For a felon, former lobbyist Jack Abramoff has it pretty good: a book deal, a WND column, regular appearances on cable news and a spot judging TPM’s Golden Dukes. But it turns out the path to prosperity is a lot of tougher for the lower-ranking individuals caught up in the scandal defined by Abramoff’s name.
Take Neil Volz. He was chief-of-staff to former Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) and went to work with Abramoff at Greenburg Traurig LLP in 2002. He reached a plea deal with the Justice Department and pleaded guilty in 2006 and testified against fellow Abramoff associate Kevin Ring and former Bush administration official David Safavian.
Volz is now living in Florida, working as a janitor, and just self-published a book titled “Into the Sun” about his experience in Washington.
“Moving the Florida and working as a janitor were both very helpful to me in terms of trying to dig in and put out a product I could be proud of,” Volz told TPM in a phone interview Wednesday.
Having been a program manager at a homeless shelter, Volz moved down to Florida, where he didn’t know anybody. He said he followed the guidance the program he worked with gave to homeless individuals.
“We had this attitude, you’ve got to get a job and worry about your career later,” Volz said. “When I moved down here, I told myself, okay why don’t you just follow the same instructions.”
Volz said he was relatively quickly able to get two job offers: one from a hotel and another for a retail place on the beach. One of them knew about Volz’s past because of a question on their application, the other didn’t ask. He took the retail job, met his fiance, took a non-profit job and started helping a friend with a business he ran cleaning pools and restaurants. When the friend moved to South Carolina, Volz took over some of his accounts.
“It really was right when I was getting into my flow with the book and it worked out great. I could clean at night, write during the day and any sort of barriers or hang ups or questions that I would have when I was writing — ironically, sweeping the floor or pushing the mop was really helpful in terms of being introspective,” Volz said. “I just stuck with it thinking that you know when the book is out, I’ll transition to whatever is next. That’s sort of where I’m at in my life now.”
Volz says his book takes a different approach than Abramoff’s. “This is not your typical Washington book, it’s not about partisan gains, it’s about relationships,” Volz said.
“I definitely think I come from the perspective that the lessons I learned were about how I failed in my relationships and I think any lessons that pertain to our government come from the framework that I think the relationship between the voters and our elected officials is broken,” Volz said.
“I was greedy, selfish and power-hungry, but my cardinal sin was that I grew too comfortable with lying to people. I think if you peel back all the different layers of this scandal to its core, you’ll find a culture of dishonesty rather than a myriad of different statutes that were danced around or broken. It gets complicated when you start talking about these different statutes and that’s how if should be,” Volz said.
“I want to be honest to you, I want to be honest to anybody who is interested in talked to me about it, so I can’t say that, you know, changing the constitution is a good idea when the Abramoff scandal could have been stopped if Jack Abramoff, Neil Volz, Bob Ney and others simply behaved differently,” Volz said. “For me, that’s a bit of a leap.”
Instead of “pounding our head on the wall for the next 20 years trying to cut off the money supply in a Constitutional way,” Volz believes it would be more effective to educate people who have less of a voice about how to organize themselves.
“I get it, a lot of the time it’s about do you support this, don’t you support this. If people want to pass term limits, cool. But I don’t necessarily see that as the solution,” Volz said.
“I think we need to focus more on changing the culture than changing the law with the Constitution,” Volz told TPM. “Buying access is a lynchpin of our system. I’m not advocating getting rid of that, I’m not suggesting that it’s fair, I’m not being a cheerleader for it, but I do think it’s important for the public to understand how that works. Yet we live in a political culture where you couldn’t find a member of Congress to admit the obvious.”
“Imagine a congressman going to a town hall meeting and admitting that for $5,000 somebody could have dinner with him, but anybody who really studies the system know that’s exactly how it works,” Volz said. “So for me, it’s more about the process and culture involved — let’s talk about that. What’s the harm in having that conversation as opposed to only having a conversation that’s built around the sensational stories or people who fail like me and then saying that’s how things really work.”
“I have a hard time with the concept of ‘everybody was doing it.’ I can’t tell you in good faith ‘everybody was doing it and I was just a victim of my environment.’ That’s just not what happened, you know? And yet a lot of people would enjoy hearing me say that, and it would be a way for me, you know — I’m going to spend the rest of my life getting my integrity back — and that would be a shortcut. But that isn’t the way it happened as I remember,” Volz said.
That approach certainly puts him at odds with Abramoff, who Volz said he reached out to after Abramoff’s book came out.
“I respect Jack’s point of view and like that he’s out there driving this debate, but we do have differences. It comes from our different experiences too. I’ve been in the district, the congressman’s district day-after-day-after-day — on the campaign trail, during August recess — and I know what it’s like to go to a high school football team’s championship award dinner and to watch the congressman get a free sweatshirt. And the idea somehow that’s the same thing as giving somebody a free trip to Scotland isn’t even worth talking about,” Volz said.
