tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-142232312024-02-20T19:44:05.867-05:00SlobbiestNews and articles relating to the scandal surrounding Washington D.C. lobbyist Jack AbramoffJamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.comBlogger363125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1144798508049355262006-04-11T19:35:00.000-04:002006-04-11T19:35:08.330-04:00E-Mails Show Abramoff's Donation Leverage - Yahoo! NewsA Republican Party official and Jack Abramoff's lobbying team bluntly discussed using large political donations as a way to pressure lawmakers into securing federal money for a tribal client, according to e-mails gathered by prosecutors.<br /><br />The e-mails detail how Abramoff's team worked to leverage assistance from the White House, Congress and the GOP to get a reluctant federal agency and a single Republican congressional aide to stop blocking school construction money for the Saginaw Chippewa tribe. The e-mails were obtained by The Associated Press.<br /><br />Abramoff's team ultimately prevailed when the congressional aide was overruled, several lawmakers pressured an Interior Department agency and Congress itself set aside the money for the tribe. Lawmakers who helped got thousands of dollars in fresh donations from Abramoff's team.<br /><br />Federal bribery law prohibits public officials from taking actions because of gifts or political donations and bars lobbyists from demanding government action in exchange for donations.<br /><br />Abramoff's team repeatedly discussed donations as the reason Republican leaders should intervene for the Saginaw, the e-mails show.<br /><br />"The tribes that want this (not just ours) are the only guys who take care of the Rs," Abramoff deputy Todd Boulanger wrote in a June 19, 2002, e-mail to Abramoff and his lobbying team, using "Rs" as shorthand for Republicans.<br /><br />"We're going to seriously reconsider our priorities in the current lists I'm drafting right now if our friends don't weigh in with some juice. If leadership isn't going to cash in a chit for (easily) our most important project, then they are out of luck from here on out," he wrote, referring to political donation lists.<br /><br />The e-mails have become evidence in a federal corruption probe into whether lawmakers, congressional aides and administration officials helped Abramoff's clients in exchange for gifts and donations.<br /><br />A former federal prosecutor who specialized in fundraising cases said the e-mails are "circumstantial evidence that the money may have a relationship to certain legislative action" and would be useful in criminal prosecution if bolstered by other evidence.<br /><br />"It memorializes what a lot of people suspect: that money buys access," said Charles La Bella, who oversaw a 1990s investigation into Clinton-era fundraising. "Politicians, because of the way the system is set up, need money. And money is used as a carrot and a stick by lobbyists to encourage or discourage legislative action."<br /><br />Abramoff's spokesman, Andrew Blum, declined comment Tuesday on the e-mails.<br /><br />Abramoff's lobbying began when the Interior Department initially opposed giving the Saginaw — a wealthy tribe with a casino — federal school construction aid.<br /><br />Abramoff's team turned to Congress, getting Michigan Democratic Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow to persuade their party's leaders to request the money in a spending bill. Democrats controlled the Senate in 2002.<br /><br />Abramoff then turned to Republicans, including Sen. Conrad Burns (news, bio, voting record) of Montana, to overcome the administration's objections and secure $3 million specifically for the Saginaw when the GOP regained control of the Senate the next year.<br /><br />The plan hit a snag in summer 2002 when a single GOP House appropriations staffer, Joel Kaplan, objected. An angry Abramoff team frantically reached Republican leaders.<br /><br />A staffer for the National Republican Congressional Committee, Jonathan Poe, suggested Abramoff's team compile a list of tribal donations, comparing Republicans with Democrats, to help make the case for lawmakers to overrule Kaplan, the e-mails state.<br /><br />Poe's "suggestion for me was to have a list of money contributed by tribes broken down r to d so that I can make the cleanest argument that we are about to let the Senate Democrats take credit for the biggest ask of the year by the most Republican-leaning tribes," Abramoff lobbying associate Neil Volz wrote.<br /><br />Abramoff's team obliged, creating a tally that showed his tribal clients overwhelmingly donated to Republicans — $225,000 compared with $79,000 for Democrats. <br /><br />Poe declined to be interviewed for comment. NRCC spokesman Carl Forti said he didn't know if the NRCC ultimately helped but that NRCC staff routinely suggest strategy for lobbyists and others. <br /><br />"We talk to groups and people all the time and recommend strategy. We do that with campaigns. It's part of what we do," Forti said. <br /><br />The Abramoff team's pressure came the same day the NRCC, the GOP's fundraising arm for Republican House candidates, held its major fundraising dinner with President Bush. The Saginaw were a dinner sponsor, donating $50,000. <br /><br />Kaplan's resistance drew the ire of Abramoff's team. <br /><br />"The bottom line is that a staffer received several letters from appropriators, Native American Caucus co-chairs and others supporting a project that costs the federal government ZERO dollars and he is refusing to put it in the bill because it's 'his account,'" Boulanger wrote. <br /><br />Kaplan, who worked at the White House budget office before becoming an aide on the House Interior appropriations committee, did not return repeated phone calls to his office seeking comment. He currently works for a private firm. <br /><br />Abramoff's team devised a multi-pronged strategy. <br /><br />Tony Rudy, an Abramoff colleague who was a former top aide to then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, reached out to his old boss' office. Rudy recently pleaded guilty in the corruption probe and is assisting prosecutors. <br /><br />"I just came out of a meeting with DeLay's folks. Joel ain't budging," Rudy wrote, referring to Kaplan. <br /><br />Abramoff was copied on each of the e-mail exchanges, at one point affirming the strategy. "This is brilliant," Abramoff wrote. <br /><br />Abramoff's team persisted, calling the White House intergovernmental affairs office that often deals with Congress. <br /><br />"Just talked to White House intergovernmental. I'm pretty sure they will weigh in. Just trying to figure out if they should call Joel or some other player in this drama," Abramoff associate Kevin Ring wrote. <br /><br />Several people familiar with the lobbying effort said the possibility of White House help became moot when congressional leaders intervened. <br /><br />In early 2003, Kaplan's new boss, House subcommittee chairman Charles Taylor, R-N.C., ended any problems in the House when he signed onto the Saginaw money. Burns' office took up the fight in the Senate. <br /><br />Both oversaw subcommittees that controlled Interior's budget, and the two lawmakers wrote a letter in May 2003 in an effort to overcome resistance inside Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, which was arguing the Saginaw shouldn't qualify for the school program. <br /><br />"It is our belief the Saginaw Chippewa tribal school in question clearly falls within" the school construction program, Burns and Taylor wrote, sharply criticizing the BIA. "We hope our collective response has cleared up any unnecessary confusion." <br /><br />The blunt letter has caught federal investigators' interest because it referenced correspondence that had been drafted inside Interior but never delivered. Federal agents are investigating whether an Interior official leaked the draft to Abramoff's team so it could be used by the lawmakers to pressure the department. <br /><br />In addition, both Burns and Taylor got campaign money around the time of their help. <br /><br />A month before the letter, Abramoff's firm threw Taylor a fundraiser on April 11, 2003, that scored thousands of dollars in donations for the lawmaker's campaign, including $2,000 from Abramoff and $1,000 from the Saginaw. The tribe donated $3,000 more to Taylor a month after the letter. <br /><br />Burns, likewise, got fresh donations. Several weeks before the letter, Burns collected $1,000 from the Saginaw and $5,000 from another Abramoff tribe. The month after the letter, the Saginaw delivered $4,000 in donations to Burns. <br /><br />Taylor's office did not respond to several calls seeking comment. The lawmaker had his own interest in the school construction program. The year after the Saginaw money, Taylor arranged for the Cherokee tribe in his home state to get similar money. <br /><br />In a letter to the Senate Ethics Committee, Burns' lawyer confirmed the senator's staff met with Abramoff's lobbying team about the Saginaw but insisted any "suggestion that funding for this project resulted from Mr. Abramoff's influence is not accurate."Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1144418964110753302006-04-07T10:09:00.000-04:002006-04-07T10:09:24.590-04:00FOXNews.com - Indian Tribe Severs Ties to Federal Abramoff Money - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political SpectrumWASHINGTON — One of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff's former tribal clients is severing ties to millions of dollars in federal aid he helped arrange.<br /><br />Leaders of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian tribe of Michigan said Thursday in two letters to lawmakers that they will not move forward with plans to build a school on the reservation. The project received $3 million in funding from the federal government with help from Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty in a Justice Department corruption probe.<br /><br />The letters, obtained by The Associated Press, were addressed to Sens. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Reps. Charles Taylor, R-N.C., and Norm Dicks, D-Wash. The lawmakers chair the Senate and House appropriations subcommittees that oversee the Interior Department.<br /><br />Saginaw Tribal Chief Fred Cantu and Tribal Sub-Chief Tim Davis said they were "writing to express our appreciation for the $3 million appropriation" approved in November 2003.<br /><br />But "after careful consideration," they wrote, the tribal council voted against the construction because "it is not financially prudent to pursue this project at this time."<br /><br />The tribe asked that the funds be redirected to programs targeted for cuts by the Interior Department. Messages were left Thursday with tribal officials.<br /><br />Through letters and legislation, more than a dozen lawmakers stepped in to protect the school funding program for Indian tribes while receiving political contributions from the tribes, Abramoff or his firm.<br /><br />One of Abramoff's client tribes, the Mississippi Choctaw, was using the school program, and his team was lobbying to extend it for the Saginaw Chippewas and other clients.<br /><br />The members of Congress came from both parties, including Taylor, Burns and Dorgan, the top Democrat on the Senate committee which has investigated Abramoff.<br /><br />Most wrote letters urging the Bush administration to renew a program that provided tribes federal school construction money. Others worked the congressional budget process to ensure it happened, according to documents obtained by The AP.<br /><br />Most received donations, ranging from $1,000 to more than $74,000, in the weeks just before or after their intervention.<br /><br />Both Burns and Dorgan received thousands of dollars from Abramoff's tribal clients, money they pledged to give away late last year. Dorgan returned $67,000 in contributions from tribes and other Abramoff associates, while Burns returned or gave away about $150,000.<br /><br />Burns, who is seeking re-election this year, has said he wrote the letters at the request of Michigan lawmakers who represented the Saginaw and wasn't influenced by Abramoff. Democrats have tried to make Abramoff a campaign issue, running a television ad last year that specifically mentioned the Saginaw school construction money.<br /><br />The Michigan lawmakers — Democratic Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and Republican Rep. Dave Camp — wrote a letter to the Interior Department on Jan. 23, 2003, on the Saginaw's behalf. All three received donations from the Saginaw.<br /><br />Officials with Levin, Stabenow and Camp have said there was no connection between the letter and the contributions and said they were working on behalf of Michigan constituents. The tribe is located in Camp's central Michigan district.<br /><br />Burns spokesman James Pendleton said Thursday that "questions about this issue need to be directed to the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe and Senators Stabenow and Levin since they were the ones who requested the money in the first place."<br /><br />Levin spokeswoman Tara Andringa said the senators sought the funding from the appropriations subcommittee during the previous year — in March 2002. But she said Levin and Stabenow did not pursue the funding from the subcommittee in 2003.<br /><br />Abramoff worked for the Saginaw Chippewas from late 2001 to late 2003. The tribe said they paid about $14 million to Abramoff and his former associate, Michael Scanlon.<br /><br />Scanlon pleaded guilty in November to conspiring to bribe public officials, a charge stemming from the investigation into work he and Abramoff performed for Indian tribes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Michigan. In January, Abramoff pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud and agreed to cooperate in the influence-peddling investigation.<br /><br />A Senate panel learned in 2004 that Abramoff and Scanlon spent $100,000 to help get eight supporters elected to the Saginaw Chippewas' 12-member council in 2001. Two days after the election, the new council voted to hire Abramoff and Scanlon.<br /><br />According to a federal complaint against Abramoff issued in January, prosecutors said the lobbyist encouraged the Saginaw Chippewas to expand their contract with the company in June 2002 without telling them he would receive about 50 percent of the profits.<br /><br />From June 2002 to October 2003, the tribe paid the firm about $3.5 million. About $540,000 was secretly kicked back to Abramoff as part of the scheme, the court documents said.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1143998356710192002006-04-02T13:19:00.000-04:002006-04-02T13:19:17.026-04:00Capitol Hill: On DeLay's Trail—The E-Mail Factor - Newsweek Periscope - MSNBC.comApril 10, 2006 issue - Federal prosecutors investigating the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal have obtained a road map to the workings of the Republican-controlled House: 1,000 internal e-mails from the office of Rep. Tom DeLay during his time as majority leader. The e-mails were turned over quietly by DeLay late last year as part of an unpublicized effort by the embattled Texas congressman to show he would cooperate with prosecutors. "We didn't hold anything back," says Richard Cullen, DeLay's lawyer, who tells NEWSWEEK the e-mails date to at least 1998 and involve all aspects of the probe. He says the e-mails weren't subpoenaed but were offered as a "Christmas present." Still, it's unclear if thee-mails will clear or help implicate DeLay.