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Bob McDonnell is best known for being the Governor of Virginia from January of 2010 until January of 2014. Over the past few months, however, his legacy has been tarnished by allegations of corruption. On September 4, 2014, a jury in federal court in Richmond, Virginia’s capital, found McDonnell and his wife, Maureen McDonnell, guilty of numerous charges relating to taking bribes from Jonnie R. Williams Sr., a Virginia businessman who was the CEO of Star Scientific Inc. Bob McDonnell was convicted of 11 counts related to conspiracy and obstruction of justice, while Maureen McDonnell was convicted of nine similar charges.
According to The Washington Post, Williams gifted McDonnell and his family with more than $150,000 in vacations, gifts, and loans from 2011 to 2012. Some of these gifts included a $6,000 engraved Rolex, vacations to Florida, and a $15,000 catering bill for Cailin, Bob McDonnell’s daughter. In exchange for all of these gifts, McDonnell arranged several meetings with government officials for Williams. McDonnell’s recent conviction on these charges makes him Virginia’s first governor to be convicted of a felony. Since the accusation, Williams has resigned as CEO of Star Scientific. Sentencing for Bob and Maureen McDonnell is set for January 6: news outlet WJLA reports that they could face two decades in prison.
Private Investigators And Corruption
While the McDonnell case was obviously a high profile one, there are many people across the country who deal with corruption and hidden assets in their personal and professional lives. What can be done to combat these situations? If you suspect someone in your life of corruption, hiring a private investigator is one of the smartest ways to get to the bottom of the situation. A private investigator can do several things to help you find out for sure if someone is hiding something from you:
- Conduct a Check for Hidden Assets: Even if you don’t think that someone has hidden assets as extravagant as a $6,000 Rolex watch like Bob McDonnell’s, an asset check can still be extremely valuable to find out the truth. Often, the discovery of hidden assets leads you to find out the truth about a cheating spouse, since those having an affair often hide gifts they receive from their partners.
- Perform a Complete Background Check: One telltale sign that someone may be taking bribes is a criminal history. If you want to find out about what someone has done in the past, a criminal background check is one of the best ways to do so. A background check from a private investigator will be much more accurate and complete than one from an automated database.
- Provide Surveillance Services: Bob McDonnell and Jonnie Williams, Sr. held several meetings together, undoubtedly in a covert area where not many people would be aware of their presence. A private investigator can help you catch people in the act of going to secret meetings or hanging out in places known for criminal activity, two obvious signs that there is corruption taking place.
Bob McDonnell is a sad example of what power and the belief of infallibility can do to someone. If you believe that a family member, friend, colleague, or supervisor has been exploiting you by taking bribes or hiding things like the McDonnell family did, get in touch with a reliable private investigator to uncover the truth and bring them to justice.
