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Former GOP lobbyist Abramoff gets four years as he joins others convicted in bribery scandals
This federal conviction is for mail fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion. Abramoff had pleaded guilty in 2006. He already has served two years of six year sentence on state fraud and corruption charges in Florida.
The sentence came after prosecutors and defense attorneys asked for leniency as Abramoff is cooperating in ongoing Capitol Hill bribery and corruption cases and has provided evidence already for several convictions.
Lawmakers, lobbyists, Bush administration officials, congressional staffers and businessmen caught up in the Jack Abramoff public corruption probe:
_John Albaugh, a one-time top aide to former Oklahoma Rep. Ernest Istook pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the House as part of the scandal. Albaugh admitted in federal court in Washington that he accepted meals and sports and concert tickets, along with other perks, from lobbyists in exchange for official favors. He is cooperating with investigators.
_Robert E. Coughlin II, a Justice Department official, pleaded guilty to conflict of interest. He admitted in federal court in Washington that he accepted meals, concert tickets and luxury seats at Redskins and Wizards games from a former Abramoff associate, lobbyist Kevin Ring, while helping the lobbyist and his clients. Coughlin is cooperating with investigators.
_ Italia Federici, co-founder of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, was sentenced to two months in a halfway house, four years on probation and a $74,000 fine after agreeing to help federal investigators. She pleaded guilty to tax evasion and obstruction of a Senate investigation into Abramoff's relationship with officials at the Department of Interior.
_Former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, acknowledged taking bribes from Abramoff. Ney was in the traveling party on an Abramoff-sponsored golfing trip to Scotland at the heart of the case against former White House official David Safavian. Ney was released in August — a year early — after completing treatment for alcohol problems.
_Former Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles, the highest-ranking Bush administration official convicted in the scandal, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for obstructing justice. He admitted lying to a Senate committee about his relationship with Abramoff, who repeatedly sought Griles' intervention at Interior on behalf of Indian tribal clients.
_Tony Rudy, lobbyist and one-time aide to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, pleaded guilty in March 2006 to conspiring with Abramoff. He is cooperating with investigators.
_David Safavian, the Bush administration's former top procurement official, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in October 2006. Safavian, the only scandal defendant to take his case to court, was found guilty of covering up his dealings with Abramoff. In July, a federal appeals court overturned his conviction. The Justice Department plans to retry him.
_Michael Scanlon, a former Abramoff business partner and DeLay aide, pleaded guilty in November 2005 to conspiring to bribe public officials in connection with his lobbying work on behalf of Indian tribes and casino issues. He is cooperating with investigators.
_William Heaton, former chief of staff for Ney, pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge involving a golf trip to Scotland, expensive meals, and tickets to sporting events between 2002 and 2004 as payoffs for helping Abramoff's clients. He cooperated with investigators and was sentenced to two years probation and a $5,000 fine.
_Neil Volz, a former chief of staff to Ney who left government to work for Abramoff, was sentenced to two years of probation, 100 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine after pleading guilty to conspiring to corrupt Ney and others with trips and other aid.
_Mark Zachares, former aide to Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, pleaded guilty to conspiracy. He acknowledged accepting tens of thousands of dollars worth of gifts and a golf trip to Scotland from Abramoff's team in exchange for official acts on the lobbyist's behalf.
_Roger Stillwell, a former Interior Department official, was sentenced to two years on probation in January after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge for not reporting hundreds of dollars worth of sports and concert tickets he received from Abramoff.
_Former Abramoff business partner Adam Kidan, sentenced in Florida in March 2006 to nearly six years in prison for conspiracy and fraud in the 2000 purchase of the Fort Lauderdale-based SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet.
September 4, 2008 at 05:16 pm by dunkelberg, 546 views, 11 comments





Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (11)
at 17:22 on September 4th, 2008
The GOP likes to get rid of the real crooks no matter what party. 'Country First' is their motto.
As you can see Sarah believes that too. Clean the party first.
at 19:03 on September 4th, 2008
Bill,
And who would it be that will do the "cleaning" since the corruption begins at the top and has eaten all the way down to the level of the grass roots members. Cleaning the corpse of the GOP would wash it away completely as a functioning party. Sarah Palin certainly isn't up to that big a job.
at 17:29 on September 4th, 2008
dunkelberg, I like this story. It's good stuff. More exposure great stuff
at 17:39 on September 4th, 2008
Thanks, ma'am. Did we mention it was GOP lobbyist from the K Street crowd? Did we say that indicted former GOP official Tom Delay is at the convention?
at 17:32 on September 4th, 2008
Sarah likes to clean house? How cute.
That must be why she is under investigation.
No, wait, she lawyered up after McCain picked her. Now, in all these internal spying arguments, how many neocons have been preaching you should come clean and not be bothered if you don't have something to hide?
She must have been cleaning house when she was buddies with indicted Sen. Ted Stevens and on his 527 to raise corporate money.
I must say it was a good effort to say something positive about a GOP candidate, rather than tired lies about Democratic ones.
at 19:03 on September 4th, 2008
dunkelberg, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 19:12 on September 4th, 2008
Merci.
at 19:45 on September 4th, 2008
dunkelberg, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 00:24 on September 5th, 2008
dunkelberg, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Ever listen to "This American Life" with Ira Glass? He did a show once where a guest story teller told how he was bullied and victimized throughout his high school days. He'd totally forgotten about the events until the Abramoff trial. Then it all came back to him - it was bad boy Jack who had pushed him and his brass instrument down the steps.
Jerk deserves what he gets.
at 00:38 on September 5th, 2008
dunkelberg, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 08:41 on September 5th, 2008
From the MyWay Piece on this -
Source: apnews.myway.com
Sounds like a really great guy ...