Document details Volz’s cooperation in Abramoff case == Volz Was the Better Snitch

[L. Coyote]

Document details Volz’s cooperation in Abramoff case
By Susan Crabtree - August 31, 2007
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/document-details-volzs-cooperation-in-abramoff-case-2007-08-31.html


A new court document details the extent to which Neil Volz, who at one point was the top aide of former Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) before going to work for lobbyist Jack Abramoff, assisted federal authorities in building a case against the lawmaker that resulted in a guilty plea on charges of bribery and public corruption last year.

Volz preceded William Heaton, who also cooperated in the investigation and wore a wire in a meeting with the lawmaker, as Ney’s chief of staff while simultaneously serving as staff director of the House Administration Committee.

Volz was one of the first people to begin to explore cooperating with federal prosecutors in its investigation of the wide-ranging corruption scheme Abramoff and others perpetrated. According to a “substantial assistance memorandum” filed in the D.C. district court Wednesday, his cooperation was both “timely and substantial.”

In May of last year, Volz pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring with Jack Abramoff, Michael Scanlon, Tony Rudy and others to commit honest services fraud and to violate the federal one-year lobbying ban, For his help in bringing down Abramoff, Ney and others, prosecutors are recommending home confinement as punishment.

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 David Safavian,” according to the document.

In the memo, prosecutors said Volz ...........

============================
Volz Was the Better Snitch
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2007/08/volz-was-the-be.html

As cooperative defendants go, Will Heaton was good. But Neil Volz outshone him, prosecutors say.

Volz, who was former Ohio Rep. Bob Ney’s chief of staff before Heaton and who later joined Jack Abramoff’s lobbying team in 2002, is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 12 for plying his old boss and his staff with meals at swanky restaurants, sporting and concert tickets, and vacations in New Orleans and Lake St. George, N.Y. He has also admitted to violating the one-year ban against lobbying Ney and then concealing the relationship in public disclosure forms.

As with Heaton, the government has filed a memo in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asking Judge Ellen Huvelle for a soft sentence – home detention – on account of Volz’s cooperation in the corruption investigation. Huvelle showed Heaton mercy earlier this month, sentencing him to two years’ probation for helping Ney use his office to benefit Abramoff’s clients and accepting thousands of dollars worth of gambling chips on an Abramoff-sponsored trip.

The judge was impressed by Heaton's assistance: He wore a wire during one meeting with Ney, recorded several of his phone conversations with the congressman, and turned over incriminating documents. But the young chief of staff agreed to cooperate only after investigators confronted him with information they’d received from Volz about the trips Ney and Heaton took on Abramoff’s dime, according to the memo.

Volz also provided investigators with a fuller portrait of Ney’s malfeasance (and Abramoff's influence). Soon after he took over the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, Ney called Volz and said he had made it clear to the other members that his “highest priority was Indian housing.” He asked Volz to relay the message to Abramoff so that he could give Ney further instructions, according to the memo.

Later, once Ney realized Volz was cooperating in the investigation, .......

[L. Coyote]

1. Show Ney ex-aide leniency, prosecutors urged

Show Ney ex-aide leniency, prosecutors urge
Sept. 05, 2007 - Sabrina Eaton - Plain Dealer Bureau
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/118898197242920.xml&coll=2


Washington - Prosecutors say the one-time top aide to jailed former Congressman Bob Ney who helped convict his ex-boss for influence-peddling should be sentenced to house arrest in exchange for cooperating with their probe.

Federal court documents filed last week say that Neil Volz, 37, who served as Ney's chief of staff, "endured harsh criticism, including abusive phone calls" from Ney when his ex-boss suspected he was helping investigators.

The documents say Volz gave prosecutors recorded messages from Ney and also made them aware of Ney's efforts to help Jack Abramoff, a powerful lobbyist who employed Volz after he left Ney's staff.

[L. Coyote]

2. Volz draws probation in Ney-Abramoff scandal = Ex-aide to both men gets $2,000 fine

Volz draws probation in Ney-Abramoff scandal
Ex-aide to both men gets $2,000 fine
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:27 AM
By Jonathan Riskind
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/09/12/volz.html

WASHINGTON — His two bosses went to prison, but this morning former congressional staffer and lobbyist Neil Volz escaped jail time.

