[Mb-civic] Abramoff Pleads Guilty to 3 Counts - Washington Post
William Swiggard
swiggard at comcast.net
Wed Jan 4 03:49:29 PST 2006
Abramoff Pleads Guilty to 3 Counts
Lobbyist to Testify About Lawmakers In Corruption Probe
By Susan Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, January 4, 2006; A01
Jack Abramoff, the once-powerful lobbyist at the center of a
wide-ranging public corruption investigation, pleaded guilty yesterday
to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials in a deal
that requires him to provide evidence about members of Congress.
The plea deal could have enormous legal and political consequences for
the lawmakers on whom Abramoff lavished luxury trips, skybox
fundraisers, campaign contributions, jobs for their spouses, and meals
at Signatures, the lobbyist's upscale restaurant.
In court papers, prosecutors refer to only one congressman: Rep. Robert
W. Ney (R-Ohio). But Abramoff, who built a political alliance with House
Republicans, including former majority leader Tom DeLay of Texas, has
agreed to provide information and testimony about half a dozen House and
Senate members, officials familiar with the inquiry said. He also is to
provide evidence about congressional staffers, Interior Department
workers and other executive branch officials, and other lobbyists.
"The corruption scheme with Mr. Abramoff is very extensive," Alice S.
Fisher, head of the Justice Department's criminal division, said at a
news conference with other high-ranking officials of the Internal
Revenue Service and the FBI. "We're going to follow this wherever it goes."
Fisher declined to identify the officials under scrutiny. "We name
people in indictments," she said, adding: "We are moving very quickly."
Among the allegations in the court documents is that Abramoff arranged
for payments totaling $50,000 for the wife of an unnamed congressional
staffer in return for the staffer's help in killing an Internet gambling
measure. The Washington Post has previously reported that Tony Rudy, a
former top aide to DeLay, worked with Abramoff to kill such a bill in
2000 before going to work for Abramoff.
Abramoff's appearance in U.S. District Court came nearly two years after
his lobbying practices gained public notice because of the enormous
payments -- eventually tallied at $82 million -- that he and a public
relations partner received from casino-rich Indian tribes. Yesterday, he
admitted defrauding four of those tribal clients out of millions of
dollars. He also pleaded guilty to evading taxes, to conspiring to bribe
lawmakers, and to conspiring to induce former Capitol Hill staffers to
violate the one-year ban on lobbying their former bosses.
Under terms of his plea agreement, Abramoff can expect to receive a
prison sentence of 9 1/2 to 11 years, and he is required to make
restitution of $26.7 million to the IRS and to the Indian tribes he
defrauded. Today he is to plead guilty to fraud and conspiracy counts in
a related case in Florida involving his purchase of a casino cruise line.
Standing before U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle in Washington
yesterday, Abramoff looked sheepish and sad. "Your Honor, words will not
be able to ever express how sorry I am for this, and I have profound
regret and sorrow for the multitude of mistakes and harm I have caused,"
he said softly. "All of my remaining days, I will feel tremendous
sadness and regret for my conduct and for what I have done. I only hope
that I can merit forgiveness from the Almighty and from those I have
wronged or caused to suffer."
Abramoff has been in extensive discussions with government lawyers for
months leading up to yesterday's plea.
Ney, chairman of the House Administration Committee, is among the first
of those expected to feel the fallout. In the court documents -- which
identify him only as "Representative #1" -- Ney is accused of meeting
with one of Abramoff's clients in Russia in 2003 to "influence the
process for obtaining a [U.S.] visa" for one of the client's relatives
and of agreeing to aid a California tribe represented by Abramoff on tax
and post office issues.
Ney also placed comments in the Congressional Record backing Abramoff's
efforts to gain control of the Florida gambling company, SunCruz
Casinos, and offered legislative language sought by Abramoff that would
have reopened a Texas tribe's shuttered casino.
The court papers said Ney advanced the prospects of an Abramoff client,
a telecommunications company that won a contract to wire the House.
