him about his involvement in this scandal,” added Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch. “Maybe Jackson asked Clinton about pardons for his friends while he was ‘counseling’ the former president on Monica Lewinsky,” added Fitton. | |