Volz, who worked for then-Rep. Bob Ney and for disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, got only a $2,000 fine, 100 hours of community service and two years of probation from U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle.

“Trust is needed for our government to operate properly, and I violated that trust,” Volz told the judge before sentencing.

He also admitted, “I am here today because I have broken that law.” Volz labeled himself “ ashamed and embarrassed” for his actions that “defrauded the citizens of this country.”

His voice started to crack as he apologized ...........

[L. Coyote]

3. Abramoff, Scanlon and key former aides continue to talk ** OH, HOW THEY SING!!!

Abramoff, Scanlon and key former aides continue to talk
By Susan Crabtree
September 04, 2007
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/abramoff-scanlon-and-key-former-aides-continue-to-talk-2007-09-04.html


With a busy autumn ahead for the Jack Abramoff investigation, prosecutors may be trying to send former aides — and even Abramoff himself — a message: Play nice with us and we’ll play nicer with you.

In August, Justice Department prosecutors investigating Abramoff and his wide-ranging corruption schemes reduced Will Heaton’s sentence to probation and recommended only home confinement for Neil Volz. The two former aides to Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) played key roles in sending their former boss to jail for 30 months.

Prosecutors are continuing to talk to Abramoff and Michael Scanlon, his close associate and a former top aide to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). In late August, the government postponed scheduled status hearings with Judge Ellen Huvelle for both men, giving them three more months to continue to spill information.

In late July, prosecutors also agreed to give Tony Rudy more time to cooperate, scheduling another status hearing for him Nov. 5.

Mark Zachares, who worked for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and then for Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has a status conference hearing ....................

[tanyev]

4. Oh, this is rich.

Later, once Ney realized Volz was cooperating in the investigation, he called and left several “abusive” messages on Volz’s answering machine, which Volz saved and turned over to investigators.

Idiot.

:rofl:

[L. Coyote]

5. As in richly deserving his prisoner number! = Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH, Prisoner No. 28882-016)

Their atrocities, and idiotic hubris, are beyond the pale.
After the 2004 election, in Ohio Ney, et.al., "put on" a real JIVE TURKEY show.

ACVR's OHIO Report, Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH, Prisoner No. 28882-016), & Jive F. Turkey, Sr.

OHIO ELECTION ACTIVITIES AND OBSERVATIONS
Report to the United States House of Representatives
Committee on House Administration, Representative Robert W. Ney, Chairman
Submitted by The American Center for Voting Rights, March 21, 2005
http://web.archive.org/web/20060209215847/www.ac4vr.com/reports/032405/OhioElectionReport.pdf

Contributors (aka Felonious Bob's Jive Turkey List):
Mark F. (Thor) Hearne, II, William M. Todd, Mary C. Mertz, James E. Burke, Patrick F. Fischer, R. Patrick DeWine, Charles H. Gerhardt, III, Drew M. Hicks, Douglas G. Haynam, Mark R. Weaver, Mark Landes, Jeffrey Stankunas, Jack Morrison, Jr., Thomas M. Saxer, Thomas R. Houlihan, Tim A. Greenwood, James P. Silk, Jr.

The American Center for Voting Rights, in association with various law firms and legal
counsel involved in the conduct of the Ohio presidential election, has assembled this report of
events that occurred during the 2004 election. This investigation found the following:

Third party organizations, especially ACT, ACORN, and NAACP engaged in a
coordinated “Get Out The Vote” effort. A significant component of this effort appears to be
registering individuals who would cast ballots for the candidate supported by these
organizations. This voter registration effort was not limited to registration of legal voters but,
criminal investigations and news reports suggest, that this voter registration effort also involved
the registration of thousands of fictional voters such as the, now infamous, Jive F. Turkey, Sr.,
Dick Tracy and Mary Poppins. Those individuals registering these fictional voters were
reportedly paid not just money to do so but were, in at least one instance, paid in crack cocaine.

The fraudulent voter registrations, however, appear to be only part of the effort of these
organizations to influence the election. There was an apparently coordinated national litigation
strategy to manipulate election laws in battleground states and, specifically, to eliminate the
provisions of election law that would prevent vote fraud. ....