<br /><br />Last week federal prosecutors had one of their biggest coups yet in the probe: a felony guilty plea by Tony Rudy, DeLay's former deputy chief of staff, for conspiring with Abramoff to provide House members and their staff with perks in exchange for legislative favors; Rudy, who left DeLay's office in December 2000 to work for Abramoff, will now cooperate with the Feds. Although court papers filed by prosecutors with the plea contain no direct allegations against DeLay, the documents for the first time refer to an unnamed "Representative No. 2" (who is DeLay) whose office repeatedly assisted Abramoff and his clients. The papers allege that Rudy, while still working for DeLay, arranged for the congressman to sign a letter opposing a postal-rate increase to aid an Abramoff client and helped kill an antigambling bill opposed by another Abramoff client. At the same time, Abramoff arranged for $86,000 in consulting payments to be made to Rudy's wife, Lisa, according to the documents. (She was not charged.) Cullen says DeLay had no knowledge of improper dealings by his aides. (He also says the e-mails he gave the Feds don't include any directly from DeLay because the congressman, unlike his aides, doesn't e-mail.) DeLay "has never taken any official action based on anything other than his conscience," he says.<br /><br />Still, the Rudy documents suggest prosecutors are far from finished. They name a "Lobbyist B" (DeLay's former chief of staff Ed Buckham) who shared clients with Abramoff and allegedly worked closely with him to arrange the consulting payments to Rudy's wife. (Buckham's lawyer didn't respond to a request for comment.) The documents also may further implicate Ohio Rep. Bob Ney, who, the court papers allege, agreed to support legislation benefiting Abramoff clients in the Marianas Islands and an Indian casino tribe in Texas. Ney then went on an all-expenses-paid golf trip to Scotland funded by Abramoff's clients. Rudy, by then working for Abramoff, e-mailed Ney's chief of staff that the trip would involve "drinking and smoking Cubans," the papers state. Ney's lawyer, Mark Tuohey, says his client denies all wrongdoing and has no intention of cutting a deal with prosecutors. "He will be fully vindicated."Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1143989026433763542006-04-02T10:43:00.000-04:002006-04-02T10:43:46.753-04:00Article links Abramoff, co-defendant to '98 Guam electionby Mindy Fothergill, KUAM News<br />Sunday, April 02, 2006 <br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />On the heels of the sentencing of former powerhouse Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the Wall Street Journal released an explosive article this weekend citing Abramoff's and his co-defendant and former partner Michael Scanlon's involvement in alleged efforts to taint the 1998 gubernatorial election on Guam.<br /><br />The personal relationships of Scanlon, the former press aide to Congressman Tom DeLay, have opened the doors to information about his wheelings and dealings with former partner Abramoff and his ties to Guam. In the WSJ article, "End of the Affair - Behind Unraveling of DeLay's Team, A Jilted Fiancee", the national newspaper reveals political favors and maneuvers devised by the two men, once raking in millions through lobbying efforts and business dealings.<br /><br />The article refers to Scanlon and his former fiancee Emily Miller, who both worked in the press office of DeLay, the former majority leader. Assisting in work for delay was former deputy chief of staff Tony Rudy. The Journal obtained numerous e-mails and messages relating to Rudy and Scanlon's activities while working for DeLay and their growing relationship with Abramoff. <br /><br />The article states, "the two staffers often lent a hand to Mr. Abramoff, according to court documents and former colleagues." Abramoff helped the congressman raise millions of dollars and often treated DeLay and his aides to overseas trips, dinners, casino stays and golf outings.<br /><br />In return, the aides assisted Abramoff. The WSJ piece further states, "In the fall of 1998, Mr. Abramoff wanted to help a Republican, Joe Ada, get elected as governor in Guam, even though he was trailing incumbent governor Carl Gutierrez badly in the polls." Ada was running with current Guam governor Felix Camacho.<br /><br />After lunch on October 26, 1998, Abramoff emailed Rudy wanting to know if Congressman DeLay could call for an investigation of the misuse of federal funds on Guam by Gutierrez. The WSJ went on to state that Abramoff suggested he would draft a statement for DeLay, and Rudy could "issue a press release and letter requesting an inspector general, from the Department of Interior, to investigate these matters", saying it should have a major impact on the election next week.<br /><br />Rudy and Scanlon released a statement from DeLay, along with a letter to the DOI's inspector general, calling for a full federal inquiry into Gutierrez. DeLay said in the letter, "The allegations and materials I reviewed point to serious corruption." The article goes on to state despite their efforts, Ada lost the race and the Department did not conduct an investigation. <br /><br />DeLay's spokeswoman declined to comment and Rudy's lawyers did not return phone calls made by the national newspaper. KUAM News has also confirmed through sources in Washington, that a congressional inquiry is also underway into Scanlon's involvement on Guam when the Ada-Camacho team disputed the 1998 election results.<br /><br />KUAM News attempted to obtain comment on the Wall Street Journal article from former governor Ada, however he is currently off-island. Spokesman for Governor Camacho Shawn Gumataotao also did not return calls for comment. <br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1143861413210454132006-03-31T22:16:00.000-05:002006-03-31T22:16:53.413-05:00Former DeLay aide's plea reveals Abramoff’s reach - Politics - MSNBC.comTiny Marianas Islands paid $7.17 million for lobbyist’s aid<br /><br />By Joel Seidman<br />Producer<br />NBC News<br />Updated: 5:48 p.m. ET March 31, 2006<br /><br /><br />WASHINGTON - The guilty plea to conspiracy charges Friday by a former top staffer to Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, further exposes the degree of influence that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff had on Capitol Hill -- even when his clients were halfway across the Pacific.<br /><br />Tony Rudy, who worked for DeLay as press secretary and then deputy chief of staff from 1995 to 2000, entered the plea in United States District Court here Friday. Court papers show that while working in DeLay's office, Rudy provided Abramoff with assistance in stopping legislation opposed by one of the lobbyist's clients. <br /><br />In exchange, Rudy was lavished with free trips, sporting tickets, meals and golf games and $86,000 to a consulting firm he set up and was run by his wife - all courtesy of Abramoff. Rudy, 39, joined Abramoff's lobbying firm after working for DeLay.<br /><br />There were no allegations against DeLay in the documents released Friday as part of Rudy's plea agreement.<br /><br />But the documents do reveal the extent of Abramoff's influence on Capitol Hill. One case in point: The Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI). The CNMI was a very lucrative Abramoff client. In order to help his client, Abramoff had to make an investment of his own - secure the help of Rudy, an influential Hill staffer.<br /><br />The volcanic islands are located just north of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. The Marianas may be far away but they have a unique manufacturing advantage - they are exempt from U.S. tariffs as well as minimum wage and immigration standards. The Marianas are known for their low-paying garment factories. The exemption allows garment makers there to put "Made in the U.S." labels on their clothing. Human rights groups argue this has fostered an exploitive working environment in the commonwealth's booming garment industry.<br /><br />According to an internal audit of its lobbying contracts, The Marianas government paid Abramoff a total of $7.17 million in lobbying fees from 1996 to 2001. Auditors questioned Abramoff's lobbying expenses. They said they were "excessive." But Abramoff wanted to make sure garment factories in the Marianas didn't lose their exemptions so he took care of Capitol Hill insiders like Rudy.<br /><br /><br />Just days before Abramoff himself was sentenced in an unrelated Florida fraud case this week, the current governor of the Marianas Islands wrote to the Miami judge, pleading for leniency. Abramoff, Gov. Benigno R. Fitial wrote, was a "personal friend and political champion" of the "beleaguered" Pacific islands.<br /><br />Using official government stationery, the governor wrote of Abramoff, "he was a natural crusader and political activist, with great sympathy for our un-represented Commonwealth." Fitial was a former executive of a clothing company.<br /><br />But court papers filed Friday reveal that Rudy was deeply involved with Abramoff and his associate Michael Scanlon in the Marianas lobbying effort.<br /><br />- In January 2000, Rudy agreed to arrange for another staff member to travel to CNMI with Scanlon and others in part to assist Abramoff.<br /><br />- In 2000, Rudy worked with others to secure certain appropriations projects for CNMI, which he knew would help Abramoff's lobbying business.<br /><br />And, court papers reveal that Rudy provided things of value to a Member of Congress ("Representative #1") and members of his staff, "to use their official positions and influence to assist Abramoff." It is widely believed that the reference to "Representative #1" refers to Bob Ney, R-Ohio. One of the "things of value" provided to Ney and cited in the filing: partial payment of a 2002 golfing trip to Scotland.<br /><br />Court papers cite Representative #1's agreement in March 2001 to support legislation that would enable Abramoff's clients to continue to manufacture clothing with "Made in the U.S." without being subject to the same wage and labor standards as companies operating in the continental United States.<br /><br />Rudy also asked lawmakers to vote against an Internet-gambling bill, which, according to the plea papers, "Representative #1" helped out Abramoff's Indian tribal clients. The congressman as co-chairman of a Conference Committee of House and Senate Members of Congress agreed to introduce and pass legislation that would lift an existing federal ban against commercial gaming in order to benefit Abramoff's tribal client in Texas.<br /><br />A statement released Friday by Ney's communications director, Brian Walsh, said Abramoff lied to Ney. "They lied to their clients, they lied to their colleagues and they lied to Members of Congress."<br /><br />Walsh also wrote that the Scotland golf trip was never solicited by Ney. "Congressman Ney in fact never solicited the trip to Scotland. He remains absolutely confident that when the full facts of Abramoff's schemes are revealed, fiction will continue to be separated from fact and it will be made clear that he did absolutely nothing wrong." <br /><br />Meanwhile, Rudy has agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors in their ongoing investigation of congressional influence peddling schemes orchestrated by Abramoff.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1143839364334895812006-03-31T16:09:00.000-05:002006-03-31T16:09:24.693-05:00Abramoff Fallout Finds Former DeLay Staffer - Los Angeles TimesBy Richard B. Schmitt<br />Times Staff Writer<br /><br />11:04 AM PST, March 31, 2006<br /><br />WASHINGTON — The former deputy chief of staff for Texas Republican Tom DeLay pleaded guilty today in the widening influence-peddling scandal surrounding fallen lobbyist Jack Abramoff. <br /><br />Tony Rudy, 39, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Washington to a single charge of conspiracy in connection with the scandal, admitting that he violated the law while a top aide to DeLay and after he left the government to work for Abramoff. <br /><br />Rudy admitted to corruptly accepting things of value from Abramoff and others, including $86,000 in cash, tickets to sporting events and golf trips. Among the perquisites: an all-expenses-paid junket to the 2000 U.S. Open golf tournament. The gifts were in exchange for a number of official acts for Abramoff clients, including advising members of Congress to vote against legislation limiting gambling on the Internet, the former aide acknowledged.<br /><br />Rudy, who worked for DeLay from 1995 through December 2000, left government to join forces with Abramoff at a Washington-based law and lobbying firm, where the illegal conspiracy continued, according to his plea agreement with prosecutors. The court papers described a pattern of lavishing gifts and outings on a member of Congress identified as "Representative #1," including a trip to Scotland in August 2002 that involved golf, "drinking and smoking Cubans," the papers said. <br /><br />The agreement is the third secured by prosecutors tunneling into the congressional bribery scandal surrounding Abramoff, who was sentenced to 70 months in prison by a federal judge in Miami on Wednesday in connection with a separate fraud scheme. The former lobbyist has also pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges in connection with his lobbying work in Washington but has yet to be sentenced. <br /><br />Rudy faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but his sentence is likely to be reduced because of an agreement he has made to cooperate with the Justice Department in the ongoing investigation. <br /><br />His guilty plea signals trouble for Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Ney, who was not named in the plea agreement, but who took a golf trip to Scotland with Abramoff and Rudy in August 2002. <br /><br />The plea agreement contains no allegations that DeLay, described in the papers as "Representative #2," did anything wrong. <br /><br />Through their lawyers, Ney and DeLay have denied any wrongdoing.