APP.COM - 2nd N.J. legislator remits lobbyist's donation

Published in the Asbury Park Press 08/18/05
BY LEDYARD KING
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON — A second New Jersey congressman is returning a political donation from a Washington lobbyist indicted last week on fraud charges while another lawmaker said he plans to keep the money.

Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., plans to give back the $1,000 contribution he received in 2001 from Jack Abramoff, a former top Republican fund-raiser, according to the congressman's spokesman.

Rep. Jim Saxton, also R-N.J., already gave back a $1,000 contribution Abramoff made in 2001.

A federal grand jury in Florida indicted Abramoff on Aug. 11 on charges of committing fraud while trying to buy a casino cruise ship company. He is also at the center of an ethics probe involving his lobbying work on behalf of Indian tribes as well as trips he may have improperly provided for House Majority Leader Tom Delay, R-Texas, and other lawmakers.

"The congressman didn't feel it was appropriate to accept his donation," LoBiondo spokesman Brendan Benner said Wednesday in response to a question from Gannett News Service.

Two other New Jersey politicians and the New Jersey Republican State Committee also received contributions from Abramoff since 2000.

Republican Rep. Mike Ferguson is not going to give back the $1,000 he received in 2001, according to his spokeswoman Abby Bird.

State Sen. William Gormley, R-Atlantic, got $1,000 from Abramoff when Gormley was running for the U.S. Senate in 2000.

Abramoff also gave $5,000 to the New Jersey Republican State Committee, which state Democratic Party Chairwoman Bonnie Watson Coleman said she hopes it will return.

Abramoff has contributed more than $220,000 since 1995, almost exclusively to Republican candidates and committees, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Center spokesman Steve Weiss said only a "smattering" of those who received donations from Abramoff have returned them. It's unclear whether lawmakers, like Saxton, were uncomfortable with the allegations against Abramoff or if they were simply returning donations beyond legal limits.