Imagine you're the Speaker of the House and one of the members of your party is under investigation.

Starting in the 1990s, Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-W.Va.) chose an unusual way to funnel federal funds into his poverty-ridden district. He set up a network of nonprofit organizations to administer the millions of dollars he directed to such public endeavors as high-tech research and historic preservation.

Over the same period, Mollohan's personal fortunes soared. From 2000 to 2004, his assets grew from no more than $565,000 to at least $6.3 million. The partners in his rapidly expanding real estate empire included the head of one of these nonprofit groups and the owner of a local company for which he arranged substantial federal aid.

Mollohan used his seat on the House Appropriations Committee to secure more than $150 million for five nonprofit groups. One of the groups is headed by a former aide with whom Mollohan bought $2 million worth of property on Bald Head Island, N.C.

Notably, this is almost exactly the same scheme as Abscam Jack Murtha has been using in his district to gorge at the public trough.

For someone whose promised the cleanest Congress in history, you distance yourself and the party from this guy--at least until the investigation concludes--right?

Well, these are Democrat remember, and Mother Pelosi has judgment rivaled only by Michael Jackson.

When asked if it was a good idea to make Mollohan the chairman of a committee that oversees the budget of the very department investigating his malfeasance, Speaker Pelosi replied:

Less than 24 hours after taking over as House speaker, Pelosi took NEWS9 cameras on a tour of the Capitol. There, she said she will still allow Mollohan to hold his powerful position which oversees the budget of the Justice Department -- the very people investigating his financial dealings.

"Quite frankly, I think the Justice Department is looking into every member of Congress. I always say to everybody, 'You're now going to get a free review of your family tree -- past, present and future, imagined and otherwise,'" Pelosi said.

She's not kidding.

The mafia is running the docks again...