FILE – In this Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013, file photo, former Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Sandra, arrive at federal court in Washington, to learn their fates when a federal judge sentences the one-time power couple for misusing $750,000 in campaign money on everything from a gold-plated Rolex watch and mink capes to vacations and mounted elk heads. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s posessions _ including fur capes and Michael Jackson memorabilia _ go on the auction block Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, in an attempt to generate cash to pay his $750,000 fine for fundraising violations. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
CHICAGO (AP) — Mink capes, Bruce Lee autographs and assorted Michael Jackson memorabilia belonging to Jesse Jackson Jr. will be sold to the highest bidder to help ensure the former congressman pays his debt to society in full.
The U.S. Marshals Service said it will start selling 13 items in an online auction Tuesday — with proceeds going to help repay $750,000 in campaign funds that the Chicago Democrat illegally spent.
In addition to requiring that Jackson, 48, pay back the misspent funds, a U.S. judge in Washington, D.C., last month sentenced the son of civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson to 2½ years behind bars.
The objects up for auction at www.txauction.com illustrate the disgraced legislator’s passion for both pop iconography and for what some might consider gaudy and pricey fashion.
Among the clothing items are a woman’s mink jacket with silver-fox sleeves and a red cashmere cape with black mink trim, according to a Marshals Service press release.
In the same case, Jackson’s wife, Sandra, was sentenced to a year in prison for filing false joint federal income tax returns. At least some of the clothes being auctioned would have been worn by her.
One of the largest pieces of memorabilia up for auction is a guitar signed by both Michael Jackson and Eddie Van Halen. Next to Jackson’s signature are the hand-written words, “Let Love Fall Like Rain.”
Prosecutors say Jackson spent tens of thousands of dollars other apparent frivolities, including two mounted elk heads for his office. Those were not listed among the objects on sale this week.
It wasn’t immediately clear how much the 13 items could raise. A message left for the company overseeing the auction, Texas-based Gaston & Sheehan Auctioneers Inc., wasn’t immediately returned.
The auction runs through Sept. 26.