From: FITRAKIS: Ohio, the DOJ scandal and "Thor" - the god of voter suppression
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1159656&mesg_id=1159656

[L. Coyote]

6. What has happened in the civil suit naming Volz?

From: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1669387&mesg_id=1673449

Abramoff colleague/co-defendant wants out of civil case
Submitted by crew on 27 September 2006 - 11:26am.


Lots of Jack Abramoff related court news today. The Hill reports that one of Abramoff's co-defendants wants to be removed from a civil suit brought by the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Texas:

A former colleague of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff has asked a federal court to dismiss civil charges filed by a Texas Indian tribe that both lobbyists represented, claiming lack of jurisdiction.

Jon van Horne, who worked alongside Abramoff at Greenberg Traurig, filed a motion Thursday to dismiss fraud and racketeering charges against him in U.S. District Court. The suit, brought by the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, names as defendants Abramoff, van Horne, former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed, former Rep. Tom DeLay’s (R-Texas) aide, Michael Scanlon, and former Rep. Bob Ney’s (R-Ohio) chief of staff, Neil Volz.

The Texas tribe alleges that Abramoff and his three fellow lobbyists worked with Reed to misrepresent ...............

============================
Perhaps this is a different attorney writing, as the style is slightly different; I'm not having to change brackets to parenthesis!
It also antedates the others.

COMMENT:

RICO + RICO + RICO = RICO
Submitted by Anonymous on 27 September 2006 - 2:55pm.
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/26669#comment-10

RICO + RICO + RICO = RICO.

The Tigua reservation and Alabama-Coushatta reservation were both created under the same Restoration Act of 1987. That Act, with the express agreement of these Tribes, prohibited gambling on the reservations. 25 U.S.C. 1300g-6, see also Ysleta Del Sur v. Texas, 36 F.3d 1325 (5th Cir. 1994). To add other complications, neither the Tigua nor AC were eligible to obtain a license to engage in gambling or gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulation Act (IGRA). The IGRA requires a State-Tribal agreement to engage in Class II gambling (cards, dice, etc.) and Class III gaming (slot machines, etc.). The IGRA reserved the power to the Department of Justice to prosecute violations of both the Federal and State laws where the respective reservation is located. 18 U.S.C. 1166(d).

It still remained undisclosed about the non-Indian gambling enterprise that actually designed, financed, supplied and developed the Speaking Rock Casino on the Tigua Reservation and managed and operated that illegal casino without State or Federal authority for approximately 8 years. The Class II Management Agreement between U.S., Tivolino, a/k/a Swiss Casinos of America, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Seven Circles Resorts, and the Ysleta Del Sur (Tigua) only recently appeared on the National Indian Gaming Commission web site.

The limitations placed upon gambling and gaming on the Tribal trust lands created under the Restoration Act of 1987 were clear and known to both the Tigua and the Alabama-Coushatta when they opened the casinos. The Texas Constitution and statutory laws prohibited gambling and gaming and made it a crime. Federal law made the State law the ultimate authority. The State of Texas officially reported the Tigua’s illegal gambling and gaming enterprise as early as 1996. The U.S. Department of Justice did nothing about this illegal gambling enterprise on the reservation trust property.

From 1998 on, the Tigua were making substantial campaign contributions to the Texas Democratic Party and to Democratic candidates. These contributions were made from the proceeds of the illegal Class III gaming enterprise. The Tigua enterprise also tried to bribe Texas officials by offering the State a percentage of the illegal gambling and gaming proceeds. This bribe, or offer if one is so inclined, was rejected by Texas State officials. Texas Governor, George W. Bush, Jr. thereafter ordered an investigation and study to be conducted into illegal Indian reservation gambling in Texas. The final investigation report found two Indian tribes to be illegally gambling in Texas, namely the Kickapoo and the Tigua. The Clinton administration did not take any corrective action against the illegal enterprises on the Indian reservations.

