William Jefferson settles in to federal prison in Beaumont, Texas
by Bruce Alpert - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Former Democratic Rep. William Jefferson reported Friday to the low-security federal prison in Beaumont, Texas, to begin serving a 13-year sentence, the longest ever for a congressional member. Jefferson, 65, arrived about 40 minutes ahead of the noon deadline set by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III who presided over Jefferson's 2009 trial for corruption and bribery. It marked a dramatic change for the man who had risen from a childhood in Lake Providence, one of north Louisiana's poorest communities, to a Harvard law degree, a leadership role in the Louisiana Legislature and nine-terms in Congress representing New Orleans, including a spot on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. After processing by prison officials, Jefferson was assigned to one of the facility's dormitory-style units where he also will get a work assignment that could include kitchen duties or clean-up tasks in prisoner living units.