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1143823854774832422006-03-31T11:50:00.000-05:002006-03-31T11:50:55.253-05:00United Press International - Abramoff clients spent $72M on lobbyingWASHINGTON, March 30 (UPI) -- Clients of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff spent $72 million on political influence, including contributions to about 500 members of the U.S. Congress. <br /><br />The Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group in Washington that investigates money in politics, said it arrived at the $72 million by adding amounts given the political candidates and fees charged by firms Abramoff worked for from 1998 through 2004. <br /><br />While Abramoff is most often linked to Republicans, his clients' largess was unbound by party limitations. CRP, pointing out that the donations appear to be legal, said the Abramoff clients made donations to the presidential campaigns of Republican George W. Bush and Democrat John Kerry, but also chipped in on the campaigns of 99 U.S. senators and 384 House of Representatives members. The donations totaled about $22 million, CRP said. <br /><br />"What also becomes clear through this latest review is how widespread the reach of a single lobbyist can be is he represents politically generous clients," CRP said in a release. <br /><br />Abramoff has pleaded guilty to a series of charges related to bilking clients out of millions of dollars. He entered a plea agreement with a promise to aid the influence-peddling investigation on Capitol Hill.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1143728710035871502006-03-30T09:25:00.000-05:002006-03-30T09:25:10.376-05:00After sentencing Abramoff to remain free for at least three monthsBy CURT ANDERSON<br />AP Legal Affairs Writer<br /><br />MIAMI -- Lobbyist Jack Abramoff has at least three months before he has to don a prison uniform thanks to a judge who has put off his sentence while he and former partner Adam Kidan assist in a corruption investigation involving Congress and the Bush administration.<br /><br />U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck sentenced Abramoff and Kidan to five years and 10 months in prison for fraud in the 2000 purchase SunCruz Casinos, the minimum sentence recommended under federal guidelines.<br /><br />Huck also agreed to postpone prison reporting dates for the men. That is to allow them to continue cooperating in an investigation of the broad Washington corruption scandal as well as a probe into the 2001 killing in Fort Lauderdale of former SunCruz owner Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis. Both deny having any role in the death.<br /><br />Ultimately, if prosecutors are satisfied with Abramoff's and Kidan's cooperation in the other investigations, the sentences initially imposed on them could be reduced.<br /><br />"They are both trying to atone for their conduct by cooperating with the government," said Lawrence LaVecchio, an assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the SunCruz case. "I have every reason to believe they will continue to cooperate."<br /><br />Huck also ordered Abramoff, 47, and Kidan, 41, to pay $21.7 million in restitution to lenders victimized by their fraud scheme. Both must serve three years' probation after they get out of prison.<br /><br />Abramoff, dressed in a dark business suit, said in brief remarks prior to sentencing that the day was "incredibly painful" for himself, his friends and family but that he intended to make amends.<br /><br />"I am much chastened and profoundly remorseful over the reckless and hurtful things I have done in my life, especially those which have brought me before you today. I can only hope that the Almighty and those whom I have wronged will forgive me my trespasses," Abramoff said.<br /><br />Kidan also expressed remorse, saying his goal in life now is to become a better role model for his 2-year-old daughter. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about it and wish it would have turned out differently," Kidan told the judge.<br /><br />Both men pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud for concocting a $23 million wire transfer to make it appear they were contributing a sizable stake of their own money to the $147.5 million SunCruz purchase. Based on the transfer, lenders gave the pair $60 million in financing.<br /><br />The SunCruz fleet of 11 ships had 2,300 slot machines and 175 gaming tables and sailed from nine Florida ports and Myrtle Beach, S.C., to international waters. The company continues to operate gambling cruises under new ownership after emerging from bankruptcy.<br /><br />Abramoff and Kidan were charged in a six-count grand jury indictment in August. The remaining four counts of the indictment were dismissed.<br /><br />The same week in January that Abramoff pleaded guilty to the SunCruz fraud, he entered guilty pleas to three federal charges as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe that could involve up to 20 members of Congress and aides, including former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas. No date has been set for his sentencing in that case.<br /><br />That investigation arose from Abramoff's representation of six Indian tribes, which he and a partner billed for $80 million between 2001 and 2004. They directed the tribes to give thousands of dollars in political campaign contributions. Tribal leaders have said in many cases they were unaware of what was happening to their money.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1143659116196859332006-03-29T14:05:00.000-05:002006-03-29T14:05:16.626-05:00Abramoff Gets Almost 6 Years in Prison - Yahoo! NewsBy CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer<br /><br />Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a former business partner were sentenced Wednesday to five years and 10 months in prison for fraud related to their 2000 purchase of the SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet.<br /><br />The sentences were the minimum under their plea agreement in the case.<br /><br />Abramoff and Adam Kidan, who both pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud, won't start their sentences immediately so they can continue cooperating in a Washington corruption investigation and a Florida probe into the murder of former SunCruz owner Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis.<br /><br />In court, Abramoff said the case was "incredibly painful" for himself, his family and his friends.<br /><br />"In the past few years I have begun the process of becoming a new man," he said.<br /><br />Abramoff had arrived at the courthouse several hours early, avoiding the media before his sentencing. Under the plea agreement, both faced a sentence of between five years, 10 months, and seven years, three months in federal prison.<br /><br />Both were also ordered to pay restitution of more than $21 million.<br /><br />The two admitted concocting a fake $23 million wire transfer to make it appear they had made a large cash contribution to the $147.5 million purchase of SunCruz Casinos. Based on that fake transfer, lenders provided the pair with $60 million in financing.<br /><br />The same week Abramoff pleaded guilty to the SunCruz fraud, he entered guilty pleas to three federal charges as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe that could involve up to 20 members of Congress and aides, including former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas. No date has been set for his sentencing in that case.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1143561589541574522006-03-28T10:59:00.000-05:002006-03-28T10:59:49.893-05:00Abramoff Supporters Appeal to Judge for a Reduced Sentence - Los Angeles TimesScores of the lobbyist's relatives, friends and colleagues ask for a light prison term due to his 'faith, generosity and remorse.'<br />By Richard B. Schmitt<br />Times Staff Writer<br /><br />March 28, 2006<br /><br />WASHINGTON — Whatever his shortcomings, Jack Abramoff still has connections — more than 250 of them, to be precise — including prominent lawyers, religious leaders and even a member of Congress. <br /><br />They are encouraging a federal judge to give the disgraced lobbyist a reduced sentence Wednesday in a Miami fraud case. They have written letters to U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck, saying that the picture of Abramoff that has emerged through the news media is a gross distortion, and that he deserves a break. <br /><br />Far from the image of the greedy Beltway operator who stole from Indian tribes, defrauded the Internal Revenue Service and tried to bribe public officials, they say, Abramoff is a man of charity and good works. In their letters, they cite his generosity to others, his deep religious faith and his devotion to his family. <br /><br />Abramoff boarded underprivileged children in his home, they said. He opened a kosher deli in Washington "so that Jews would have a place where they could dine in comfort." <br /><br />The sole member of Congress who wrote on Abramoff's behalf is a longtime friend, Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach. <br /><br />"I think when he is being punished for the things he did that were wrong, some of the things that he did that were right and admirable in the past should be taken into consideration," Rohrabacher said in an interview. "I think that balance is necessary for justice. I think even Jack Abramoff deserves that." <br /><br />In his letter to the judge, Rohrabacher described "a far different Jack than the profit-seeking megalomaniac portrayed in the press." <br /><br />"Jack was a selfless patriot for most of the time I knew him," the congressman wrote, recalling his friend as an ardent anti-communist during the Cold War. <br /><br />Rohrabacher said he was concerned that an inordinately stiff sentence might prevent Abramoff from eventually starting a new life with his wife and children.<br /><br />Abramoff, 47, pleaded guilty in January to charges that, along with a business partner, he fraudulently obtained $60 million in loans to buy a line of casino cruise ships based in Miami. As part of a deal with prosecutors, he agreed to a sentence of from 70 to 87 months in prison. Abramoff's supporters are urging Huck to set the punishment at the lower end of the range. <br /><br />The Florida deal is separate from a plea agreement in Washington, where Abramoff has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and tax evasion related to dealings with members of Congress. No date has been set for his sentencing in that case. <br /><br />The sentences in the two cases are to run concurrently and might be further reduced because Abramoff is cooperating in an investigation examining official misconduct by several members of Congress. <br /><br />The outpouring of support in the Miami case is an attempt to counter an onslaught of media reports and late-night TV barbs that his lawyers say have turned Abramoff into a "caricature" and "distorted a lifetime of accomplishments beyond recognition." <br /><br />"As large a figure as he has been painted in the media," the lawyers said, "he is an even larger figure in matters of family, faith, generosity and remorse." <br /><br />In a sentencing memorandum filed with the court in Miami, the lawyers asserted that in some years, Abramoff gave away as much as 80% of his income, and that his munificence left him with no real assets beyond his home and its contents. <br /><br />"Now, Mr. Abramoff is broke," the court filing noted. "He is tormented daily that his wife will not be able to support the large family on her own." <br /><br />The letters of support include handwritten appeals from his five children, along with letters from friends, associates and even strangers, describing how they had been recipients of random acts of kindness from Abramoff over the years.<br /><br />In a letter to Huck, 16-year-old Alex Abramoff wrote, "I personally do not know a lot about you or your morals, but I know that if you were to take a look into how my father leads his life, you would see that he is not the kind of person that should be sent to prison." <br /><br />Abramoff's 12-year-old daughter, Sarah, wrote how she burst into tears when actor George Clooney derided her father on the Golden Globes awards show this year.<br /><br />The letters include stories of how Abramoff covered medical bills of a rabbi's daughter who was seriously injured in a car accident and how he loaned a needy family the down payment for a home. On another occasion, he threw a wedding party for a friend's daughter who was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.<br /><br />A former executive assistant to a partner at Greenberg Traurig, the law and lobbying firm where Abramoff worked, told Huck that Abramoff intervened on her behalf after she said she was being sexually harassed by her boss. <br /><br />A top investigator on a Senate subcommittee vouched for Abramoff as "a caring, pious, and generous man who dotes on his friends and family." <br /><br />The trappings of wealth that he accumulated did not always work to the benefit of the rich and powerful, some letter-writers said. <br /><br />Monty Warner, a GOP media strategist, said Abramoff gave away "hundreds of meals" at the Washington restaurant he owned, Signatures, to people seeking personal, rather than political, favors. <br /><br />Dave Jackson, a National Hockey League referee, wrote that he befriended Abramoff after being impressed that the lobbyist had invited 14 children and a rabbi to his skybox for a hockey match.<br /><br />Nathan Lewin, a Washington lawyer, said Abramoff should be credited for operating a kosher restaurant in Washington, Stacks, where observant Jews could have lunch or dinner. Lewin said Abramoff kept Stacks open "at great personal financial sacrifice just so that Jews would have a place where they could dine in comfort." <br /><br />At least one former client — Benigno R. Fitial, governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands — was among those who wrote. A former apparel industry executive, Fitial was instrumental in hiring Abramoff to stop Congress from enacting minimum-wage laws affecting island workers.<br /><br />Labor activists said the moves led to abusive sweatshop conditions for workers. Fitial said Abramoff "championed our cause of democratic self-government and economic opportunity and self-sufficiency."Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1143216430482592872006-03-24T11:07:00.000-05:002006-03-24T11:07:10.816-05:00Lobbyist Abramoff gets subpoenaed in Boulis murder case: South Florida Sun-SentinelBy Jon Burstein <br />South Florida Sun-Sentinel <br />Posted March 24 2006 <br /><br /> <br />Fallen super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his former business partner soon will be subpoenaed by defense attorneys to give sworn statements in the Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis murder case.<br /><br />The attorney for murder suspect Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello filed paperwork this week asking to question Abramoff and Long Island businessman Adam Kidan about the SunCruz Casino founder's gangland-style slaying. Broward Circuit Judge Michael Kaplan granted the request Thursday after prosecutors agreed to it.<br /><br />Prosecutor Brian Cavanagh said the Broward State Attorney's Office had been concerned about subpoenaing Kidan and Abramoff because it didn't want to give them any form of immunity. Kidan has not been eliminated as a suspect in the murder case, Cavanagh said.<br /><br />"The point we made in court was we weren't saying he would be a suspect in place of the present defendants, it's a question of whether he will be an additional defendant," Cavanagh said. "All the defendants are innocent until proven guilty and certainly at the present time Mr. Kidan is not under indictment so there has not even been a formal allegation at this juncture."