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Don Young Aide The Latest To Be Indicted In Abramoff Scam
Yet another indictment in the Jack Abramoff case...
The Justice Department has announced that Fraser Verrusio, the other Hill staffer who went on that 2003 Team-Abramoff-funded trip to the World Series -- including a trip to a strip club and a chauffeur-driven limousine -- has been charged with accepting an illegal gift, and failing to report it on his financial disclosure form.
Last November, Trevor Blackann, an aide to Sen. Kit Bond, pleaded guilty to failing to report that same trip.
Verusio was at the time a policy director on the House Transportation committee. According to the indictment, he accepted the trip in exchange for inserting into the Federal Highway bill amendments favorable to an equipment rental company, which had hired Abramoff's firm to lobby for it.
Todd Boulanger and James Hirni, two members of Abramoff's team, have already pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme.
The Transportation committee was at the time chaired by Alaska GOPer Don Young. So today's news may bring federal prosecutors closer to Young himself, whose ties to Abramoff and his firm have been amply documented.
We're guessing it won't be long before prosecutors announce a plea deal with Verrusio, in which he agrees to cooperate fully. Hope those strippers were worth it.
Josh
Zachary
I don't understand. What does this have to do with Franken?
March 6, 2009 3:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Since he is charged in an INDICTMENT as opposed to a INFORMATION, I would guess that a plea deal is not in the works
March 6, 2009 4:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
For any attorneys out there...
I've read and heard about many criminal cases involving day to day folks and 99% of them are tried within a year or 18 months at the longest.
It seems, however that charges and trial for the folks actually MAKING the laws (and their associates) takes three, four, five years to be brought... and prosecutions take much longer.
Could someone with knowledge please explain?
March 6, 2009 5:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've been a democrat all my life, but I know Fraser. He is a nice person and I have a hard time believing that he is caught up in this. If he made a mistake, he'll do what he needs to do to remedy it. Sadly, it seems like another nice person caught up in something bigger than him.
March 7, 2009 1:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Daily Kos: The Abramoff Scandal is Expanding: More GOP woes for ... The Abramoff Scandal is Expanding: More GOP woes for 2009... by dengre. Thu Jan 01, 2009 at 09:29:18 PM PST. For many the Jack Abramoff scandal is old news, ...
www.dailykos.com/story/2009/1/2/0828/92837/28/679346 - 406k - Cached - Similar pages______________________________
PLEASE read this diary. It is AMAZING in its wealth of research and info on UPDATES re: Abramoff and his ilk.
BTW, the article posits that the s-l-o-w pace of these prosecutions and deals was on PURPOSE,to avoid Bush pardons.
They are deliberately working their way up the food chain.And,because of an Abramoff mole in DOJ, some of the prosecution had to be move to OUTSIDE of DC!
One helluva piece!
March 7, 2009 11:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
If you thought the financial schemes were complicated welcome to the trials. I confess to being overwhelmed. Makes you miss the days of frontier justice.
March 7, 2009 6:08 PM | Reply | Permalink