Here it is: The Grand Ole Docket brings you a very special Jack Abramoff edition. As always, we're tracking trial dates, court appearances and sentencing hearings for all of the players. Jack Abramoff - Pleaded Guilty - Sentencing Date Set for September 4, 2008
There are two separate prosecutions against Jack Abramoff. Permalink | Updated 6/18/08 John Albaugh - Pleaded Guilty - Sentencing date set for September 17, 2008
Albaugh admitted in federal court that he accepted meals and sports and concert tickets, among other perks, from lobbyists, mainly "Lobbyist C," as depicted in court documents, in exchange for official favors. "Lobbyist C" is Kevin Ring, a former Abramoff staffer, who received help with money for transportation projects in exchange for the gifts. Istook was chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on transportation.
Albaugh was chief of staff for Rep. Istook for eight years. In that time span, Istook accepeted tens of thousands of dollars in camapign contributions from Abramoff and his associates. Istook has not been charged and says the FBI told him he was not a target of the investigation.
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6/26/08 Ed Buckham - Named by Prosecutors as Unindicted Coconspirator Permalink | Updated 7/10/06 Robert Coughlin - Pleaded Guilty - Sentenced to up to 10 months in prison
Coughlin was particularly helpful with getting the Mississippi Choctaw the full $16 million for a jail-construction grant that that had been promised via an earmark.
The guilty plea includes a single conflict-of-interest charge, up to 10 months in prison and an agreement to cooperate with prosecutors. His next court date is scheduled for Sept. 18, 2008.
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4/28/08 John Doolittle - Under Investigation Permalink |
Updated 5/07/07 Italia Federici - Pleaded Guilty - Sentenced on December 14, 2007 to two months in a halfway house and four years probation.
Federici was a political aide to Interior Secretary Gale Norton, and she mediated communication between Abramoff and Deputy Secretary of the Interior Steven Griles, with whom she was romantically involved. In exchange, Abramoff donated money to Federici’s nonprofit group, the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, or CREA.
See more about Federici at TPMmuckraker’s Reference Section.
Permalink | Updated 12/17/07 Tom Feeney - Under Investigation
In August 2003, Feeney accompanied Abramoff on a golf trip to Scotland; despite the $20,000 trip cost, Feeney filed a $5,000 travel report estimate with Congress.
Permalink | Updated 5/0407 J. Steven Griles- Pleaded Guilty - Sentenced to 10 Months Incarceration
Griles initially disputed these claims in his Senate testimony on November 2, 2005, but was informed on January 10, 2007 that he was being investigated for lying to Congress. On March 23, 2007, J. Steven Griles pleaded guilty to counts of obstruction of justice in his role in the Jack Abramoff scandal.
Griles was sentenced on June 26, 2007 to 10 months incarceration, as well as a fine of $30,000.
More on Griles at TPMmuckraker's reference section.
Permalink | Updated 6/29/07 Will Heaton - Pleaded Guilty - Sentenced to Two Years Probation
On August 29, 2003, Heaton and Ney met with a "foreign businessman" in London; the man gave them each thousands of dollars in gambling chips to use in his private casino. Both Heaton and Ney kept their winnings. In exchange, the businessman sought an exemption for his business from laws prohibiting the sale of US airplane parts to Iran.
Heaton assisted the FBI in its investigation of Ney by wearing a wire to meeting with his employer and pasing documents from the office. He received a sentence two years of probation on September 6, 2007.
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8/28/07 Adam Kidan - Pleaded Guilty - Sentenced to 5 Years, 10 Months Permalink | Updated 5/04/07 Bob Ney - Pleaded Guilty - Sentenced to 30 Months Incarceration
On January 19, 2007, Ney was sentenced to 30 months and fined $6,000. He entered prison on March 1, 2007.
Follow Ney's involvement with the Abramoff scandal at TPMmuckraker, and find more on Ney at TPMmuckraker's Reference Section.
Permalink | Updated 5/04/07 Tony Rudy - Pleaded Guilty - Status Conference Scheduled for Summer 2008 Permalink | Updated 4/23/08 David Safavian - Convicted - Sentenced to 18 Months Permalink | Updated 6/18/08 Michael Scanlon - Pleaded Guilty - Status Conference Scheduled for June 13, 2008
Be sure to check back periodically as the investigations continue.
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Jack Abramoff was initially ordered to report to prison in June, but the judge granted a delay to allow Abramoff and business partner Adam Kidan more time to cooperate with investigators. He reported to prison on November 15th, 2006.
The first is focused on Abramoff's defrauding of investors in his purchase, along with Adam Kidan, of SunCruz, a fleet of casino boats. That investigation is being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Florida. Abramoff was indicted for his involvement in the SunCruz fraud case August 11, 2005 and pleaded guilty January 4, 2006 to two counts (Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Wire Fraud). He, along with Kidan, was sentenced March 29th to five years, 10 months in prison.
The other case relates to bribing public officials and defrauding his Indian clients - it's being led by Justice Department prosecutors and is proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Abramoff pleaded guilty January 3, 2006 to three counts (Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Mail Fraud, and Tax Evasion).
The charges to which Abramoff pleaded guilty carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines, but federal prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 9 1/2 - 11 years total if he continues to cooperate.
Abramoff's original status conference was set for March 24, 2006,then postponed to June 13, 2008 due to his cooperation with investigators. He is to be sentenced on September 4, 2008, though his further cooperation may prolong a final ruling.
