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The jury in the federal corruption trial of former New York State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada and his son began deliberations on Monday. 

Today is the third day of the federal corruption trial of former Senator John Edwards, who is charged with violating campaign finance law. Edwards allegedly used money given to him by wealthy supporters to hide his affair with Rielle Hunter and their subsequent love child while running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. Yesterday, the defense cross-examined Edwards' former aide Andrew Young – who had testified that Edwards directed him to use funds from donors to take care of Ms. Hunter. Kim Severson, Atlanta bureau chief for our partner The New York Times, was in the courtroom yesterday.

Wal-Mart stock fell nearly five percent to $59.42 on Monday after The New York Times reported that the company tried to cover up evidence of widespread bribery in its Mexican operations. Meanwhile, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have opened probes into the retail giant.

In a new report that grades every state by transparency and corruption, New York ranks 36th and New Jersey is ranked as the least-corrupt state in the nation. WNYC reporters Cindy Rodriguez and Bob Hennelly discuss the findings, the (somewhat flawed) methodology, and what's important when it comes to measuring corruption.

Swati Ramanathan, co-founder of the Janaagraha Center for Citizenship & Democracy in Bangalore, talks about the website her organization started, "I Paid a Bribe.com," to combat petty corruption and bribery. We're also be joined by Ben Elers, Transparency International's director for programmes, to discuss the problem of "petty" bribery experienced by people in many countries.

What's the culture of bribery like in your country? Got a bribery story? Post it here! 

On Ash Wednesday, how are you observing Lent this year?  in light of "Vatileaks" and the contraceptive services controversy, does politics affect your religious practice? Paul Moses, former Newsday city editor and senior religion writer, professor of journalism at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and the author of The Saint and the Sultan: The Crusades, Islam and Francis of Assisi's Mission of Peace, comes in to discuss.

Dylan Ratigan, host of of MSNBC's "The Dylan Ratigan Show," talks about his new book: Greedy Bastards: How We Can Stop Corporate Communists, Banksters, and Other Vampires from Sucking America Dry. 

An estimated 10,000 people participated in the first day of an indefinite strike against the government on Monday. These protests were motivated by alleged corruption and the elimination of a subsidy that has sent fuel prices skyrocketing in Nigeria. Meanwhile, terrorist attacks by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram, who most recently claimed responsibility for a Christmas Day church bombing that killed 37 people and wounded 57, have reached a fever pitch.

A mistrial has been declared in Councilman Larry Seabrook's federal corruption trial.  After a solid week of deliberations the jury could not reach a consensus on any of the 12 counts against the 60-year-old Bronx council member. 

It appeared to be business as usual inside the Brooklyn lawmaker William Boyland Jr.'s office a day after he was arrested on bribery charges and — for the second time this year — faced pending federal corruption charges.

The ethics panel for New York state is going out of business — at least until a new commission signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier this month can get up and running.

Amol Sharma, Wall Street Journal correpondent in New Delhi, discusses the anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, his hunger strike starting tomorrow, and his popular movement.

In India, a 74-year-old activist is on a hunger strike to protest government corruption. The activist, Anna Hazare, has drawn comparisons to Mohandas Ghandi. He is currently in jail, but may be leaving later today after more than 10,000 people marched peacefully through New Delhi yesterday, rallying on his behalf. Could this be the start of an Arab Spring in India?

Illinois' embattled ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich was found guilty yesterday on 17 counts of corruption, and could face up to 20 years in prison. Blagojevich was caught on tape trying to extort money in exchange for President Obama's vacated Senate seat in late 2008. Blagojevich had maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and was surprised by the guilty verdict. “I, frankly, am stunned," he told reporters. 

German violin dealer Dietmar Machold lived in an Austrian castle, owned a collection of sports cars and was always impeccably dressed. Over several decades, he allegedly swindled banks, customers and dealers from millions of dollars. It recently all caught up with him.

Protesters gathered Cairo's Tahrir Square once again on Saturday to demand that the Egyptian military open an investigation into former president Hosni Mubarak's abuses. Mubarak responded to charges of corruption in a radio address on Sunday, the first time he's addressed the country since being forced from power in February. How have Egyptians responded to Mubarak's claims of innocence? What does this mean for the future of Egypt?

Barbara Benson, covers the health care industry as the editor of Crain's New York Business "Health Pulse".  She joins us today to discuss the corruption charges against Carl Kruger and William Boyland Jr. that stem from alleged bribes from a healthcare industry executive.

A day after State Senator Carl Kruger was slapped with corruption charges, some in his Brooklyn district said they're shocked to hear the nine-term lawmaker allegedly accepted more than a $1 million in bribes. 

Brooklyn State Senator Carl Kruger and Assemblyman William Boyland, Jr. are among eight people facing public corruption charges for what federal prosecutors in Manhattan call a wide-ranging bribery scheme based on "an unholy alliance of politicians, lobbyists and businessmen."

Russia’s closely watched trial of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky revealed a lot more than just the business dealings of one of the country’s most powerful and prosperous men. For many Russians, the court's ruling exposed a crack in the political unity that keeps Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev comfortably in power. Is Russia's rule of law suffering manipulation by executive power?