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GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Andrew Young first saw John Edwards speak at an oceanfront hotel in 1998. He was captivated by the U.S. Senate candidate’s speech and told his future wife Edwards was going to be president someday — and he was going to work for him. The corruption trial for former presidential candidate John [...]

By Samuel Rubenfeld A roundup of corruption-related news from Dow Jones and other sources. You can also receive a newsletter version of Corruption Currents here. Bribery: Mike Lucas The deluge of Wal-Mart coverage continues. Our own C.M. Matthews was a guest on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” on Friday to talk about the alleged bribery. The scandal is [...]

CHICAGO –  The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ordered a lower court to look at former Illinois Gov. George Ryan’s bid to overturn his corruption convictions, providing a slim chance that the imprisoned Republican could win a new trial. The decision marked one of the few significant rulings that have come in Ryan’s favor since [...]

The probe into Walmart’s alleged bribery of public officials is interesting, but perhaps unsurprising. In Mexico, “mordida” is a way of life. Can you do business internationally and stick to all your morals? Nathan Rupert/Flickr Tweet Last week, Walmart got caught with its hand in the cookie jar. An investigative report by The New York [...]

CHICAGO (AP) — State Rep. Derrick Smith vowed Monday to clear his name and said he would not leave office, his first public comments since he was charged with bribery last month. Smith, 48, officially pleaded not guilty in federal court Monday. The Chicago Democrat has been charged with accepting a bribe in exchange for [...]

BENTONVILLE, Ark., April 30 (UPI) — U.S. retail giant Walmart said the firm would stick with expansion plans despite recent allegations of bribes in Mexico meant to speed up expansion there. Despite investigations into the company’s behavior in Mexico, “We remain committed to opening stores all across the United States, including large cities,” said Steven [...]

State Rep. Derrick Smith pleaded not guilty today to federal bribery charges and issued his first public comments after his court appearance. Smith, under pressure to resign his position, accused the FBI of engaging in “shenanigans” during the investigation and said agents pressured people to “say bad things about me.” “I will not cower,” he [...]

By Jason Subler SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Foreign companies doing business in China must navigate a business culture in which bribery is rife, finding ways to remove obstacles to expanding in the world’s second-largest economy without running afoul of local or home-country laws. Especially in areas such as dealing with local officials in charge of permits, [...]

Mumbai: Afflicted by misgovernance and corruption, India’s global clout has waned over the past year but could swing back if the economy regains its growth trajectory, says a geopolitical power index (GPI) report by an independent Mumbai-based think tank. India slipped from fourth to sixth place in the report compared to July-December 2011, owing to [...]

Former Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury, former Holyoke acting Fire Chief William Moran and Springfield police officers Derek Cook and Jeffrey Asher, clockwise from top left, are among public safety officials who have faced criminal charges recently. Of the four, only Fleury was cleared. SPRINGFIELD – Call it a corruption recession. Not one mayor, state [...]

In bad company UPDATE (3/26, 12:45) Deere, Hewlett-Packard, Las Vegas Sands, Qualcom and many others are also under investigation for violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. FORTUNE — Perhaps Wal-Mart (WMT) should try the “everyone does it” defense. The giant retailer, which is accused of regularly bribing Mexican officials in order to quickly [...]

Until 1977, there was no country that criminalized the practice of bribery abroad. But that year, President Jimmy Carter signed a law making the United States the very first. In due course, this measure eliminated corruption from every nation where our corporations operate. Yes, it did — right after Carter got a tattoo and a [...]

As the Pentagon makes its way out of Afghanistan, the biggest threat to U.S. forces departing the country won’t come from Taliban or al Qaeda, but will come from the Afghan government itself, according to a high-ranking member of the U.S. military. Maj. Gen. John Toolan, head of the Marine Corps 2nd Division, argued corruption [...]

Everyone is aware by now of the stunning exposé on alleged bribery at Wal-Mart de Mexico. As promised, this is the next in what will likely be a series of commentaries I’ll post on the scandal. It’s worth starting at the very beginning by considering the basic question: What’s wrong with bribery in the first [...]