Graft verdicts seal ex-Virginia governor Bob McDonnell’s fall from grace

Former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, have been convicted of multiple counts of public corruption after jurors brushed aside defence protestations that their broken marriage prevented them from conspiring to use political power for financial gain.

The guilty verdicts on 11 corruption charges marked the first criminal conviction of a former governor in the the US state's history and led to calls for tougher state laws regulating gifts to public officials.

Both defendants broke down in tears as they listened to the drumbeat of guilty verdicts in court in Richmond. Several of their grown children also sobbed loudly.

For Bob McDonnell, it was an astonishingly quick fall from grace for a man who had been mentioned as a possible Republican vice-presidential candidate just two years ago.

The jury surprised legal observers by deliberating for just two days after the five-week trial.

They agreed with prosecutors that the McDonnells broke the law by using their influence to help Jonnie Williams, a Florida health supplement manufacturer who showered the couple with US$177,000 in cash, loans and gifts, including free holidays, the use of a boat and a Ferrari, and US$25,000 in wedding gifts for two of their daughters.

The defence focused on the often embarrassing details of the McDonnells' troubled marriage, while prosecutors zeroed in on what the governor did in return for gifts. They noted that he sent emails to state officials asking them to talk to Williams about his product, in one instance just minutes after McDonnell asked Williams for an extension on a loan. McDonnell also held two promotional events for Williams at the governor's mansion.