Top 10 Abuses of Power

Dominique Strauss-Kahn — the chief of the International Monetary Fund and a likely candidate for the French presidency — was arrested on rape charges in New York. If convicted, he'll join an ignominious club of privileged leaders who stepped too far: Takes a look at abuses of power through the years.

Richard Nixon's Plumbers

In September 1952, vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon was accused of taking money from a reelection fund. In a live television address, Nixon painted himself as a humble family man who had only accepted a single gift — Checkers, the family dog. The "Checkers Speech" saved his candidacy and helped propel Dwight Eisenhower to the presidency.

You'd think he would have learned his lesson. Twenty years later, though, President Nixon's staffers formed the "White House Plumbers," a secret unit tasked with digging up dirt on Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg. The Plumbers went on to commit crimes for the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, including the Watergate burglaries. Although Nixon denied knowledge of the Plumbers activities, tapes subpoenaed during the Watergate investigation revealed years of political espionage and illegal surveillance. The "Smoking Gun" tape revealed that Nixon was involved in the cover up. On August 8, 1974, Nixon became the only American president to resign the office.

India's Telecoms Scandal 

In recent months, India's ruling coalition government has been rocked by an epic corruption scandal that has challenged its once unbreakable grip on power. Following 2008 elections, the country's telecommunications ministry was awarded to Andimithu Raja, a relatively green lawmaker from a regional party who won his post as a result of India's usual parliamentary political horse-trading. But, according to allegations that led to Raja resigning late last year, he presided over the underpricing of bandwidth to mobile companies — apparently in return for bribes — which some estimate may have cost the Indian government around $7 billion. That figure makes it hands down the largest episode of graft in Indian history, and played a part in the withering defeats Raja's party sustained in local elections in early May. Raja himself now languishes in jail as the snail-paced Indian judicial system inches the case forward.

Dennis Kozlowski and the Tyco Roman Orgy

In a 60 Minutes interview defending his innocence, former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski maintained that "nothing was hidden." That's for sure. Innocent or guilty, Kozlowski clearly wasn't modest, living a life of opulent luxury. The question of the case wasn't whether he took the money (he did), but rather whether he was authorized to do so — an issue he considered a jury unfit to rule on. "I was a guy sitting in a courtroom making $100 million a year and I think a juror sitting there just would have to say, 'All that money? He must have done something wrong.'"

There's no denying Kozlowski led a lavish lifestyle. His $30 million New York City apartment was allegedly paid for by the company. (The shower curtains alone, it was revealed in court, cost $6,000.) Tyco also footed half of the $2 million bill for an extravagant birthday party for Kozlowski's second wife in 2001. Disguised as a shareholder meeting, it took place on an Italian island and featured an ice sculpture of the Statue of David urinating Stolichnaya vodka. The bash — which became known as the Tyco Roman Orgy — probably didn't help his case. Kozlowski, who was convicted of misappropriation of corporate funds in 2005, is serving up to 25 years in prison.

Gaddafi's Nepotism

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has kept his family well-appointed throughout his 42-year rule. Details of his children's oppressive and abusive exploits were revealed earlier this year in cables released by Wikileaks. Gaddafi's oldest son, Muhammad, dominated telecommunications in Libya while another son Muatassim, was National Security Adviser. A 2008 report claimed that Muatassim had once put pressure on Shukri Ghanem, the chairman of the National Oil Corp., to give Libya $1.2 billion in gas and oil shipments. Ghanem has said that he considered resigning for fear of Muatassim seeking revenge if Ghanem did not pay up.

On other fronts, son Hannibal was influential in maritime shipping, Khamis commanded a top military unit, and daughter Aisha was for a short time the UN Development Program National ‎Goodwill Ambassador for Libya, until being stripped of that role in February. Another son, Saadi, was given the job of setting up an Export Free Trade Zone in western Libya. Saif al-Islam maintained his role as Libya's unofficial diplomat to the West and had earned support as his father's heir apparent, but hurt that image by threatening to crush antigovernment protests with civil war.

