LittleSis: Bernie Ebbers

Bernard J. Ebbers, who built a modest Mississippi phone company into a telecommunications giant, WorldCom, but later went to jail after its collapse in one of the nation’s largest corporate scandals, died on Sunday at his home in Brookhaven, Miss. He was 78. His health had sharply deteriorated in recent months, his family said in a statement provided by his lawyer, Graham P. Carner, who confirmed the death. One of his daughters, Joy Ebbers Bourne, said in a court filing in October that Mr. Ebbers was “now experiencing full-blown dementia.” In March 2005, Bernie Ebbers, former CEO of WorldCom, was found guilty on nine counts of securities fraud and conspiracy involving an accounting scheme to bolster the company's apparent profitability. According to reports, the fraud began in 2000 and was revealed in 2002 in shareholder lawsuits. The fraud, estimated to be $11 billion, ultimately lead the company to file for bankruptcy in July 2002. Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay $45 million in restitution in July 2005. Canadian born Ebbers is currently serving his sentence in the Oakdale Federal Correctional Institution in Louisiana. Mr. Ebbers, who in 2005 was sentenced to 25 years in prison, was freed from a federal prison in Texas in December, having been granted compassionate release by a federal judge to spend his final months at home. He attended boarding school on a Navajo reservation after his family moved to California. He ended up receiving a basketball scholarship — he was 6-foot-4 tall — to Mississippi College, a private Baptist institution in Clinton, Miss. He graduated in 1967 with a degree in physical education. Mr. Ebbers married Linda Pigott in 1968, and they divorced in 1997. He and his second wife, Kristie Ebbers, who were married in 1999, divorced in 2008. He is survived by four daughters, Ave Easley, Treasure Ebbers Beeson, Joy Ebbers Bourne and Faith Ebbers Gates; three brothers, John, James and Stephen; a sister, Marion Olthuis; 12 grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