John Albaugh, one-time chief of staff to former Rep. Ernest Istook (R-OK), pleaded guilty on June 2, 2008, to conspiracy to defraud the House in connection with the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.
Ed Buckham, one-time chief of staff to Tom DeLay and later Chairman of the lobbying firm Alexander Strategy Group, appeared in Tony Rudy's guilty plea as "Lobbyist B."
According to the plea, Buckham helped in routing $50,000 in payments to Rudy's wife's consulting firm - the money was to bribe Rudy for his help defeating a bill on behalf of Jack Abramoff's client.
The plea also states that Rudy worked to bring other congressional aides on a trip to the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in part to benefit Buckham. The CNMI was a client of Abramoff's, but he seems to have shared the CNMI with Buckham.
More on Buckham at TPMmuckraker's reference section.
Robert Coughlin, former chief of the criminal division at the Justice Department, pleaded guilty on April 22, 2008 for accepting gifts, including $6,180 worth of meals, concert tickets and luxury seats at sporting events, from lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associate, Kevin Ring. In exchange, Coughlin gave Ring inside information from the Department of Justice.
Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) is currently under investigation for his relationship with lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Rep. Doolittle's wife Julie Doolittle ran a consultancy firm called Sierra Dominion Financial Services. Between August 2002 and February 2004, Abramoff employed her on and off. Kevin Ring, a lobbyist for Abramoff and former Chief of Staff to Doolittle, acted as their intermediary. Over the same two-year period, Rep. Doolittle took action that benefited several of Abramoff’s Native American clients. The timing of Julie Doolittle’s appearances on Abramoff’s payroll coincides with actions taken by Rep. Doolittle in favor of Abramoff’s clients.
The files of Sierra Dominion were subpoenaed in 2004. On April 13, 2007 the FBI raided the Doolittle’s Virginia home, which was also Sierra Dominion's business office; Kevin Ring resigned his lobbyist position the same day.
For more information, see Doolittle's Reference Section on TPMmuckraker.
Italia Federici pleaded guilty in June 2007 to obstruction of the Senate investigation of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and tax evasion. She was sentenced on December 14, 2007. Federici avoided a prison sentence because of her cooperation with federal investigators. Federal prosecutors have not identified whom Federici is cooperating against but she is believed to be providing information about former Interior Secretary Gale Norton, as well as other Bush administration officials and members of Congress.
Representative Tom Feeney (R-FL) is named as lawmaker #3 in Mark Zachares' plea agreement. He is currently under investigation for his relationship with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and the FBI has requested information from him. Feeney has denied having any relationship with Abramoff.
J. Steven Griles is the highest-ranked administration official yet convicted in the Jack Abramoff scandal. The former Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Griles provided Abramoff with information about how to navigate the decisions-making processes within the Interior Department as well as how to win influence with members of Congress.
On February 26, 2007, Will Heaton pleaded guilty to corruption charges regarding his relationship with lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Heaton replaced Neil Volz as Chief of Staff for Representative Bob Ney (R-OH) in February of 2002. While in this position, Heaton received a stream of gifts and opportunities from Abramoff, including tickets to sporting events, meals and a golfing junket to Scotland. In exchange, Heaton helped Ney to arrange legislative advantages for Abramoff and his clients.
Adam Kidan was Jack Abramoff's partner in the SunCruz deal.
Kidan was indicted August 11th, 2005 and pleaded guilty December 15th, 2005 to two counts (Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Wire Fraud). He, along with Abramoff, was sentenced March 29th, 2006 to 5 years, 10 months in prison.
Kidan reported to prison on October 2nd, 2006.
For more on Kidan, see TPMmuckraker's Reference Section.
Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) admitted to accepting bribes from Jack Abramoff and others, pleading guilty on September 15th to one count of conspiracy and one count of making a false statement.
Tony Rudy pleaded guilty March 31st, 2006 to one count of Conspiracy. He was a former aide to Tom DeLay, a colleague of Jack Abramoff's and then a lobbyist at Alexander Strategy Group. He was named ("Staffer A") as a coconspirator in Abramoff's plea
The charge carries a maximum of five years, but because of Rudy's cooperation, prosecutors will recommend a sentencing range between two years and two years, six months. Rudy will pay at least $250,000 in restitution.
Rudy's status conference was initially set for July 11th, 2006, but was once postponed until May 2008, then again until September 18, 2008, so he can cooperate further with federal prosecutors.
For more on Rudy, see TPMmuckraker's Reference Section.
On June 20th, David Safavian was convicted on four of five counts. He faced a maximum sentence of 20 years, although federal sentencing guidelines limited a likely sentence to a max of 21 months. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison on October 27th. Safavian's lawyers have argued that some of the evidence used to convict him was impermissible, and that he deserves a new trial.
On October 5th, 2005, Safavian was indicted for Obstruction of Proceedings before an Agency and Making False Statements. He was accused of lying to ethics officials at the General Services Administration while he was chief of staff there, along with Senate investigators. He went on to be the government's top procurement officer in the Office of Management and Budget until he had to step down because of the investigation.
On October 27, 2006, Safavian was sentenced to to 18 months, but the sentence was suspended on June 17, as a judge ruled the Justice Dept. over-reached in its prosecution. Prosecutors may file new charges against Safavian.
For more on Safavian, see TPMmuckraker's Reference Section.
On November 21, 2005, Michael Scanlon, Jack Abramoff's partner in the Indian fraud and bribery schemes, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States.
Scanlon faces five years in prison, $250,000 in fines, and the restitution of $19.7 million in tribal funds. He is likely to recieve a reduced sentence due to his
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