<br /><br />Attorneys for Kidan and Abramoff declined to comment Thursday, but they have said their clients had nothing to do with the murder plot.<br /><br />Kidan's attorney, Joseph Conway, said last month that Kidan is ready to testify as part of a plea deal he cut with federal prosecutors. Kidan and Abramoff have pleaded guilty to lying on financial statements and creating phony documents to convince lenders to back their bid for SunCruz, a Dania Beach-based gambling ship fleet.<br /><br />The SunCruz fraud case enabled prosecutors to leverage Abramoff into cooperating with a potentially wide-ranging federal investigation into congressional bribery and influence peddling.<br /><br />Moscatiello's attorney, David Bogenschutz, wrote in court papers that he needed to question the two men because "the SunCruz Casino sale is at the heart" of the murder case.<br /><br />Boulis was ambushed Feb. 6, 2001, shortly after he left his Fort Lauderdale office. One car stopped in front of his BMW; a second car pulled up alongside the self-made millionaire and he was sprayed with bullets.<br /><br />In the months leading up to his murder, Boulis and Kidan had been locked in an acrimonious battle over SunCruz. Boulis had cut a deal to sell SunCruz to a partnership including Kidan and Abramoff, but the business agreement had soured and Boulis wanted to regain control.<br /><br />A Broward County grand jury indicted Moscatiello, 67; Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari, 49; and James "Pudgy" Fiorillo, 28, in September for Boulis' slaying. All three have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. They could face the death penalty if convicted.<br /><br />Prosecutors have suggested the three defendants killed Boulis to ensure he didn't take back SunCruz. While Kidan ran SunCruz, he paid $145,000 in consulting fees to companies tied to Moscatiello, who had admitted ties to the Gambino crime family and to late mob boss John Gotti, according to court records A company controlled by Ferrari received an additional $95,000 for security from Kidan's SunCruz, court records show.<br /><br />Attorneys for Moscatiello and Fiorillo have been arguing that the state's case isn't strong enough for them to be in jail without bond. Their bond hearing will continue this afternoon.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1142634858736228162006-03-17T17:34:00.000-05:002006-03-17T17:34:18.980-05:00CNN.com - Abramoff's sentencing delayed to further cooperation - Mar 17, 2006Judge approves motion sought by federal investigators<br /><br />WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A federal judge Friday delayed sentencing of Jack Abramoff, a move the prosecutors requested to further the former lobbyist's cooperation with their investigation.<br /><br />In January, Abramoff plead guilty to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion charges, charges in Washington.<br /><br />Federal investigators, citing Abramoff's cooperation, wanted to defer until at least June a status conference, initially set for next week, that could have led to Abramoff's sentencing.<br /><br />The delay is "in order to allow Mr. Abramoff's cooperation to continue uninterrupted," according to a joint motion for a new status conference filed late Thursday.<br /><br />U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle signed the order proposed by prosecutors in the Public Integrity and Fraud sections, along with Abramoff's defense counsel, Abbe Lowell.<br /><br />A judge in Miami, Florida, earlier this month refused to grant a similar sentencing delay on Abramoff's guilty plea to separate fraud charges there. U.S. District Judge Paul Huck moved the sentencing date only from March 16 to 29 but rejected an open-ended deferral. He said, "I just don't want to get involved in a situation where it just goes on and on and on."<br /><br />The length of Abramoff's sentences in both cases will depend on the level of help he provides to investigators as they continue their probe of corruption among public officials.<br /><br />According to court documents in the case, Abramoff and a business partner supplied gifts to a member of Congress identified only as "Representative 1." The gifts were in exchange for the lawmaker's help on behalf of their clients, including support of specific bills and statements in the Congressional Record.<br /><br />Government sources have identified the lawmaker as longtime Ohio Republican Rep. Robert Ney, who has denied wrongdoing. Soon after Abramoff pleaded guilty to corruption charges in January, Ney relinquished his chairmanship of the House Administration Committee and has since acknowledged being subpoenaed.<br /><br />In September, Rep. Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican, gave up his majority leader post after being indicted in his home state on charges he improperly steered corporate donations in 2002 to state legislative candidates.<br /><br />A longtime associate of Abramoff, DeLay has denied wrongdoing, remains in Congress and continues to fight the charges.<br /><br />Although there are no known ties to the Abramoff affair, another Republican, Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California, resigned in November after pleading guilty to taking bribes from defense contractors.<br /><br />Stalled reform<br />Since the lobbying scandal broke, members of Congress have pledged quick reform but have had difficulty meeting timetables for action.<br /><br />At last word, the House had missed a February schedule to consider ethics legislation and now expects action before spring break in April.<br /><br />The Senate last week suspended debate because of controversy surrounding the port security deal. It's not clear when it will consider any ethics bills.(Details)<br /><br />Also swept up in Abramoff's lobbying activities is the Bush administration.<br /><br />Abramoff was a Pioneer-level fund-raiser during Bush's re-election campaign, meaning the lobbyist raised more than $100,000.<br /><br />The White House has given $6,000 of Abramoff's donations to charity.<br /><br />Investigators have also been examining the activities of some officials at the Interior Department and the General Services Administration, sources have told CNN.<br /><br />One former GSA official, David Safavian, was indicted in October on charges of obstructing a GSA proceeding, obstructing a U.S. Senate proceeding and making false statements in connection with the investigation. His lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, and a hearing on that motion is set for March 24.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1142029370474156722006-03-10T17:22:00.000-05:002006-03-10T17:22:55.200-05:00DenverPost.com - Gale Norton resigns from CabinetBy Mike Soraghan<br />Denver Post Staff Writer<br />DenverPost.com <br /> <br />Washington - Gale Norton resigned today after serving more than five years as secretary of the Interior and overseeing a dramatic expansion of drilling, logging and development on the public lands of the West. <br /><br />But the former Colorado attorney general is to leave office at the end of the month without achieving her highest-profile political goal, opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to drilling. <br /><br />“Now I feel it is time for me to leave this mountain you gave me to climb, catch my breath, then set my sights on new goals to achieve in the private sector,” Norton said in a two-page resignation letter to President Bush. <br /><br />"Gale Norton has been a strong advocate for the wise use and protection of our Nation's natural resources and a valuable member of my Administration," Bush said. "I appreciate Gale's dedicated service to our country, and I wish Gale and John all the best." <br /><br />A source who requested anonymity said she is not leaving because of any problems, and is expected to cite water issues and her push for "cooperative conservation" among her accomplishments. <br /><br />"She wants to go home for a while," the source said. <br /><br />No successor has been named, but the confirmation hearings could give Democrats an opening to highlight their dissatisfaction with Bush on environmental issues. They could also use it as a way to highlight administration connections to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who lobbied the department on Indian casino issues. <br /><br />Norton, who was the first female Interior secretary, has served since the earliest days of the Bush administration. Her background working with polarizing former Interior Secretary James Watt for logging and mining interests made her one of Bush's most controversial cabinet nominees. <br /><br />A much more careful speaker, she proved less fiery than Watt, but achieved more in the way of opening up public lands for development. Under her watch, the department stripped protection from areas previously managed as wilderness, opened up forests to increased logging, sent snowmobiles back into Yellowstone and pressed federal land managers to speed up drilling for gas on public lands. <br /><br />While natural gas supplies increased, the environment suffered, according to environmentalists and government auditors. A report by the Government Accountability Office last year found that the focus on processing drilling permits for gas companies often left environmental monitoring undone. <br /><br />Norton, however, stressed that she was working toward "cooperative conservation," a way to achieve environmental results by partnering with landowners and developers rather than regulating them. <br /><br />Norton's tenure was also marked by repeated ethical controversies. Norton cleared her top deputy, former lobbyist J. Steven Griles, after her inspector general said his conduct showed that the department's ethics system was "a train wreck waiting to happen." Griles is now under investigation for allegations that he did the bidding of convicted Indian casino lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Norton is still supporting him. <br /><br />Abramoff also funneled more than $500,000 to one of Norton's former political aides, Italia Federici, to gain access to her department, which makes key decisions about which tribes can open casinos. Norton said she had no qualms about Federici's activities. <br /><br />Federici, president of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, quickly released a statement praising Norton. <br /><br />“The environmental benefits of her actions on behalf of Cooperative Conservation will be reaped for years to come,” Federici said in the statement. <br /><br />Norton also suffered bad publicity when the head of the National Park Service police was fired after talking to a reporter and congressional staff about budget shortfalls. <br /><br />Norton was also the first Bush cabinet official to be held in contempt, though the ruling regarding Indian trust issues was later overruled by an appeals court. <br /><br />The Indian trust case metastasized from an obscure bookkeeping mess to a drain on Norton's entire department. She once said the issue occupied her top staff more than any other issue. <br /><br />In the National Journal Political Insider's Poll last year, she was voted the second-most underrated Bush cabinet secretary by Republican operatives who credited her with pursuing Bush's pro-development agenda with a minimum of bad publicity.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1141968725238057902006-03-10T00:32:00.000-05:002006-03-10T00:32:05.490-05:00$25,000 to Lobby Group Is Tied to Access to Bush - New York TimesBy PHILIP SHENON<br />WASHINGTON, March 9 — The chief of an Indian tribe represented by the lobbyist Jack Abramoff was admitted to a meeting with President Bush in 2001 days after the tribe paid a prominent conservative lobbying group $25,000 at Mr. Abramoff's direction, according to documents and interviews.<br /><br />The payment was made to Americans for Tax Reform, a group run by Grover G. Norquist, one of the Republican Party's most influential policy strategists. Mr. Norquist was a friend and longtime associate of Mr. Abramoff. <br /><br />The meeting with Mr. Bush took place on May 9, 2001, at a reception organized by Mr. Norquist to marshal support for the president's 2001 tax cuts, which were pending before Congress. About two dozen state legislators attended the session in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds. The meeting was called to thank legislators for support of the tax-cut plan, an issue on which the tribal leader had no direct involvement.<br /><br />Mr. Norquist attended the meeting, along with Mr. Abramoff and the tribal leader, Raul Garza of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas. It is not clear what role, if any, Mr. Norquist played in getting Chief Garza into the meeting, and there is no suggestion that the White House was aware of the $25,000 payment.<br /><br />But the transaction adds new details to what is known about how Mr. Abramoff used his links to well-connected conservatives to establish himself among his lobbying clients as having access to the highest levels of power in Washington. Mr. Abramoff has pleaded guilty to conspiring to corrupt public officials and is cooperating with the Justice Department investigation. <br /><br />The transaction could also focus further attention on Mr. Norquist's group, which is already under scrutiny by the Justice Department and Congressional investigators over its ties to Mr. Abramoff. On being presented with a copy of a letter dated May 10, 2001, in which one of its officials acknowledged receipt of the $25,000 donation, Americans for Tax Reform responded that it did not seek money for White House access. <br /><br />John Kartch, the group's communications director, said, "No money was ever collected for admission to these events." <br /><br />Mr. Kartch described the reception as one of several gatherings with President Bush sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform in support of his economic policies. "No lobbying occurred at these events, which were similar in nature to a bill-signing, with people listening to the president speak," he said.<br /><br />Mr. Kartch said the anti-tax group "did not want liberals unfairly smearing tribes that supported the president's agenda."<br /><br />There is only one other documented instance in which Mr. Abramoff was able to obtain a White House meeting for one of his tribal clients through Mr. Norquist, and it occurred the same day of the visit by the Kickapoo leader. On that day, a leader of a Louisiana tribe has said he attended a separate event by Americans for Tax Reform that was also attended by Mr. Bush.<br /><br />Documents obtained by investigators for the Senate Indian Affairs Committee show that the second tribe, the Louisiana Coushattas, also paid $25,000 to Mr. Norquist's group shortly before the meeting, although the tribe has been unwilling to say if its chief had the same opportunity as the Kickapoo chief to talk briefly with Mr. Bush and be photographed with him.