Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) has put a money launderer on his official payroll, which is at least the second such time he has done so.
Dona Nichols-Jones and her husband, Mikel Jones, were convicted in 2011 of conspiracy, money laundering and fraud after the couple took more than $600,000 from a business loan for personal use. Prosecutors accused the couple of crafting fake invoices from shell companies to funnel the money toward groceries, credit card bills and tickets to sporting events. Nichols-Jones was sentenced to one day in prison, and the court ordered her to pay nearly $400,000 in restitution.
According to the most recently released salary records, Nichols-Jones is now employed part-time by Hastings and was paid $4,375 between April 1 and June 30 this year.
The salary record does not indicate what type of work Nichols-Jones is doing for the office, where she is working, or how many hours she puts in for the representative. The office did not respond to messages left since Friday.
Mikel Jones was himself employed by Hastings. Records indicate Jones drew a salary of more than $78,000 in 2010, and he remained on the payroll even after his indictment in July 2011 until the day he was convicted in November. Jones was sentenced to 42 months in prison and ordered to pay almost $500,000 restitution.
Asked at the time how Mikel Jones was able to operate a law firm in Philadelphia while employed by Hastings in Florida, the representative's office declined to comment, according to the Sun Sentinel.
The congressman himself has a colorful legal history. As a federal judge, Hastings was impeached in 1989 by the U.S. Senate for taking a $150,000 bribe in a racketeering trial. He was subsequently elected to the House.
The lawmaker's staff hires have raised eyebrows before. Hastings currently employs longtime girlfriend, Patricia Williams, who served as his attorney when he was indicted for bribery, and during his subsequent impeachment trial. She began working for Hastings during his first term in 1993, shortly after being disbarred in Florida, and is his highest paid employee, earning more than $168,000 in 2013 as his deputy district director.
Although it has not previously received attention, Hastings also employs Williams' daughter, Maisha Williams, as a staff assistant. She earned $40,000 in 2013.
