Aide: Ney Loved the Smell of Bud Light in the Morning

From The Plain Dealer:

Attorneys for former Ohio GOP Rep. Bob Ney today submitted 95 pages of letters from Ney’s friends, family, and former staffers urging leniency for the disgraced congressman and citing the role of alcohol in his fall.

Ney’s lawyer, Mark Tuohey, submitted the letters to make the case that Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle should send Ney to a residential drug abuse treatment program when she sentences him tomorrow on charges of conspiracy and making false statements.

“Bob was a functioning alcoholic who could rarely make it through the day without drinking and would often begin drinking beers as early as 7:30 a.m.,” said a letter from his former staffer and campaign manager Matthew Parker.