Ney Aide Was Cooperator Extraordinaire

Which former aide to Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) was the more formidable cooperator?

Will Heaton was sentenced to just two years probation as a reward for the effort (e.g. wearing a wire, taking documents) the young chief of staff put into nailing his boss over to the feds. Ney eventually pled guilty to corruption charges and was sentenced to thirty months in prison.

But Neil Volz, Heaton’s predecessor who left to work for Jack Abramoff, might have the greater claim. Despite the fact that Volz played both sides of the fence (essentially working for Abramoff when he was still Ney’s aide and then moving over to help Abramoff bribe his former boss and other pols), prosecutors are recommending that he also receive no jail time, but instead get house arrest. That’s because, as The Hill reports, Volz has been pulling overtime as a cooperator, not only dishing information on Ney, but also serving as a sort of consultant for investigators on how Capitol Hill works:

In February 2006, he began providing “unlimited cooperation in dozens of debriefings, and his cooperation was substantial, especially in connection with the investigation and prosecutions of Ney, Heaton and [General Services Administration chief of staff] David Safavian,” according to the document.

In the memo, prosecutors said Volz “has spent and continues to spend countless hours providing information about other matters under investigation by the Department of Justice, as well as insight into how staff members and lobbyists conduct business before Congress and the Executive Branch.”

They also said that Volz’s cooperation is ongoing, and could involve other separate DoJ investigations. His cooperation could help prosecutors snare other lawmakers under FBI investigation and those who prosecutors believe may be implicated in the Abramoff bribery scandal.