On September 27, 1999, Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, commenced an injunction action against the Ysleta del Sur (Tigua) in the U.S. District Court in El Paso Texas. One year later, on September 27, 2001, the Federal trial court found the Tigua to be operating a highly lucrative illegal gambling enterprise and ordered the casino closed by November 30, 2001. See: Texas v. Ysleta Del Sur, 220 F.Supp.3d 688 (WDT 2001). This Court Order and injunction against the Tigua again mentions the Alabama-Coushatta. The Tigua appealed and obtained a temporary stay of the trial court order and an extension of time to close the casino. The Tigua Speaking Rock Casino was finally closed on January 9, 2002 when the extension granted by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals expired. On January 17, 2002, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court order and injunction. See: Texas v. Ysleta Del Sur, Case No. 01-1671. This was appealed to the Supreme Court where certiorari was denied on October 7, 2002. See: Ysleta Del Sur v. Texas, Case No. 01-51129. The matter regarding the Tigua Class II and Class III Speaking Rock Casino being an illegal enterprise within the meaning of RICO was and is res judicata.

Abramoff’s coconspirator, Neil Volz, who is also a defendant in the AC RICO case, plead guilty to the entire criminal information filed against him on May 8, 2006. Mr. Volz plead guilty to the fact that the Tigua (“Texas Tribe #1) casino was an illegal gambling and gaming enterprise and that he and others in the Abramoff team were pursuing a course of actions to influence public official to legitimize and legalize the illegal gambling and gaming enterprise. The Abramoff team solicited and entered into a contract agreement (Operation Open Door) with the Tigua in mid-February, 2002. The Abramoff team were fully aware that the casinos on the Tigua and Alabama-Coushatta reservations were illegal. These two illegal casino enterprises offered and Scanlon and Abramoff received and accepted the illegal proceeds to give effect to the corrupt influence and bribery scheme. This too is properly considered as res judicata. Neil Volz was not charged with defrauding the Tigua. He was charge with bribery and corruptly influencing public officials to reopen the illegal enterprises.

Ohio Representative, Robert Ney also plead guilty to numerous charges arising out of the Abramoff scandal. Mr. Ney was not criminally charged with defrauding the Tigua (Texas Tribe #1) or the Alabama-Coushatta (Texas Tribe #2). Mr. Ney was charged with accepting bribes to reopen these two illegal casinos.

The Alabama-Coushatta were emboldened by the highly lucrative and illegal Tigua Speaking Rock Casino enterprise. In spite of the known fact that the U.S. District Court had already ordered the Speaking Rock Casino to be closed and that the case was on appeal, on November 23, 2001, the Alabama-Coushatta defiantly opened their own illegal Class III casino. On December 11, 2001, four U.S. Congressmen requested a complete investigation into the Alabama-Coushatta casino enterprise, including the financial backers and gambling equipment vendors. Neither the DOJ nor the Department of Interior took any corrective action. Upon another suit commenced by the State of Texas, Attorney General, John Cornyn, the illegal Alabama-Coushatta casino was finally closed on July 24, 2002 by Order of the U.S. District Court. The matter regarding the Alabama-Coushatta Class III Casino being an illegal enterprise within the meaning of RICO was and probably still is res judicata.

The Alabama-Coushatta’s civil RICO case against their former agents, Jack Abramoff, Michael Scanlons, Neil Volz, etc., would appear to be quite the novelty. Ralph Reed, another RICO defendant, was never an agent of the Tigua or Alabama-Coushatta. Ralph Reed’s representative in Georgia has already stated to the press that the Alabama-Coushatta RICO suit was “frivolous” upon grounds that the Alabama-Coushatta were operating an illegal casino enterprise. There are many possible defects in the Alabama-Coushatta RICO suit that could result in dismissal.

It will probably be difficult to maintain a RICO claim if the plaintiff in the case was engaged in an unlawful enterprise and then used the illegal proceeds of that illegal activity to retain agents to assist them to bribe and corruptly influence public officials to legalize their known illegal enterprise. This is particularly true when the plaintiff’s illegal enterprise falls squarely within the RICO statutes and predicate activities too. 18 U.S.C. 1961; 18 U.S.C. 1955; 18 U.S.C. 1166. The pot and the kettle, the pot and thre frying pan are black here and all were cooking the same vile brew.