Two of Abramoff's former partners have already pleaded guilty and have
promised to cooperate in the ongoing investigation of congressional
corruption and are prepared to testify against Ney in connection with
his aid in the SunCruz purchase. Prosecutors in Florida and Washington
are in discussions about where a case against Ney should be brought,
officials said.
Ney reiterated yesterday that he had done nothing wrong and said he was
misled by Abramoff.
One of Abramoff's former associates, Michael Scanlon, a onetime press
aide to DeLay, was a secret partner in Abramoff's Indian tribal scheme.
Abramoff not only charged the tribes lobbying fees but also urged them
to hire Scanlon's public relations firm at hugely inflated prices.
Scanlon, in turn, kicked back half of the money to Abramoff, who was
thus able to conceal the funds from public disclosure and even from the
lobbyist's law firm.
They spread tribal money around and sought legislative favors in return.
Abramoff and Scanlon "offered and provided a stream of things of value
to public officials in exchange for official acts and influence and
agreements to provide official action and influence," a statement of
facts attached to the plea agreement said. "These things of value
included, but are not limited to, foreign and domestic travel, golf
fees, frequent meals, entertainment, election support for candidates for
government office, employment for relatives of officials and campaign
contributions."
Among the things of interest to investigators are payments made by
Abramoff and his colleagues to the wives of some lawmakers and actions
taken by Rudy and other senior Capitol Hill aides, some of whom went to
work for Abramoff at the law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP, lawyers and
others familiar with the probe said.
Another person under scrutiny, sources said, is DeLay, who is facing
separate campaign finance charges in his home state of Texas.
"Tom DeLay is not concerned that Mr. Abramoff is cooperating," said
Richard Cullen, his attorney. "He urges everyone involved to cooperate
in the investigation and to tell the truth." Cullen had no comment on
allegations involving former DeLay aides Rudy and Scanlon.
Among the trips under scrutiny is a golf excursion to Scotland that
DeLay and aides took with Abramoff in 2000 and a similar trip Ney took
two years later.
DeLay has taken three overseas trips with Abramoff since 1997 -- to the
Mariana Islands, Russia and Scotland -- and received more than $70,000
from Abramoff, his associates and tribal clients for his campaign
committees.
Investigating DeLay could take up to a year and require the cooperation
of other witnesses before issues surrounding the Texas Republican are
resolved, according to people familiar with the case.
Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.) and other
legislators involved with Indian issues are among those being
investigated, sources said.
A spokesman for Doolittle, whose wife received payments from Abramoff's
lobbying firm, has previously said there was no connection with her
husband's work. Burns's office has said his actions on behalf of
Abramoff's tribal clients were in sync with his support for improving
the lot of Indian tribes.
Also of interest to prosecutors is former deputy interior secretary J.
Steven Griles, who held the job from 2001 to 2004. He has said he never
tried to intercede on behalf of Abramoff's clients, but e-mails released
by a Senate committee show more than half a dozen contacts Griles had
with Abramoff or with a woman working as the lobbyist's go-between.
Prosecutors are continuing to investigate two of DeLay's top former
deputies, Rudy and Edwin A. Buckham. Rudy is under investigation for
assistance he allegedly provided Abramoff's lobbying clients while he
was working for DeLay. Payments from Abramoff clients and associates to
Liberty Consulting -- a political firm founded by Rudy's wife, Lisa --
are also under review by the Justice Department. Rudy did not return
calls seeking comment yesterday.
Abramoff maintained a business relationship with Buckham, who runs the
Alexander Strategy Group with Rudy. Among the areas of interest to
prosecutors is client business directed to the Alexander Strategy Group
when the firm was hiring the spouses of members of Congress, including
DeLay's wife, Christine.
Christine DeLay was paid about $115,000 over three years while
performing a special project -- contacting members of Congress to find
out their favorite charity, according to her attorney.
Fisher, offering the Justice Department's first public comments on an
inquiry that began in spring 2004, said that the Abramoff case is "very
active and ongoing." She said the department is committed to making sure
that people know "government is not for sale."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR2006010300474.html?referrer=email
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