Moshe Katsav and the Ministry Staffer

After six years as president of Israel, Moshe Katsav complained to Israel's attorney general that a former staffer from his time as the Minister of Tourism was attempting to blackmail him. During the subsequent investigation, a former Tourism Ministry employee identified only as "A" accused Katsav of rape. The allegation rocked the country, with many wondering whether the former president would have a fair trial. Though Katsav maintained his innocence, he also faced serious jail time if convicted. So in 2007, Katsav reached a plea bargain with prosecutors: he would plead guilty to sexual harassment and indecent acts, but they would drop the rape charge and the former president would receive a suspended sentence. But in April 2008, Katsav called off the deal, thinking the prosecutors didn't have enough evidence. His subsequent trail ended in December 2010 with a unanimous conviction, and in March 2011, Katsav was sentenced to 7 years behind bars.

Silvio Berlusconi and the Bunga Bunga Parties

In May 2010, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy called a police station in Milan and demanded the release of an underage Moroccan girl nicknamed Ruby, who was being held on suspicion of theft. To hasten her release, Berlusconi reportedly indicated that she was a relative of then Egyptian President Mubarak. (She is not.) Ruby, whose real name is Karima El Mahroug, has since recounted stories of sexually explicit so-called"bunga bunga" parties at the Prime Minister's private villa in Milan. On April 6, Berlusconi, 74, was put on trial and accused of paying the then-17-year-old El Mahroug for sex and abusing his political position to cover it up; the trial was immediately adjourned until May 31. This is not the first time that Berlusconi has been linked to younger women; his wife Veronica Lario sought a divorce in 2009 over his tendency to "frequent minors," citing his attendance at an 18-year-old aspiring showgirl's birthday party.

Kim Jong Il's Concubines

Of all the ways that North Korea's Kim Jong Il has done his country wrong, one of the most troublesome is that he has used his power to coerce women into being his personal concubines. Coerce might actually be too slight a word to describe what he does: Kim has reportedly been known to dispatch military commandos south to kidnap women, including some movie stars, whom he then enslaves as concubines. The "Dear Leader" is believed to have fathered nine children with mistresses, not including the five offspring who he has supposedly acknowledged as being the result of multiple marriages.

Roger Vangheluwe's Abuse Scandal

Roger Vangheluwe stepped down as Bishop of Bruges — a position he'd held since 1984 — last spring after admitting he'd sexually abused his nephew decades ago. And though he'd done so for 13 years, starting when the boy was only five, the clergyman hasn't been prosecuted, because the statute of limitations had run out. Just this April, he said in a televised interview that he'd also abused a second nephew, but he didn't seem to see anything wrong with his behavior. "I had the strong impression that my nephew didn't mind at all. On the contrary. It was not brutal sex. I never used bodily, physical violence," Vangheluwe said. The man of the cloth also stated, "I don't have the impression at all that I am a pedophile." He’s bad enough, but — as far too many know from their own personal experiences — just one of many authorities in the Catholic Church who took advantage of their flocks around the world. The Vatican is still trying to come to grips with its widespread problem, calling on May 16 for new guidelines for preventing child sex abuse.

China's Food Safety Czar Accepts Bribes

China has had a long history of tainted food and products that have led to numerous deaths. In 2007, one man was executed for them. Zheng Xiaoyu was the former head of China's State Food and Drug Administration. Xiaoyu had been accepting bribes ($850,000 worth) from firms that allowed them to register their products while bypassing food safety regulations. Those bribes were linked to medicines that were poorly produced and were blamed for several deaths. So the Chinese government took harsh action. But still, not much seems to have changed. Food safety in China is still widely viewed as sub-standard by much of the world.

Albert Fall's Teapot Dome

Decades before the Iraq War revived the term "no-bid contract," the Teapot Dome scandal brought shady contracting into the limelight. In 1922, Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall leased the Navy's oil reserve fields — including one at Teapot Dome, Wyoming — to private oil companies. That April, the Wall Street Journal reported that the leases had been awarded without competitive bidding. A two-year Senate investigation uncovered no clear evidence of wrongdoing, but documents kept disappearing, and Secretary Fall kept getting richer. Finally, investigators discovered a $100,000 loan to Fall from an oil company executive. He was found guilty of bribery and became the first presidential cabinet member imprisoned for crimes committed in office.

The repercussions extended beyond Fall. Although President Theodore Roosevelt's sons, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., the Assistant Secretary of the Navy in charge of executing the leases, and Archibald Roosevelt, a vice-president of one of the oil companies, were both cleared of all charges, the Teapot Dome scandal haunted Ted in his campaign for governor of New York and ended his political career.

Source: Time