<br /><br />The May 9 reception attended by Chief Garza was photographed by a White House photographer. One of the photographs became public last month, and showed Mr. Abramoff in the far background as Mr. Bush greeted Chief Garza. It was the first picture showing Mr. Abramoff in the same setting with Mr. Bush, who has said he does not remember meeting the lobbyist. <br /><br />A former senior tribal official, Isidro Garza, who is not related to Raul Garza, said the $25,000 donation to Americans for Tax Reform was solicited days earlier by Mr. Abramoff, who often encouraged his clients to donate to Mr. Norquist's group. Most of the tribe's money comes from a casino it operates near the Mexican border.<br /><br />Isidro Garza said Mr. Abramoff did not say directly that the $25,000 was the price of admission to the meeting with Mr. Bush. <br /><br />Mr. Abramoff, he said, described the donation to Mr. Norquist's group as a "good investment" in the tribe's lobbying efforts in Washington. Mr. Garza said he arranged for the payment although he saw little direct connection between the tribe's interests and those of Americans for Tax Reform. <br /><br />A White House spokesman, Dana Perino, said that White House officials were "absolutely not" aware of the Kickapoos' $25,000 payment to Americans for Tax Reform and that the May 2001 reception was an effort to thank "people who had expressed support for the president" on the tax cuts. <br /><br />Isidro Garza and Raul Garza are both under indictment in Texas on federal embezzlement charges involving the use of tribal money. <br /><br />Isidro Garza, who functioned as the chief counselor to Chief Garza, said he was willing to reveal details about the $25,000 payment and the White House meeting in hope of having the government determine whether anyone in Washington manipulated their ouster from the tribe, the act that led to the criminal charges. <br /><br />Mr. Abramoff might have had reason to want an overhaul of the tribe's leadership. In 2001, Isidro Garza said, the Kickapoos rejected a proposal from Michael Scanlon, Mr. Abramoff's business partner, that the tribe pay $2 million in fees for a lobbying campaign on behalf of the tribe's casino. A lawyer for Raul Garza, Jason Davis of San Antonio, said Chief Garza "got caught in the crossfire of tribal politics" when he was ousted as the tribal leader in 2002, and "the question is whether he also got caught in the crossfire of national politics." <br /><br />Through his lawyers, Mr. Abramoff had no comment on the White House meeting with the Kickapoos. A lawyer for Mr. Scanlon, who has also pleaded guilty in the case, did not return telephone calls.<br /><br />In a letter dated May 10, 2001, the day after the White House reception, Americans for Tax Reform acknowledged the contribution from the Kickapoos, who had sought help from Mr. Abramoff in lobbying on behalf of its casino. "Thank you for your generous support of our work," wrote Jennifer Kuhn, the tax group's vice president for finance. "I have received your contribution for $25,000."<br /><br />A copy of the letter was provided to The New York Times by Isidro Garza and was then forwarded to Americans for Tax Reform for comment. The group did not comment on the document or explain the detailed circumstances of the Kickapoo's invitation to the White House.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1141878959795044832006-03-08T23:35:00.000-05:002006-03-08T23:36:00.063-05:00Vanity Fair: Bush Had Ties to Abramoff - Yahoo! NewsConvicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff says President Bush knew him well enough to joke with him about weightlifting. "What are you benching, buff guy?" Abramoff said Bush asked him. The president has said he doesn't know Abramoff.<br /><br />Abramoff said he finds it hard to believe Bush doesn't remember the 10 or so photos he and members of his family had snapped with the president and first lady.<br /><br />"He (Bush) has one of the best memories of any politician I have ever met," Abramoff wrote in an e-mail, according to Vanity Fair's April issue being released this week. "Perhaps he has forgotten everything. Who knows?"<br /><br />Abramoff pleaded guilty Jan. 4 to charges that he and a former partner, Adam Kidan, concocted a fake wire transfer to make it appear they were putting a sizable stake of their own money into a multimillion-dollar purchase of SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet in 2000. Abramoff also has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a probe into his ties with members of Congress and the Bush administration.<br /><br />"I had my picture taken with him, evidently," Bush said of Abramoff on Jan. 26. "I've had my picture taken with a lot of people."<br /><br />"I frankly don't even remember having my picture taken with the guy," Bush added. "I don't know him."<br /><br />A few days later, Abramoff wrote to Washingtonian magazine that he had met briefly with the president nearly a dozen times and that Bush knew him well enough to make joking references to Abramoff's family.<br /><br />Abramoff told Vanity Fair that he once was invited to Bush's Texas ranch where he would have joined with other big Bush fundraisers. Abramoff, an Orthodox Jew, said he didn't go because the event fell on the Sabbath.<br /><br />The lobbyist said that when Bush made a speech to fundraisers in 2003, he sat just a few feet from the president. Abramoff, the only lobbyist on the dais, was seated between Republican Sens. George Allen of Virginia and Orrin Hatch of Utah.<br /><br />Three former associates of Abramoff have told The Associated Press the lobbyist frequently told them he had strong ties to the White House through its deputy chief of staff, Karl Rove.<br /><br />Asked about the former Abramoff associates' accounts, the White House said Rove and Abramoff were leaders of a young Republicans group decades ago.<br /><br />"Mr. Rove remembers they had met at a political event in the 1990s," White House spokeswoman Erin Healy has said. "Since then, he would describe him as a casual acquaintance."<br /><br />According to Vanity Fair, Rove's relationship with Abramoff was deeper.<br /><br />After Bush took office, Susan Ralston, Abramoff's administration assistant, assumed the same post with Rove at the White House, where Abramoff met with Rove at least once, the magazine said.<br /><br />Rove dined several times at Abramoff's former restaurant in Washington, Signatures, and was Abramoff's guest in the owner's box of the NCAA basketball playoffs a few years ago, sitting for much of the game at Abramoff's side, Vanity Fair reported.<br /><br />The White House has not released any photos that Bush took with Abramoff, but acknowledged the authenticity of one that has been made public. In the 2001 photo, Bush is seen shaking hands with the leader of an Indian tribe that was an Abramoff client. The lobbyist is in the background.<br /><br />Abramoff said he thought about, but decided against, selling his photos with the Bushes for money. Publications were making Abramoff offers that rose to the low seven figures, Vanity Fair reports.<br /><br />He blames the Bush administration for the media attention. <br /><br />"My so-called relationship with Bush, Rove and everyone else at the White House has only become important because instead of just releasing details about the very few times I was there, they created a feeding frenzy by their deafening silence," Abramoff told the magazine. <br /><br />"The Democrats, on the other hand, are going overboard, virtually insisting I was there to plan the invasion of Iraq."Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1141867150475154552006-03-08T20:19:00.000-05:002006-03-08T20:19:10.906-05:00The Raw Story | Washington nonprofit where Abramoff was director wrote articles favoring Abramoff clientsFiled by John Byrne and Ron Brynaert <br /><br /><br />Norquist, Traditional Values Coalition also lent support to Marianas measures<br /><br />The Washington nonprofit whose president appeared before a Senate committee as a victim of fallen lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s congressional bribery net wrote repeated articles that aligned with the positions of the lobbyist’s clients, suggesting possible coordination between the lobbyist and the group in violation of federal law.<br /><br />In a series of editorials between 1999 and 2001, National Center for Public Policy Research president Amy Ridenour went to bat for the Commonwealth of the Marianas Islands, a small U.S. territory in the Pacific. Her releases bemoaned efforts to expand federal immigration laws to the island, defended the islands' meager wages and attacked Clinton Administration attempts to tighten labor laws.<br /><br />Ridenour also lent her support to the Western Pacific Economic Council, a trade group composed of Marianas garment manufacturers. Her group’s name appeared in a Saipan newspaper backing the Council in 1999.<br /><br />Both the Marianas and the Economic Council were clients of Jack Abramoff at the time. The Marianas paid Abramoff’s firm Preston Gates $1.9 million in 1999 and 2000 and his second firm, Greenberg Traurig, $1.1 million in 2001. The Western Pacific Economic Council paid Preston Gates $2.3 million in 1999 and 2000.<br /><br />Ridenour did not return calls and emails asking for comment. Andrew Blum, a spokesman for Abramoff, also declined to comment. Abramoff pled guilty to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials in January.<br /><br />The National Center took to the national stage when it emerged that Abramoff – who was a member of the nonprofit’s board from 1997 to 2004 – had laundered $2.5 million through the group to increase personal holdings and pay for congressional trips. The money underwrote overseas trips taken by House Administration Committee Chairman Robert Ney (R-OH) and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX).<br /><br />In her testimony before Congress, Ridenour portrayed herself as a victim of Abramoff’s guile. Describing her impression of when she first met the lobbyist, Ridenour said he appeared a “dedicated conservative” whose “managerial skills, it seemed to me at the time, exceeded my own.” <br /><br />When discussing how the Center had received millions of dollars from Abramoff’s firm and his lobbying clients, she described the lobbyist’s proposals as “quote a new kind of lobbying unquote.”<br /><br />She did not, however, discuss work she had done that benefited Abramoff’s clients. <br /><br />While RAW STORY previously revealed that Ridenour had written an article attacking the political rival of another Abramoff client – former Malaysian Prime Minister Mathahir bin Mohamed – her work on issues surrounding the Marianas was far more extensive.<br /><br />Ridenour’s lobbying on the Marianas began in April 1999, when her group issued a release decrying bipartisan efforts to ban goods manufactured on the islands from carrying the “Made in the USA” label. Legislators proposed the measure after numerous labor complaints were filed against Saipan manufacturers, who were repeatedly accused of flouting labor laws. <br /><br />“The National Center for Public Policy Research believes that any concerns about employment conditions in the CNMI should be handled as they are on the mainland: by U.S. and local government inspectors who have the authority to enforce government employment regulations,” the group’s release said. “These inspectors are on the job in the CNMI.”<br /><br />The following day, The Saipan Tribune, the Commonwealth’s leading newspaper, reprinted the release in full. <br /><br />Three other nonprofits lent name to Marianas effort<br /><br />Several months later, the National Center’s name appeared in another Saipan Tribune article. This time, Ridenour’s group was supporting a coalition of Marianas garment manufacturers who bemoaned U.S. efforts to impose tighter labor laws.<br /><br />Ron Sablan, chairman of the Western Pacific Economic Council trade group, lauded Ridenour’s group. RAW STORY has discovered that Sablan also praised three other nonprofits, two of which would later work with Abramoff on Indian gaming issues.<br /><br />"Fortunately with the help of our public affairs firm others have joined to argue against this intrusion into our economic sustenance. The Americans for Tax Reform, the Council with Citizens Against Government Waste, the Traditional Values Coalition, and the National Center for Public Policy Research supported the WPEC's stance,” Sablan said.<br /><br />Americans for Tax Reform, led by conservative maven Grover Norquist, is already under scrutiny in the Abramoff scandal, and the new revelation that they abetted a Marianas concern may further raise questions about their relationship with Abramoff. ATR got $25,000 at Abramoff's direction from an Indian tribe to set up a meeting with Bush. The Traditional Values Coalition, meanwhile, was paid $25,000 at Abramoff's instruction to lobby on Indian gaming in 2000.<br /><br />In August 1999, Ridenour attacked the Clinton Administration’s Interior Department for using federal resources to aid Democratic efforts to impose federal labor standards on the islands. The islands are a haven for sweatshops, as they enjoy the privileges of a U.S. territory but do not have to follow laws enforced on U.S. states. <br /><br />Ironically, Abramoff would use Bush Administration Interior Department officials just a few years later to thwart measures that would jeopardize the well-being of his Indian tribal clients.<br /><br />Abramoff took a hiatus from representing the Marianas for much of 2000. RAW STORY can find no articles from the Center on the islands during that time.<br /><br />The lobbying heavyweight re-signed the Marianas with his new firm, Greenberg Traurig, in March 2001. In April, the center issued a release blasting a bill from a Republican senator which aimed to federalize immigration laws in the islands.<br /><br />“Legislation providing for a federal takeover of the immigration authority of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI), a U.S. possession near Guam, is designed to shut down the Islands' garment industry and should be understood as such, says The National Center for Public Policy Research,” the group said in a release. <br /><br />The release appeared again in the National Center’s newsletter, “The Relief Report.” It was credited to Amy Ridenour.<br /><br />Group has a history of pay for play allegations<br /><br />In 2001, Ridenour penned an editorial in the Washington Times which attacked the rival of Abramoff’s then-client, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamed. Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to arrange a meeting between the Prime Minister and President Bush. <br /><br />Her article, titled "The U.S. Must Tread Carefully to Avoid Creating More Fundamentalist Islamic Governments," touted Malaysia as a "prosperous, stable and democratic state" and smeared Mahathir opponent Anwar Ibrahim as an Islamic radical.<br /><br />Ridenour described Ibrahim as “a former government official with close links to radical Islamic fundamentalist groups has begun an international public relations effort to destabilize the government in Kuala Lumpur.”