The Alabama-Coushatta are claiming treble damages to their illegal gambling and gaming enterprise caused by their own hired agents. The damages are claimed to have arisen from the time that the Federal court closed their illegal enterprise on July 24, 2002 to the present. This RICO case may end in a reported case on a dismissal based upon the “Clean Hands Doctrine.” Does anyone have a bar of hotel room soap from the luxurious St. Andrews Golf Course Resort to send to the Alabama-Coushatta enterprise as a conciliation prize?

In addition, the Alabama-Coushatta are claiming that some of the defendants were illegally lobbying in Texas against their prohibited gambling and gaming enterprise while the Alabama-Coushatta and Tigua were also trying to obtain State legislation in their favor through other lobbyists. The RICO complaint does not disclose that some of their pro-gambling lobbyists were also engaged in illegal lobbying in Texas. It also does not disclose that Texas school funds and Texas taxpayer money were used to further their casino enterprises and lobbying efforts. NEXT contestant please- and bring your own chips.

This is Banana Republic and Vegas kind of stuff. RICO plus RICO plus RICO still equals RICO. If nothing else, this case may disclose some of the fine people that have taken up public offices on and off the reservation as well as some of the intricacies of real life backroom dealings that scandalized and dishonored entire Nations.

[L. Coyote]

7. Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH, inmate number 28882-016) sentenced to thirty months in prison on Jan. 19, 2007.

From: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1159656&mesg_id=1169123

Former Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH, inmate number 28882-016) resigned Nov. 3, 2006. Ney worked on election reform and, as Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, oversaw operations in the Capitol complex. On Sept.13, 2006, Ney admitted wrongdoing in the Jack Abramoff scandal, pleading guilty to corruption charges; to accepting gifts, vacation trips, meals, sports tickets, campaign contributions, hosted campaign fundraisers and thousands of dollars in gambling chips in exchange for legislative favors. Ney also pleaded guilty to conspiring to aid staffer Neil Volz violate a "revolving door" ban on lobbying. Ney was sentenced to thirty months in prison on Jan. 19, 2007.


The proffer for the plea agreement, which Ney signed, states (http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bob_Ney ):

"Beginning in or about 2000 and continuing through April 2004, Ney and his coconspirators, using mail and interstate wire communications, engaged in
a conspiracy to deprive the public of the honest services of Ney and members of his staff, to commit false statements, and to aid and abet Volz's violation of his one-year lobbying ban. That is, Ney and members of his staff corruptly solicited and accepted a stream of things of value from Abramoff, Scanlon, Volz, Rudy, and other lobbyists working for Abramoff... and the Foreign Businessman with the intent to be influenced and induced to take a series of official actions and to agree to perform a series of official actions."

The specific charges Ney pleaded guilty to are:

1. One count of conspiracy to violate the following federal laws in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371:
1. honest services wire and mail fraud, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 1341, 1343 and 1346,
2. making false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and
3. post-employment restrictions for former Congressional staff members, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 207(e).
2. One count of making false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. <8>

Indian Gambling Corruption: Ney accepted bribes to further the interests of American Indian tribes. Tigua representatives stated Ney was working to add language to reopen their casino in an election reform bill. Abramoff and the tribe became Ney's biggest donors, contributing $47,500.

House leaders suspended a contract Ney awarded to MobileAccess to install wireless. Prosecutors claimed Ney awarded the contract in exchange for gifts from Abramoff, who was being paid $250,000.

[L. Coyote]

8. Abramoff's aide becames Rove executive assistant, and then writes "to help us"

From http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x523978

Waxman noted for example that J. Scott Jennings, the White House deputy director of political affairs, used a "gwb43.com" e-mail account last August to discuss the replacement of the U.S. attorney for Arkansas, Bud Cummins, according to e-mails released to Congress by the White House.

Barry Jackson, a deputy to Rove, in 2003 used a "georgewbush.com" e-mail account to consult with Neil G. Volz, then an aide to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, about nominating one of Abramoff's Indian tribe clients for a Medal of Freedom, according to a copy of an e-mail. Abramoff is now serving a prison sentence for bank fraud, and Volz plead guilty to conspiracy charges last year.

