Femme fatale Nolanda Hill

Conspiracy theorists are still buzzing about the circumstances of Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown's death in 1996 amidst the general sleaze of the Clinton administration.

Brown, a prominent African-American political figure of whom much was expected, died in Bosnia when his plane went down on a hillside. Quite possibly, the cause was purely accidental, but two years thereafter, Brown's colleague Nolanda Sue Hill, who also turned out to have been his long-time lover, gave court testimony that seats on government trade mission planes were being sold to people who wanted a buy influence in exchange for campaign contributions. (ruly we do appear to have the best government that money can buy.)

Hill fingered Brown for using drugs while in his high office and for taking money to help business interests. She also testified that he Clintons had been "renting" rooms in the White House to well-heeled rascals wanting something something in the way of a quid pro quo. No standard-issue bimbo, Hill was the wealthy owner of a couple of television stations before meeting and going into business with Ron Brown.

Hill herself got into trouble with the IRS for contributing to the filing of false tax returns and was indicted by a federal grand jury. Brown, too, had tax troubles and was set to make a deal with independent counsel then investigating the Clinton administration. By that time, the FBI was onto him for his dealings with Vietnamese interests. When Brown's plane went down, rumors flew about sabotage to ward off embarrassement to the administration. No evidence came to light, however. Hill dropped out of sight, and the roiled political waters soon were still again.