<br /><br />Lim Kit Siang, a member of the Malaysian parliament, all but accused Ridenour of being paid to write the article in 2001. <br /><br />Malaysians, he said, were entitled to know whether Ridenour and NCPPR "have been hired in a campaign to win the hearts of Washington, whether taxpayers' monies are involved in the retention of American lobby groups to provide ‘sweeteners’ to pave the way for a meeting between the Prime Minister and President Bush, and whether the KMM and the militant Islam issues are being used to win the ear of Washington.”<br /><br />Ridenour denied being paid by the Malaysian government.<br /><br />NCPPR also came under fire for “Envirotruth,” a website which attacks progressive and environmental groups, including Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. Exxon Mobil ponied up $55,000 to the group that year.<br /><br />Ridenour was also attacked in 1995 when a memo by Phillip Morris executive Frank Gomez surfaced during national tobacco litigation, in which she offered Gomez "to use any information [he could] provide re [sic] the current anti-tobacco onslaught."Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1141708427380254292006-03-07T00:13:00.000-05:002006-03-07T00:13:47.603-05:00Bloomberg.com: Abramoff's Florida Sentencing May Force Details of CooperationMarch 6 (Bloomberg) -- A federal judge in Miami set a March 29 sentencing date for lobbyist Jack Abramoff in connection with a wire-fraud case, prompting prosecutors and defense lawyers to warn that his cooperation in a separate federal corruption probe may be hindered. <br /><br />U.S. District Judge Paul Huck moved Abramoff's sentencing from its original March 16 date and said he's willing to consider delaying the lobbyist's surrender, as well as that of his business partner Adam Kidan, to aid their continued cooperation. Abramoff's lawyer said he may be forced to make public details of his cooperation to help make the case for a lenient sentence. <br /><br />``We would be naming names, and we would be providing evidence of what's going on out there,'' Abbe Lowell, one of Abramoff's lawyers, told Huck. ``This is not going to be good for the government.'' <br /><br />Abramoff, 47, pleaded guilty in Miami on Jan. 4 to conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with a $147.5 million purchase of a Florida gambling-boat company in 2000. The day before, he pleaded guilty in Washington to fraud and conspiracy to corrupt public officials. He is now working with U.S. investigators, and assistant U.S. attorney Lawrence LaVecchio described Abramoff at today's hearing as ``very cooperative.'' <br /><br />The lobbyist faces as many as seven years in prison for conspiracy and wire fraud in the Florida case. <br /><br />Abramoff, a former top fund-raiser for Republicans and President George W. Bush, is at the center of a Washington scandal. His connections in government extended to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Ohio Representative Bob Ney. <br /><br />Ney temporarily gave up his chairmanship of the House Administration Committee in January, citing the ``distraction'' of allegations that he received gifts and other benefits from Abramoff. Ney denies wrongdoing.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1141672981762563682006-03-06T14:23:00.000-05:002006-03-06T14:23:02.033-05:00Miami judge refuses to delay sentencing for lobbyist Abramoff: South Florida Sun-SentinelBy VANESSA BLUM<br />sun-sentinel.com<br /><br />March 6, 2006, 12:15 PM EST<br /><br /><br /><br />MIAMI -- A federal judge on Monday refused to delay sentencing 90 days for disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff despite statements from government lawyers that sending Abramoff to prison could jeopardize his cooperation in ongoing criminal probes.<br /><br />U.S. District Judge Paul Huck set sentencing for Abramoff and co-defendant Adam Kidan for March 29 but said he would probably not require an immediate surrender, allowing the men to remain free and available to assist investigators.<br /><br />Abbe Lowell, Abramoff's Washington D.C.-based defense lawyer, warned Huck that he might be obligated at a sentencing hearing to reveal details of the government's pending investigations into the Capitol Hill lawmakers who did business with Abramoff.<br /><br />"We will name names. We will provide the public with evidence of what is going on out there," Lowell said. "It seems to me that is not in the interest of law enforcement."<br /><br />Huck defended his decision to proceed with sentencing, remarking that Abramoff and Kidan's cooperation with federal investigators could go on for years.<br /><br />"I'm not persuaded we should treat Mr. Kidan and Mr. Abramoff any differently than anyone else," Huck said.<br /><br />Abramoff pleaded guilty Jan. 4 to charges that he and Kidan fabricated a fake wire transfer to make it appear they were putting a sizable chunk of their own money into the $147.5 million purchase of the SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet in 2000. Kidan pleaded guilty late last year.<br /><br />Abramoff also pleaded guilty in January to charges stemming from an investigation into his ties to members of Congress and the Bush administration.<br /><br />Both guilty pleas require extensive cooperation from Abramoff in exchange for possible leniency at sentencing. In the Florida case, Abramoff and Kidan both face a maximum of just over seven years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. <br />Copyright © 2006, South Florida Sun-SentinelJamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1141441827728536242006-03-03T22:10:00.000-05:002006-03-03T22:10:27.953-05:00E-mails undermine Reed claim | ajc.comBy JIM GALLOWAY<br />The Atlanta Journal-Constitution<br />Published on: 03/04/06<br />Ralph Reed has said he didn't know it until last year, but emails suggest he was informed that eLot — a firm then in the online lottery business — was behind his effort to fend off a ban against internet gambling in 2000.<br /><br />The e-mails passed between Reed and Jack Abramoff, the now disgraced Washington lobbyist. Abramoff was lobbying for eLot Inc. of Connecticut, parent company of eLottery Inc., against a bill in Congress that would have banned most online betting. ELottery opposed the bill because it wanted to help states sell tickets online.<br /><br />Reed, a lifelong opponent of gambling, said last year that he did not know in 2000 he was actually working on behalf of eLottery.<br /><br />But e-mails obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution show Reed was offered the name of the company at the beginning of his involvement in the campaign, in May 2000. The e-mails emerged as dozens of federal investigators have increased their focus on events surrounding the defeat of the Internet gaming ban.<br /><br />Abramoff included the company's name — referring to "the elot project" — in an e-mail he forwarded to Reed, as the two worked out details of Reed's contract for the campaign.<br /><br />A spokesman for Reed, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, said the e-mail does not contradict Reed's earlier statements that he did not know eLot, or eLottery, was financing the gambling fight. Campaign manager Jared Thomas declined to discuss the apparent inconsistency of Reed's earlier statements and the date of the "elot" e-mail.<br /><br />Another e-mail exchange written only months after the gambling ban was defeated suggests that, much earlier than Reed implied last year, he knew of Abramoff's ties to elottery.<br /><br />In the Jan. 30, 2001, e-mail, Reed teased Abramoff when the lobbyist asked about the White House's choice for a new "technology czar."<br /><br />"Tell your elottery friends that the next czar will be an anti-gambling [Pentecostal] Christian whose main interest in life is banning smut from the Internet," Reed wrote.<br /><br />Thomas acknowledged for the first time that Reed learned several years ago that Abramoff had a business relationship with eLottery, but said it wasn't until the gaming ban was defeated. And he said Reed didn't know the company funded the gaming ban's defeat until last year.<br /><br />Reed's work on behalf of eLottery came at the same time he was doing other work for Abramoff. That work had Reed conducting anti-gambling campaigns across the South on behalf of two Indian tribes that feared the expansion of gambling would generate competition and harm their interests.<br /><br />Although Reed's opponents in the lieutenant governor's race have made an issue of his work on behalf of gambling interests, Reed has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing. Abramoff pleaded guilty in January to bilking his Indian clients of $25 million, and to conspiring to bribe public officials.<br /><br />Reed says Abramoff, a lifelong friend, assured him that he wouldn't be paid with money derived from gambling. And Reed has expressed remorse for his association with Abramoff.<br /><br />"If I had known then what I know now, I would have turned that work down," Reed told a Republican student group at Emory University last weekend.<br /><br />Where it started<br /><br />The eLottery story began in 1997, when a bill banning most Internet gambling was filed by U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) — with the backing of Reed, then head of the national Christian Coalition. Reed left the coalition shortly afterward to start Duluth-based Century Strategies, a political consulting firm.<br /><br />The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act didn't gain traction until three years later, when a deal was struck among sponsors of the bill, representatives of the gambling industry, and some of the nation's most prominent religious conservatives.<br /><br />On May 17, 2000, James Dobson, president of Focus on the Family; Charles Donovan, then the acting head of the Family Research Council; Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority; and Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition, put their names to a compromise that gave the bill serious heft.<br /><br />In a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), the religious leaders said they were willing to accept "minor" exceptions to an Internet gaming ban, for such things as dog racing and horse racing.<br /><br />But essential to the bill, they said, was a ban on the sale of state lottery tickets over the Internet — which put the biggest names in Christian conservatism in conflict with eLot.<br /><br />That's when Reed entered the picture. Abramoff's law-lobbying firm at the time, Preston Gates, hired Reed's firm for $20,000 a month to rally grass-roots voters against the ban in targeted congressional districts.<br /><br />In an interview with the AJC in October, Reed said he found out that he had worked for eLottery five years after the fact — as a result of federal probes into Abramoff's activities. "I believe we learned as the facts emerged during the ongoing inquiry," he said.<br /><br />But the e-mails obtained by the AJC indicate he was provided the company's name in 2000.<br /><br />'Elot' mentioned by name<br /><br />Within five days of the evangelicals' letter to Hastert, Abramoff had drawn up a contract for the services of Reed and his firm. Abramoff e-mailed the draft to his boss, Jonathan Blank, managing partner of Preston Gates.<br /><br />It was preceded by a personal note: "Jonathan, here is a draft for the retainer letter with Reed on the elot project. Can you review and approve, or give me your edits?"<br /><br />Blank made his revisions and sent the entire message back to Abramoff, including the reference to "the elot project."<br /><br />On May 23, 2000, Abramoff forwarded the contract to Reed, with the "elot" reference still intact, and the notation: "Ralph, are these changes okay?"<br /><br />Reed responded, "Yes."<br /><br />The letter of retainer itself did not mention eLot, or eLottery. Nor did it include restrictions as to what kind of funds — gambling-related or not — Reed was to be paid with.<br /><br />The contract had three basic points: Reed would be paid a stipend of $20,000 a month plus expenses; his services would be "at the direction of Jack Abramoff," and none of his activities would "require registration as a lobbyist in any state or with the federal government."<br /><br />The latter clause allowed Reed to keep his work against the gambling ban quiet until last year.<br /><br />Facts on record<br /><br />At the time of the lobbying effort, there was a public record of Abramoff's association with eLottery.<br /><br />Several days after Preston Gates retained Reed, Abramoff's firm registered as eLottery's representative on Capitol Hill, citing the Internet gaming ban as the company's chief interest. The information was available to anyone who inquired with the secretary of the U.S. Senate. Asked whether Reed ever checked the register, his spokesman declined to comment.<br /><br />Through direct mail and other tools, Reed's task was to persuade religious conservatives in the districts of wavering congressmen that that the exceptions agreed to by Robertson and the others had turned the ban on Internet betting into an endorsement of gaming.<br /><br />ELottery paid Abramoff's firm $1.15 million to defeat the Internet gaming ban. Expense money from eLottery was routed to Reed's firm through two organizations. Documents and copies of e-mails from Abramoff, obtained by The Washington Post last year, documented the flow of cash.<br /><br />First the money was sent by eLottery to Americans for Tax Reform, a Washington anti-tax group headed by Grover Norquist, who knew both Reed and Abramoff from their days as college Republicans.<br /><br />Norquist then wrote a check for $150,000 to a group called Faith and Family Alliance of Virginia Beach. Faith and Family Alliance wrote a check for the same amount to Reed's Century Strategies. That wasn't the only connection between the groups: One of Faith and Family's founders, Tim Phillips, was a vice president for Century Strategies.<br /><br />This month, the Senate Finance Committee received unpublished documents generated by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, detailing transfers of cash by Abramoff to nonprofit organizations. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the committee's chairman, said it would review the evidence as part of its "ongoing, broad-scale look at whether tax-exempt groups are misused for financial or political gain."<br /><br />The Internet gaming ban was defeated on July 17, 2000.<br /><br />Goodlatte, the sponsor of the ban on Internet gaming, has placed blame for the 2000 defeat on "the efforts of Jack Abramoff and those who acted on his behalf."<br /><br />Goodlatte reintroduced the measure last month, and predicts victory this time.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1141220742924310682006-03-01T08:45:00.000-05:002006-03-01T08:45:43.236-05:00Abramoff pushed plan to drill for oil in Israel - The Boston GlobeEstablished firm with two Russians<br />By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | March 1, 2006<br /><br />WASHINGTON -- Lobbyist Jack Abramoff worked with Russian partners to establish a company that envisioned a high-risk plan to drill for oil in Israel, which he hoped would bring him riches and reshape the Middle East, according to documents and his former lobbying partners.