Susan B. Ralston, while she was executive assistant to Rove, similarly used "georgewbush.com" and "rnchq.org" e-mail accounts to confer in 2001 and 2003 with Abramoff, her former boss, about matters of interest to Abramoff's clients.

In a related e-mail, an Abramoff aide said Ralston had warned that "it is better to not put this stuff in writing in . . . email system because it might actually limit what they can do to help us, especially since there could be lawsuits, etc."

...much more....

[L. Coyote]

9. UpInArms Jun-09-07 07:31 AM == The House That Jack Built

UpInArms Jun-09-07 07:31 AM == The House That Jack Built
or There Was A Crooked Man Who Walked a Crooked Mile
(April 30, 2007) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1073162

When we were young, we learned little rhymes that seemed to mean nothing. It was during that period of time that we also learned that our country meant everything. The United States was a beacon of freedom and justice in a world that needed a leader. The USofA was everything that the world wanted, people wanted to live here, work here, raise their children here and make their fortunes here.

Jack Abramoff made a fortune in this country and it appears that much of Mr. Abramoff’s money was not very legitimate. Jack was born on February 28, 1958, was a political lobbyist, a Republican political activist and a central figure in a series of high-profile political scandals. Jack founded, with Tom DeLay, the K Street Project and had a group of followers that were called “Team Abramoff.”

The House Committee on Governmental Reform released a report on September 29, 2006, detailing contacts between the White House and Jack Abramoff and his lobbyists, as well as exchanges with Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed.

This report also named Susan Ralston, Special Assistant to Karl Rove, as having requested and received events tickets from Abramoff on several occasions. She resigned on October 6, 2006.

In order to understand, we have to start with one of Jack Abramoff’s business associates, Michael Scanlon. On November 21, 2005, in Federal Court, Mr. Scanlon pleaded guilty to conspiring to corrupt public officials and defraud clients; clearing the way for his cooperation in an investigation of Jack Abramoff. Also, under the plea agreement, Scanlon was to repay $19.6 million to his former Indian tribe lobbying clients.

Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty on January 3, 2006, in a Washington, D.C. Federal Court to three criminal felony counts related to the defrauding of American Indian tribes and corruption of public officials. The next day, January 4, 2006, he pleaded guilty to two additional criminal felony counts in a separate Federal Court in Miami, related to his fraudulent dealings with SunCruz Casinos.

On March 29, 2006, Abramoff was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $21 million to his former Indian tribe lobbying clients.

On March 31, 2006, Team Abramoff lobbyist and Tom DeLay staffer, Tony Rudy pleaded guilty to conspiracy related to bribery involving Ohio Congressman Bob Ney and Texas Congressman Tom DeLay, who was at that time the Republican House Majority Speaker.

Four days later, on April 4, 2006, Tom DeLay announced his resignation from Congress.

Jack’s family ties extended to a few really shady characters. On May 1, 2006, Jack’s partner and co-owner of the SunCruz Casinos, Adam Kidan told authorities that John Gurino killed Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis (the former SunCruz owner who Jack and Adam still owed $23 million). The John Gotti mob-connected Gurino was said to have been shot to death by a business partner. Gurino wasn't part of the investigation before Kidan gave authorities the name.

By May 8, 2006, Ney's former Chief of Staff, Neil Volz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, including wire fraud and violating House rules, It appears that he was conspiring to corruptly influence Ney’s official actions by showering him with gifts and trips.

One of the trips that really caught the attention of prosecutors was in the summer of 2002. Abramoff arranged and paid for a golfing trip to Scotland for Ney; David H. Safavian, then chief of staff at the General Services Administration; and former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed. Mr. Ney said that he had gone so that he could observe the Scottish parliament in action. It’s a shame he did not check to see if they were in session, as the Scottish parliament was taking a break while he was there.

A federal jury found former White House aide David H. Safavian guilty on June 20, 2006, of lying and obstructing justice, making him the highest-ranking government official to be convicted in the ever-expanding scandal involving convicted former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Mr. Safavian was convicted of covering up his many efforts to assist Abramoff in acquiring two properties controlled by the GSA, and also of concealing facts about that lavish Scottish weeklong golfing trip.

