Patterico digs deeply into a civil complaint quietly filed in Louisiana involving Rep. William Jefferson, the man who had $90,000 hidden in his freezer and facing a federal corruption investigation.  The new complaint details another charge of bribery apart from his current woes, Patterico reports.  This time, though, the feds may also be on the hotseat:

The background: last month, guest blogger DRJ and I reported on a motion by indicted Louisiana attorney James G. Perdigao. Perdigao’s motion leveled serious accusations of wrongdoing by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana — and raised new accusations of bribery of then-U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan and U.S. Representative William Jefferson.

Perdigao’s allegations may help Governor Edwin Edwards challenge his conviction for taking bribes, in return for issuing valuable riverboat casino licenses. Businessman Robert Guidry made about $100 million from one of those licenses, and then testified against Edwards. But Guidry’s plea bargain raised eyebrows across the state. Not only did Guidry receive only five months in a halfway house, but prosecutors also allowed him to keep more than $96 million of the $100 million he made from the illegally obtained license.

As a local columnist opined: “The abiding mystery of the Edwards trial is how come Guidry got such a sweet deal.”

Perdigao says he can solve the mystery: Guidry bribed the feds. And, Perdigao says, he did so through William Jefferson.

Don’t stop there.  Patterico has plenty more on this development, including a caveat or two about accepting anything in Louisiana at face value.  That is a great reminder of just how much work Bobby Jindal has on his plate in reforming the state government on the bayou.

Meanwhile, where is the Democratic-led Congress on this issue?  Why have they not expelled Jefferson yet, or at least conducted an ethics investigation into his activities?  Nancy Pelosi certainly fought hard to keep the FBI from doing its work on Dollar Bill, claiming that only Congress had jurisdiction to conduct investigations that involved legislative offices.  Where is Pelosi’s investigation?  (via Michelle)