AP News | 01/01/11 03:13 pm

http://www.mycentraloregon.com/news/state/ap/473468/Former-Ore-congressman-fights-criminal-charges.html

A 78-year-old former Republican Congressman from Oregon, Wes Cooley, is due in court in January in Los Angeles for a competency hearing in a case that accuses him of money laundering.

The Medford Mail Tribune reports that Cooley made headlines in the 1990s when the GOP forced him to withdraw from a campaign to win a second term in the House because he'd been indicted on a charge of lying in the state voter guide about his military record.

Now Cooley faces up to 38 years in federal prison, but his lawyers say he's in failing health with dementia and is incompetent to stand trial. Federal prosecutors dispute that, and a hearing is scheduled Jan. 11 to determine whether he can be tried.