Roger Stillwell, who worked for the Office of Insular Affairs, part of the US Department of Interior, was the desk officer in charge of the Northern Mariana Islands. Stillwell was charged with "falsely certifying that he did not receive reportable gifts" from Jack Abramoff and on August 11, 2006, pled guilty to a misdemeanor charges.

After proclaiming his innocence for months, on September 22, 2006, Bob Ney pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy and making false statements. In his appearance before Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, he calmly acknowledged his guilt as Huvelle read a long list of favors Ney and Abramoff had done for each other. "That's accurate, Your Honor," Ney repeated again and again.

One could hope that with the New Year of 2007 there would be no more to this saga, but alas, it continues.

On February 26, 2007, William Heaton, the former Chief of Staff to Ohio Congressman Bob Ney, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, admitting to "conspiring with Ney, Abramoff and others to accept pricey vacations, meals, drinks, golf outings, tickets to entertainment events and contributions to Ney's campaign in exchange for actions by the congressman that benefitted Abramoff's clients," none of whom lived in Ohio, the congressman's state.

On March 23, 2007, J. Steven Griles, formerly the interior department's number two official, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the Senate investigation of the Abramoff scandal, the top Bush administration official to do so. Griles was also asked to testify before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in the 2005 investigation of the Abramoff scandal. Abramoff's private emails indicated that Griles had pledged to use his authority to block a casino which Abramoff was lobbying against.

It also appears that Griles was involved with donations made to Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, run by his friend Italia Federici.

The latest domino in this long chain was Mark Zachares. He is a former Congressional aide to Alaska Representative Don Young and a lobbyist who, on April 24, 2007, pleaded guilty to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from lobbyist Jack Abramoff in return for using his position in Congress to advance Abramoff's interests.

The walls of this house have crumbled beneath the weight of corruption and it appears that we may not even be seeing light at the end of the tunnel. How many more government officials, elected or appointed, have been putting their own criminal self-enrichment before the best interests of their country and their constituents?

[L. Coyote]

10. David H. Safavian, White House Official, Arrested in Abramoff Corruption Probe

David H. Safavian, White House Official, Arrested in Abramoff Corruption Probe

Bush Official Arrested in Corruption Probe
By R. Jeffrey Smith and Susan Schmidt
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, September 20, 2005; Page A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/19/AR2005091901859.html


The Bush administration's top federal procurement official resigned Friday and was arrested yesterday, accused of lying and obstructing a criminal investigation into Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff ... the first criminal complaint filed against a government official in the ongoing corruption probe related to Abramoff ...

Safavian, 38, a White House procurement official involved until last week in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, made repeated false statements to government officials and investigators about a golf trip with Abramoff to Scotland in 2002.

Until his resignation on the day the criminal complaint against him was signed, Safavian was the top administrator at the federal procurement office in the White House Office of Management and Budget, where he set purchasing policy for the entire government.

Accompanying Safavian and Abramoff on the 2002 trip to Scotland ... Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Administration Committee, lobbyist and former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and Neil Volz, a lobbyist with Abramoff at the Washington office of Greenburg Traurig.

Like Abramoff, Safavian is a veteran Washington player. He is a former lobbying partner of anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and previously worked with Abramoff at another firm.

=================================
David Safavian - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Safavian

........a former chief of staff of the United States General Services Administration (GSA) and convicted criminal ......from Detroit, Michigan
.... In Michigan, he served as an aide to Congressmen Robert William Davis (R-MI) and Bill Schuette (R-MI)...

... a longtime friend of lobbyist Jack Abramoff. In the mid-1990s, the two worked at the Washington-based lobbying firm of Preston Gates & Ellis. There they brought in millions to the firm while working on the Mississippi Choctaw tribal account. ...

In 1997, Safavian and Grover Norquist founded a lobbying firm, the Merritt Group, which was renamed Janus-Merritt Strategies (and is sometimes referred to as "Janus Merritt" or simply "Janus"). The tenor of the firm was fiercely ideological. .........

On November 4th, 2003, President George W. Bush announced Safavian's nomination to be the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President.<5>, where he set purchasing policy for the entire government.

On June 20, 2006, Safavian was found guilty by a jury in federal court on four of five felony charges.