Gambling Addiction destroyed Porteous

Federal judge driven to corruption by a gambling addiction is impeached

A federal judge has been impeached after his gambling addiction drove him to corruption.

Judge Thomas Porteous, 63, was removed from the bench by the U.S. Senate after he was found guilty of corruption.

It is only the eighth time in history that Congress has removed a federal judge.
Porteous claimed he had struggled with gambling and drinking problems. He was convicted of accepting thousands of dollars from lawyers whose cases he was hearing.
The lawyers also paid for meals, trips, and even a lap dance for Judge Porteous's son during a night out in a Las Vegas strip club.

The House of Representatives voted unanimously to impeach Porteous in March.
'Our investigation found that Judge Porteous participated in a pattern of corrupt conduct for years,' chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Task Force on Judicial Impeachment Adam Schiff said.

He is 'forever disqualified to hold and enjoy any office of honour, trust or profit under the United States,' Senate Daniel Inouye said during Wednesday's Senate hearing.

Porteous had sat on the federal bench since 1994.