<br /><br />The oil drilling plan, which has not been reported among Abramoff's many other schemes, casts new light on the scope of the disgraced lobbyist's dealings and the possible reach of the federal investigation into links between his clients, business partners, and members of Congress.<br /><br />Documents reviewed by the Globe show that in November 2001 Abramoff sought a banker's letter vouching that his newly created company, First Gate Resources, could undertake a $5 million project. The letter was addressed to the then-Israeli oil commissioner.<br /><br />A former Abramoff lobbying partner, Ronald Platt, said in an interview that he was shown a brochure about First Gate that listed the company officers as Abramoff and two Russian energy company executives of a Moscow firm called Naftasib.<br /><br />''They supposedly had some kind of technology for determining oil and gas resources, they had discovered vast oil and gas deposits in the Israeli desert, and [Abramoff believed that] if these were exploited it would change the whole dynamic of the Middle East," Platt said.<br /><br />Abramoff's venture never got off the ground, but the plan provides significant new insights into the lobbyist's ties to Naftasib and its two senior executives.<br /><br />Federal agents are probing Abramoff's dealings with the Russians as part of the larger investigation into whether he bribed members of Congress into helping his clients and then reaped huge fees and cash for his personal businesses. Federal investigators have sought information about Naftasib's interest in congressional support for Russian projects financed through the International Monetary Fund.<br /><br />Naftasib executives helped arrange a trip Abramoff took to Moscow in 1997 with former House majority leader Tom DeLay, a close Abramoff friend.<br /><br />Investigators have been trying to connect the dots on Abramoff's various activities for more than a year. In January, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion in connection with his representation of Indian tribes, and agreed to cooperate with federal agents probing members of Congress.<br /><br />His drilling company was set up in a way that shields the names of its officers. A company called First Gate Resources was set up under Delaware incorporation laws on Feb. 6, 2001, and dissolved in 2004, according to records.<br /><br />E-mails released by a Senate committee probing Abramoff show that he counted on his Russian partners to write a letter to Israeli officials pledging financial support for his plan to drill for oil. The Russians, Alexander Koulakovsky and Marina Nevskaya, were top executives of the Moscow energy giant Naftasib and were connected to a company that paid $2.1 million in lobbying fees to Abramoff and his partners, according to former Abramoff associates.<br /><br />Abramoff wrote an e-mail to a lobbying partner on Nov. 4, 2001, with the subject line of ''first gate," saying he needed the letter ''mega fast. This is something Alexander and Marina were supposed to get but have not done so. Our permit in Israel depends on it and we are running short of time."<br /><br />Abramoff then began looking for an alternative way to vouch for his financial standing.<br /><br />In one e-mail, Abramoff described himself as ''the principal of First Gate" and told his lobbying partner to have a banker write a letter vouching for him, suggesting that the letter say ''that my companies are well regarded and have integrity, that I have a fine reputation in Washington, D.C., that they believe I have the means and financial backing to undertake a project/transaction in the $5 million range."<br /><br />When Abramoff's colleague responded via e-mail that a bank might be hesitant to write such a letter for a company that has just been established, Abramoff responded that ''it's really, really important to me to be able to do this." The two then discussed by e-mail putting large sums of money into accounts at the bank to smooth the way for the letter to be written.<br /><br />Abramoff, an Orthodox Jew who frequently expressed a desire to help Israel, then drafted a letter to be sent by a bank to Yehezkiel Druckman, who was Israel's oil commissioner at the time.<br /><br />The draft said that ''based on our experience with First Gate Resources Inc. we believe that the company has the means and the financial backing to undertake a project/transaction costing $5 million."<br /><br />The e-mails do not make clear whether the letter was sent or what happened to Abramoff's dream of finding oil in Israel. Druckman, who is no longer the oil minister, could not be reached for comment.<br /><br />The Israeli Embassy in Washington said it had no information on the Abramoff effort.<br /><br />However, an Israeli oil specialist, Philip Mandelker, said that First Gate Resources did try to get a lease for petroleum.<br /><br />''My understanding is that First Gate Resources had been in contact with the Israeli authorities in about 2001 about the possibility of acquiring petroleum exploration rights," said Mandelker, who works for Zion Oil and Gas, a Texas company with no connection to Abramoff that is looking for oil in Israel.<br /><br />Mandelker, who has discussed the matter with Israeli officials, said First Gate never got the required permits.<br /><br />Israel does have significant natural gas resources, but the country imports nearly all of its oil. A report by the US Department of Energy says that about 460 oil wells have been drilled in Israel since the 1940s ''with little success."<br /><br />But the report quotes Israeli officials as saying that the country could have large oil reserves beneath natural gas fields.<br /><br />Within weeks of the effort to establish the oil-drilling plan, Abramoff discussed with the same Russian partners a plan to purchase night-vision equipment for settlers in territory occupied by Israel, according to his e-mails.<br /><br />One e-mail sent to Abramoff on Oct. 15, 2001, says that it will cost $28,000 to purchase the equipment, and is signed by a person identified as ''Vadim, assistant to Mrs. Nevskaya." It is from an e-mail account at ''naftasib.com," the company where Nevskaya worked.<br /><br />Shortly thereafter, an Abramoff-related group, Capital Athletic Foundation, listed an $18,000 ''donation of thermal imager," suggesting the equipment was bought and sent to the settlers.<br /><br />A Washington representative of Naftasib declined comment, and Nevskaya did not respond to an e-mail request for comment. An Abramoff spokesman also declined comment.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1140716608623901092006-02-23T12:43:00.000-05:002006-02-23T12:43:28.936-05:00Abramoff ties to Russians probed - The Boston GlobeUS inquiry widens to energy concerns<br />By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | February 23, 2006<br /><br />WASHINGTON -- The federal investigation into the lobbying activities of Jack Abramoff has broadened to examine his dealings with the Russian government and a pair of high-profile Russian energy company executives, according to documents made available to the Globe.<br /><br />A subpoena in the case, issued this month to an Abramoff associate, says the US government is seeking information on Abramoff-related activities with ''any department, ministry, or office holder or agent of the Russian government." The subpoena, which has not been made public, was given to the Globe by a person who is involved in the case.<br /><br />Abramoff's work on behalf of Indian tribes has been widely scrutinized, but his work for Russian interests has received far less public notice.<br /><br />It is legal for foreigners to hire lobbyists, but Abramoff's dealings in this area have come under federal investigation because his fees were so large and because investigators are examining whether he might have bribed members of Congress.<br /><br />Abramoff pleaded guilty recently to conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion in connection with a scheme to direct funds from his Indian clients toward government officials.<br /><br />The subpoena seeks information about ties between Abramoff-related groups and a Moscow energy giant that is called Naftasib, a major supplier to the Russian military.<br /><br />Investigators have asked for any information about Abramoff's dealings with two top Naftasib executives, Alexander Koulakovsky and Marina Nevskaya. Senior Naftasib executives helped arrange a trip Abramoff took to Moscow in 1997 with former House majority leader Tom DeLay, a longtime Abramoff friend.<br /><br />The subpoena specifically requests information about dealings between the Abramoff associate receiving the subpoena and DeLay.<br /><br />Separately, several former Abramoff lobbying partners have told the Globe that a key connection between Abramoff and Russia is an obscure Dutch firm called Voor Huisen.<br /><br />Voor Huisen was one of Abramoff's biggest clients, paying $2.1 million in lobbying fees to Abramoff and his partners from 2001 to 2004, according to public records that were filed by Abramoff in the US Senate.<br /><br />But there has been no explanation as to why the company had paid such large fees, and Abramoff's former partners say they are not aware of work that would justify that level of payment.<br /><br />Voor Huisen has been shrouded in mystery, and is rarely mentioned in the thousands of articles about Abramoff. A Dutch magazine, Vrij Nederland, reported last month that Voor Huisen was a shell company that had no activity and no assets. Dutch records do not list any shareholders.<br /><br />However, several of Abramoff's former partners, who also lobbied for Voor Huisen, said in interviews this month that they were told the Dutch company was connected to Naftasib executives.<br /><br /><br />A private housing link<br />Abramoff's lobbying records also suggest that the money paid to Abramoff by Voor Huisen was used to promote Russian interests. One lobbying report said Abramoff was hired by Voor Huisen to ''promote private housing in the former Soviet Union and other projects in energy and economics." Other reports that Abramoff filed said he lobbied for Voor Huisen on matters ranging from aviation safety to disaster preparedness to unspecified issues ''pertaining to defense and security."<br /><br />Since Voor Huisen has no business of its own, the work done by Abramoff's firm, and the high fees he collected, made Abramoff's partners concerned that hidden interests were behind the firm and its payouts.<br /><br />Ronald Platt, who was registered as a lobbyist with Abramoff on the Voor Huisen account, said in an interview that he was originally told by Abramoff or another colleague -- he doesn't remember which -- that the firm was a Dutch enterprise with an interest in housing, but that he later learned that it had ties to the Russians.<br /><br />''I was told that they had an interest in developing moderate-priced middle-income housing in Russia," Platt said. ''This would be a good thing to bring stability to Russia.<br /><br />''The company, in order to pursue this," Platt added, ''was hoping to get funds from the US government because it was theoretically in the interest of the US government. At the time, I said, 'I think this will never happen.' "<br /><br />Platt said that after he left the firm where he and Abramoff worked, Greenberg Traurig, he was ''made aware that this may have been nothing but a paper corporation and that people who purported to have owned it were either one or two Russians" -- Koulakovsky and Nevskaya.<br /><br /><br />'Agent of influence'<br />Two other lobbyists who also worked on the Voor Huisen account with Abramoff said in interviews that they, too, were told by either Abramoff or another colleague that the company was tied to the Russians.<br /><br />Abramoff's work on Russian affairs began in the mid-1990s, according to J. Michael Waller, the former editor of a Washington-based newsletter, Russia Reform Monitor. Waller said he was contacted by two Abramoff associates in 1997, and was asked to help organize Abramoff's trip with DeLay to Russia.<br /><br />''I was told by two of Abramoff's colleagues that he wanted to represent the Russian government," Waller said. He said Abramoff's colleagues explained that Abramoff was working for Naftasib, the Russian energy company, and that ''if he performed well on Naftasib then the Russian government would retain him."<br /><br />That made Waller uncomfortable, he added, because he had read Russian documents that said Naftasib supplied oil to the Russian military, so he declined to help Abramoff plan the trip.<br /><br />''I was concerned that Abramoff was going to become an agent of influence for the Russian government and that he would mask that relationship," Waller said.<br /><br /><br />Confirmations in e-mails<br />E-mails released in the course of a Senate investigation into Abramoff confirm that he had Russian clients. In one, he mentions receiving payments from unnamed Russians. In another, he wrote that he was surprised that unnamed Russians often came to the United States and visited his luxury suite at FedExField, the Washington Redskins' stadium.<br /><br />''The Russians, oddly, came quite a bit," Abramoff wrote. ''Weird."<br /><br />One reason may be that the Russians helped pay for the suite through a now-defunct Abramoff-related nonprofit group called the US Family Network.<br /><br />That group, established by an Abramoff colleague, was supposed to provide money to evangelical Christian charities.<br /><br />But much of its money went to other Abramoff's friends, and some of it went to pay for Abramoff's luxury suite at FedExField, according to the group's former president, a church pastor in Frederick, Md., named Christopher Geeslin.<br /><br />Geeslin said he was told by the group's founder that Russian investors gave $1 million to US Family Network, a link first reported by The Washington Post last year.<br /><br />At first, Geeslin said, he could not believe the Russians would want to donate $1 million. Then, he said, he learned that Abramoff was escorting them to Capitol Hill.<br /><br />''The Russians came over and Abramoff was ushering them around town," Geeslin said. ''I said: 'Man, this is true. It is just incredible.' "<br /><br /><br />'A shell operation'<br />Geeslin, who said Abramoff personally thanked him for paying for the FedExField suite, said he now feels ''duped" into heading the US Family Network.<br /><br />''We had no idea it was just a shell operation for Abramoff," Geeslin said, referring to himself and other volunteer board members. He said he thought the money would be used for evangelical purposes.<br /><br />''We were stupid enough to believe everything," he said.<br /><br />The Russians, Koulakovsky and Nevskaya, did not reply to a request for comment. Ellen Levinson, who is registered to lobby for Naftasib in Washington, declined to comment.<br /><br />The subpoena indicates that investigators want to establish what the Russians were trying to accomplish through Abramoff.<br /><br />It asks for records relating to Naftasib's interest in legislation, tax policy, and the International Monetary Fund.<br /><br />The IMF, which is financed partly by the US government, has provided billions of dollars in loans and loan guarantees to the Russian government.