Donor	Common Recipients
Michael A Feiner	Bob Kerrey, Jim Cooper, Orrin Hatch, Steny Hoyer, John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Ed Markey, John McCain, Debbie Stabenow, Fritz Hollings, Charles Spittal Robb, Al D’Amato, Bill Clinton, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Kent Conrad
Carl H Lindner	Jim Inhofe, Trent Lott, John McCain, Roger Wicker, Conrad Burns, Mike DeWine, Fritz Hollings, Fred Dalton Thompson, Bill McCollum, Al D’Amato, Larry Pressler, Republican National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, George H W Bush, Mississippi Democratic Party
Thomas Ryan	Bob Kerrey, Jim Cooper, Steny Hoyer, John Kerry, Ed Markey, Bennie Thompson, Fritz Hollings, Charles Spittal Robb, John Wiley Bryant, Bill Clinton, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Billy Tauzin, Mike Synar, Blanche L Lincoln, Kent Conrad
Wayne L Berman	William Thad Cochran, Orrin Hatch, Jim Inhofe, Trent Lott, John McCain, Roger Wicker, Conrad Burns, Mike DeWine, Michael Garver Oxley, Fred Dalton Thompson, Bill McCollum, Charles Spittal Robb, Al D’Amato, Republican National Committee, George H W Bush
Tom C Korologos	William Thad Cochran, Orrin Hatch, Steny Hoyer, Jim Inhofe, Trent Lott, John McCain, Charles W Pickering Jr, Conrad Burns, Mike DeWine, Fred Dalton Thompson, Bill McCollum, Al D’Amato, Larry Pressler, Republican National Committee, George H W Bush
David Krone	Bob Kerrey, Steny Hoyer, John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Ed Markey, John McCain, Charles W Pickering Jr, Debbie Stabenow, Conrad Burns, Michael Garver Oxley, Fritz Hollings, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Daniel L Schaefer, Blanche L Lincoln, Kent Conrad
Richard Cotton	Bob Kerrey, Orrin Hatch, John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Trent Lott, Ed Markey, John McCain, Debbie Stabenow, Conrad Burns, Fritz Hollings, Jack Milton Fields Jr, Bill Clinton, Republican National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Blanche L Lincoln
Melanie Barnes	Bob Kerrey, Steny Hoyer, John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Ed Markey, John McCain, Debbie Stabenow, Fritz Hollings, Charles Spittal Robb, John Wiley Bryant, Jack Milton Fields Jr, Bill Clinton, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Blanche L Lincoln, Kent Conrad
Terese Colling	Jim Cooper, John Kerry, John McCain, Debbie Stabenow, Conrad Burns, Mike DeWine, Michael Garver Oxley, Fritz Hollings, Charles Spittal Robb, Jack Milton Fields Jr, Larry Pressler, Bill Clinton, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Daniel L Schaefer, Blanche L Lincoln
Steven M Champlin	Bob Kerrey, Jim Cooper, Steny Hoyer, John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Ed Markey, Debbie Stabenow, Bennie Thompson, Fritz Hollings, Charles Spittal Robb, John Wiley Bryant, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Billy Tauzin, Mike Synar, Blanche L Lincoln
Martin D Franks	Bob Kerrey, Steny Hoyer, John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Trent Lott, Ed Markey, John McCain, Charles W Pickering Jr, Conrad Burns, Mike DeWine, Fritz Hollings, Jack Milton Fields Jr, Larry Pressler, Mike Synar, Kent Conrad
Paul L Baker	Bob Kerrey, Jim Cooper, Orrin Hatch, Steny Hoyer, John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Trent Lott, John McCain, Conrad Burns, Mike DeWine, Al D’Amato, Larry Pressler, Bill Clinton, Republican National Committee
Richard H Kimberly	William Thad Cochran, Orrin Hatch, Jim Inhofe, Trent Lott, John McCain, Roger Wicker, Conrad Burns, Mike DeWine, Fred Dalton Thompson, Al D’Amato, Larry Pressler, Republican National Committee, George H W Bush, Blanche L Lincoln
Richard R Rogers	Bob Kerrey, Jim Cooper, Orrin Hatch, John Kerry, John McCain, Roger Wicker, John Wiley Bryant, Bill Clinton, Republican National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Billy Tauzin, Mike Synar, Blanche L Lincoln, National Republican Congressional Cmte
James Massie	Bob Kerrey, Jim Cooper, Orrin Hatch, Steny Hoyer, Charles W Pickering Jr, Debbie Stabenow, Conrad Burns, Fritz Hollings, Bill McCollum, Charles Spittal Robb, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Billy Tauzin, Blanche L Lincoln, Kent Conrad
Frederick Graefe	Bob Kerrey, Jim Cooper, Orrin Hatch, Steny Hoyer, John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, John McCain, Debbie Stabenow, Mike DeWine, Charles Spittal Robb, Bill Clinton, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Blanche L Lincoln, Kent Conrad
A Jerrold Perenchio	Bob Kerrey, Orrin Hatch, Jim Inhofe, John Kerry, John McCain, Conrad Burns, Fritz Hollings, Charles Spittal Robb, Al D’Amato, Larry Pressler, Bill Clinton, Republican National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, George H W Bush
Rupert Murdoch	Bob Kerrey, Orrin Hatch, John Kerry, Ed Markey, John McCain, Conrad Burns, Mike DeWine, Fritz Hollings, Fred Dalton Thompson, Charles Spittal Robb, Jack Milton Fields Jr, Republican National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, National Republican Congressional Cmte
Constance (aka Elaine) Chambers	Bob Kerrey, Orrin Hatch, John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Trent Lott, Ed Markey, John McCain, Debbie Stabenow, Michael Garver Oxley, Al D’Amato, Republican National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Billy Tauzin, National Republican Congressional Cmte
Stephen Schwarzman	Bob Kerrey, Orrin Hatch, Jim Inhofe, Patrick Leahy, John McCain, Roger Wicker, Conrad Burns, Al D’Amato, Bill Clinton, Republican National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, George H W Bush, Billy Tauzin, National Republican Congressional Cmte

Donor

Common Recipients

Michael A Feiner