Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/16/former.congressman.indicted/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/ 01/16/former.congressman.indicted/index.html</a> Never heard of this guy, but former three term Republican Congressman Mark Deli Siljander is in a heap of trouble. To wit: "A former congressman has been charged in connection with his work for an Islamic charity accused of funneling money to an Afghan warlord, prosecutors announced Wednesday. The money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges against former Michigan Rep. Mark Deli Siljander are part of a 42-count indictment released by the U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City, Missouri. Siljander's co-defendants -- the directors of an Islamic charity -- hired him to get the organization off a list of agencies suspected of links to terrorism and paid him with U.S. government funds, according to prosecutors. The Treasury Department designated the Islamic American Relief Agency as a suspected fundraiser for terrorists in 2004, The Associated Press reported. Siljander is also accused of lying to federal agents and prosecutors about his work for the group, which allegedly steered $260,000 to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar -- an ally of the Taliban and al Qaeda." This leaves you speechless. There's lobbying, and then there's knowingly taking money out of sheer greed and then not giving a damn where the money you solicit from people is going. For this guy's sake, he better hope there's a really good explanation, or be prepared for a dozen kinds of hell.