<br /><br />Geeslin said he had been told that the money was aimed at influencing the vote of DeLay, the former House majority leader, on legislation that shored up the IMF's financing for Russia.<br /><br />A DeLay spokesman, Michael Connolly, said: ''Congressman DeLay votes based on his deeply held principles and his determination about what is best for his constituents and his country."<br /><br />Yevgeniy Khorishko, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy, said: ''We haven't heard about the subpoena, so we don't know anything about links between Mr. Abramoff and any Russian entity."<br /><br />In addition to being a lobbyist, Abramoff registered in 1999 as a foreign agent.<br /><br />This means he represents a foreign government, according to government documents. He did not specify a country.<br /><br />Abramoff resigned from Greenberg Traurig in March 2004. Within days, Voor Huisen was dissolved, according to Dutch records.<br /><br />A spokesman for Abramoff's attorney declined to comment.<br /><br />Bryan Sierra, a Justice Department spokesman, declined to answer questions on the latest Abramoff matter.<br /><br />''We can't comment on the issuance of subpoenas," Sierra said.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1140548116294540092006-02-21T13:55:00.000-05:002006-02-21T13:55:16.596-05:00The Raw Story | Senate inquiry into Abramoff-linked nonprofits advances; Reed, Norquist likely eyedThe Senate Indian Affairs Committee has sent nearly 100 pages of documents regarding ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s use of nonprofit groups to the Senate Finance Committee, opening a second avenue into Congressional probes surrounding the admitted felon, ROLL CALL's Paul Kane reports Tuesday. Excerpts:<br /><br />Indian Affairs agreed Feb. 10 to send a limited batch of files to the Finance Committee, covering how Abramoff and his network of nonprofits helped conceal a multimillion-dollar bribery conspiracy. These documents will allow Finance to engage in the probe it announced almost a year ago into Abramoff and his nonprofits. The Finance Committee said the Abramoff documents would be part of an ongoing probe into whether some nonprofits are violating laws by taking on roles beyond what their tax-exempt status allows.<br /><br />Grassley and Baucus declined to spell out what was in the Indian Affairs documents, but another source who was familiar with them said there were between 80 and 100 pages of e-mails and other files related to nonprofits.<br /><br />A source told ROLL CALL that roughly 75 percent of the material sent hasn't been publicly aired.<br /><br />"The committee’s probe could also shine new light on the activities of two of Abramoff’s closest political allies, Grover Norquist, who runs the nonprofit Americans for Tax Reform, and Ralph Reed, the GOP activist who took more than $4 million in Abramoff cash," Kane writes. "Reed, a self-proclaimed opponent of gambling, sometimes received payments from Abramoff — money that originated from tribes who operated wealthy casinos — after it had first been routed through Norquist’s anti-tax group or other Abramoff-linked entities."<br /><br />The Indian Affairs probe released many e-mail exchanges between Abramoff and his two friends regarding financing of Reed’s efforts to shut down casinos in the South that would have been rivals to Abramoff’s clients.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1140539639332038992006-02-21T11:33:00.000-05:002006-02-21T11:33:59.726-05:00Chicago Tribune | Abramoff allegedly was paid $1.2 millionItems compiled from Tribune news services<br />Published February 21, 2006<br /><br /><br />WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Monday that lobbyist Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to organize his 2002 meeting with President Bush, but he denied the money came from the Malaysian government.<br /><br />Mahathir said in Kuala Lumpur that he was aware a payment was made to Abramoff, but he didn't know who made it.<br /><br />Abramoff pleaded guilty last month to charges that he and a former partner concocted a fake wire transfer to make it appear they were putting a sizable stake of their own money into a 2000 purchase of casinos.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1140452652649995992006-02-20T11:24:00.000-05:002006-02-20T11:24:12.980-05:00Chicago Tribune | Casinos bet on D.C. cloutTribes, private operators pour tons of cash into influencing lawmakers<br /><br />By Mike Dorning<br />Washington Bureau<br />Published February 20, 2006<br /><br /><br />WASHINGTON -- Along with tawdry tales of bribery, money laundering and sham charities, the corruption scandal surrounding former lobbyist Jack Abramoff has thrown new light on the rising tide of gambling money pouring into the nation's capital.<br /><br />As more states have moved to legalize gambling in one form or another and Indian tribes have turned to casinos as a lucrative source of income, the gambling industry's annual revenues have swelled to more than $78 billion. And with that wealth has come a determination to deploy larger sums to influence decisions made in Washington that can affect the bottom line.<br /><br />Federal campaign contributions from the gambling industry have jumped more than 27-fold, from $478,000 in 1990 to more than $13 million in 2004, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan watchdog group. Washington lobbying expenses disclosed by the industry have nearly doubled in six years, from $6.1 million in 1998 to $11.4 million in 2004, according to the Center for Public Integrity, another monitoring group.<br /><br />One California tribe, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, rents a $1,500-a-night luxury suite at Washington's MCI Center that it lends out for fundraisers benefiting members of Congress friendly to their casino interests, including at least once to Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.).<br /><br />During the 2004 Republican National Convention, casino tribes helped foot the bill for an after-hours Wild Wild West Saloon party for a congressional committee chairman, Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), at a New York nightclub. The party featured a mechanical bull and music by big-name bands including the Charlie Daniels Band, .38 Special and Otis Day.<br /><br />At least three of President Bush's premier Pioneer fundraisers were gambling industry chief executives. For years, the industry paid to fete senior congressional staff with annual three-day trips to Las Vegas, where casino operators made their case on legislative issues.<br /><br />In Washington, the commercial casinos' trade group is headed by a former head of the GOP, Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., who has a $5.5 million budget at his disposal. Indian casinos have their own trade association with a similar budget.<br /><br />"Twenty years ago, a member of Congress or a governor wouldn't want to be connected with the gambling industry. Now, they fly out to Vegas for a fundraiser," said Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), a 25-year veteran of Capitol Hill who has tangled with gambling interests.<br /><br />Fahrenkopf, executive director of the American Gaming Association, makes no apologies.<br /><br />"There's no question that, like every other industry, the gaming industry wants to make sure it is heard," Fahrenkopf said. "Fundamentally, it's to make sure that the federal government doesn't, fairly or unfairly, intentionally or unintentionally, do anything that damages the industry."<br /><br />While casinos, Indian tribes and other gambling interests once heavily favored Democrats with their campaign contributions, they have gradually shifted money toward Republicans as first Congress and then the White House came under GOP control. Now gambling donations are about evenly divided between the two parties.<br /><br />That has created conflict among Republicans, some of whom are social conservatives morally opposed to gambling. The Republican National Committee in 1999 rebuffed a resolution that would have barred the party from accepting gambling money, despite vigorous backing from prominent Christian radio host James Dobson, founder of the group Focus on the Family.<br /><br />`Deaf ear . . . . on this issue'<br /><br />"It is troubling that Republicans have really turned a deaf ear to social conservatives on this issue by and large. And I think it's tied to the vast amounts of money gambling interests are pouring into the party," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, an influential Washington advocacy group for conservative social values.<br /><br />The gambling industry can muster political arguments that are in tune with the anti-regulatory philosophy espoused by business interests and libertarians in the Republican Party. And the effect of the conflicts with social conservatives over gambling has been diminished because that movement has emphasized issues such as abortion, gay rights and judicial appointments, where it is in sync with the party.<br /><br />"This splits the Republican coalition," said Marshall Wittman, a senior fellow at the centrist Democratic Leadership Council who once lobbied for the Christian Coalition. "It's only because social conservatives view other issues as more important that they have been able to overlook this transgression."<br /><br />The spread of legalized gambling also means that more influential members of Congress represent districts with an economic interest in the industry. Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) hail from a state where Gulf Coast casinos have had a major economic effect. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada represents the mecca of legalized gambling. The Senate's second-ranking Republican, Mitch McConnell, represents Kentucky, where the prosperity of the horse-breeding industry is tied to racetrack betting.<br /><br />In the House, Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has two riverboat casinos in his district, in Aurora and Elgin. House Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) represents a district with two Indian-operated casinos, one of them the largest private employer in the city of San Bernardino.<br /><br />Building on such pillars, the industry has amassed considerable clout in Washington. For more than five years, gambling interests have stymied bills to clamp down on Internet betting, even though the Justice Department has determined that the fast-growing, multibillion-dollar business is illegal.<br /><br />Casino interests also stopped cold a NCAA-backed effort to ban betting on college sports following a series of point-shaving scandals. Attempts to revisit the 1988 law regulating Indian casinos have foundered. And when the 1997 tax package was being put together, even Rep. Bill Archer (R-Texas), who was then chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, was rebuffed when he tried to include a tax on Indian casino income.<br /><br />Meanwhile, casino allies led by Illinois' Weller managed to get a tax break for the purchase of new slot machines included in the post-Sept. 11 economic stimulus package passed by Congress. The Mississippi Choctaws, a casino operator with a well-funded lobbying operation, prevailed on Cochran to exempt their tribe from oversight by the National Indian Gaming Commission, the agency set up by Congress to regulate gambling on reservations. The provision was tucked away in a 40,000-word appropriations bill passed in 1997.<br /><br />The Abramoff scandal illustrates how much money that gambling interests are willing to expend to influence public policy, and why. Indian tribes--and sometimes outside investors in Indian casinos or the management companies they employ--can have a large stake in decisions the Interior Department makes about recognition of a tribe and other matters.<br /><br />Abramoff and his partners received more than $80 million from six Indian tribes with casino interests over four years, most of that channeled through activities such as public relations fees and "grass-roots" lobbying that would never have been disclosed to the public but for the criminal investigation.<br /><br />`Payoffs are enormous'<br /><br />The amount of money at stake for individual tribes' casino operations were far larger. Abramoff and his partner, Michael Scanlon, reaped more than $30 million from one tribe, the Louisiana Coushatta Indians. But the tribe was protecting a $300-million-a-year casino business from competition, employing Abramoff to work against federal approval of an agreement that another tribe had reached with the state to open a casino.<br /><br />Even a delay in federal approval would have provided the Coushattas a return on their investment. And the approval was in fact delayed, though it remains unclear how significant a role Abramoff played.<br /><br />"The payoffs are enormous," said Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers. "If you pay a lobbyist a few hundred thousand dollars, or even millions of dollars, it's pocket change compared to what you can make with a casino."Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223231.post-1140327030827054542006-02-19T00:30:00.000-05:002006-02-19T00:30:31.170-05:00Abramoff's Sentencing In Fla. Case May WaitDefense Seeks Time For Ex-Lobbyist To Cooperate More<br /><br />Associated Press<br />Saturday, February 18, 2006; A14<br /><br /><br /><br />MIAMI, Feb. 17 -- The Justice Department and defense lawyers asked a federal judge Friday to delay the March sentencing of lobbyist Jack Abramoff in a Florida fraud case to allow him more time to cooperate in a broader government corruption investigation.<br /><br />Abbe Lowell, Abramoff's lawyer in Washington, said in a telephone conference with U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck that if sentencing went forward as scheduled on March 16, it would be "upsetting to what's happening behind the scenes."<br /><br />"It's based solely on the sensitivities of cooperation," Lowell said of the request.<br /><br />Abramoff pleaded guilty Jan. 4 to charges that he and a former partner, Adam Kidan, concocted a fake wire transfer to make it appear they were putting a sizable stake of their own money into the $147.5 million purchase in 2000 of the SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet. Kidan also pleaded guilty.<br /><br />Abramoff also pleaded guilty last month to charges stemming from an investigation into the former lobbyists' ties to members of Congress and to the Bush administration.<br /><br />Both guilty pleas require extensive cooperation from Abramoff in exchange for potential leniency at sentencing. The motion, signed by federal prosecutors and defense lawyers, seeks a maximum delay of 90 days in the March sentencing date.<br /><br />"Mr. Abramoff has been working very hard in terms of his cooperation," said Neal Sonnett, Abramoff's attorney in Miami.<br /><br />Huck said he would consider the request, which also includes Kidan, now scheduled to be sentenced March 1.<br /><br />© 2006 The Washington Post CompanyJamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166320658012333106noreply@blogger.com0