Extortion
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Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded threats in order to obtain an unfair business advantage is also a form of extortion.
Loot and Extortion. Statues at Trago Mills, poking fun at the Inland Revenue.
Political corruption
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Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain.
Detail from Corrupt Legislation (1896) by Elihu Vedder. Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.
American lobbyist and businessman Jack Abramoff was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation.
Reformers like the American Joseph Keppler depicted the Senate as controlled by the giant moneybags, who represented the nation's financial trusts and monopolies.
The sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams' "corrupt bargain" of 1824 is an example of patronage.