Why am I not surprised, not even in the least? I think that Ron Paul was an honest politician. I can't think of anyone else I would trust politically.
I am also not surprised at foreigners getting into the game. It seems the whole world is closer to being one financially , with politics only a distant second. Money,(greed & power) is uniting the whole world at an alarming rate, but not with the hope of peace and prosperity we would like to see.
Call me a pessimist, but when I consider human behavior, I think more stories like this are inevitable, regardless of which party is in power.
Prison? That was a different world. I don't think it exists anymore.