“So I think Jack has staked out a position that allows him to drive this debate, and for me, I’m taking it from a different perspective,” Volz said. “My hope is that telling what happened can help people learn and that learning can help people be different citizens.”
“The life I’m leading now is built upon the fundamental premise that what I did was wrong and illegal,” Volz said.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
Don't these people watch Lifetime Channel movies? Even Alyssa Milano knows you should stash some money away before the trial.
@Mickey Bitsko Laughs at the idea of Alyssa Milano knowing ANYTHING outside 'Who's the Boss?' reruns.
It's not about relationships, unless your life is based on "wash my hand and I'll wash yours." It's about ethics, which none of these guys have.
The Abramoff redemption tour is disgusting. TPM's part of this is one of their weaker moments. Abramoff should be shunned from society, not applauded. We should be rooting out the vermin, not placing them on a pedestal.
Americans love stories of redemption and second chances. Volz seems more redeemed than Abramoff. Now if these same non-heroes will come forward to explain Grover Norquist's role in their scheme and name others as well, I will applaud them.
What I've heard from Abramoff is still dodging and self-justification. Sort of like "I did bad things, well, not that bit you just asked about, and that deal actually wasn't all that bad, blah blah blah". He seems not to have changed at all and is just using his infamy as a new way to make money. I appreciate Volz admitting that not everybody did it.
I guess it's no big surprise that the guy saying something useful is of course not the one being plastered all over your TV.
It is refreshing to hear an attitude like this. No one these days admits any culpability. I really like this guys approach at this point in his life. we could all learn from him.
A party to this corporatist capitalism that is destroying whatever threads of democracy we may have is the publishing world. Why on earth do all these failed politicians and lobbyists (often one & the same) get publishing contracts? frankly, isn't it just another way for republicans to launder money among themselves without contributing to the common good.
Abramoff is writing a column for WND....yea, he's really changed....NOT.
As soon as all these gigs run out, that's when I'd keep a better eye on this character. He's a confidence man, and right now all he's doing is rebuilding his scam mentality.
Holy Shit! The Vag Doc got the coveted Kelly Clarkson endorsement! Nothing can stop him now!
fargo116 Well, that will change my mind...I was just waiting for someone of her caliber to tell me who to vote for.
I know. If American Idol can pick America's next singing sensation, that's good enough to pick the next leader of the free world, even if that leader needs a suck down an entire bottle of Geritol just to turn over the pillow.
Who can forget Clarkson immortal version of.....what was that song again?cognachas4paws
fargo116cognachas4paws I believe it's called Mindless Corporate Pop Song Template #12.
fargo116 Hey, if this and the racism and taking away rights aren't enough to seal the deal, then I'm afraid Ron Paul is doomed.
Neil Volz is a creepy little snake who has been in my database for some time and while I think Jack Abramoff should be making pizzas for the rest of his life, I AM gratified to see that he is reduced to sweeping up puke in the hallway.
#52 NEIL VOLZ
FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO GOP CENSORED #51 (FORMER REP. BOB NEY (OH))
If you're ever wondering why GOP CENSORED #51 (EX-REP. BOB NEY) confessed and got 30 months in the slammer, look no farther than THIS little snake.
Volz worked for Ney for six years before he went to work for GOP CENSORED #47 (JACK ABRAMOFF) at Greenberg Traurig LLP. He was supposed to not do any lobbying of congress for one year because of his congressional employment. But Volz threw that out the window and started lobbying the hell out of Congress, figuring that hey, the GOP CENSOREDS are in charge and they won't investigate ME. He forgot that there were still some career people in the FBI and some of them were not GOP CENSOREDS amd had senses of shame and pride.
Not only does Volz get caught attempting to bribe public officials but also he is looking at a five-year prison sentence and $250,000 fine to boot. Now, approached by the feds, most of us would have taken a bullet for our beliefs and not said a thing, but remember Volz is a GOP CENSORED. He knows where the bodies in Ney's career are buried. He starts singing like a canary, Ney gets convicted and Volz gets a $2,000 fine and two years probation.
TPM: "For a felon, former lobbyist Jack Abramoff has it pretty good: ... a WND column ... and a spot judging TPM’s Golden Dukes."
Okay, TPM. I hung in with you when you decided to give a judging spot to a convicted gov't fraudster, after all, a similar complaint could be brought against John Dean, who has since become an astute and insightful political analyst.
But a World Nut Daily columnist? I believe in giving felons a second chance, but I have to draw the line somewhere, and I cannot follow you into the land of WND.
.
MuParadigm I think that was meant to be a joke.
Neil Volz is examining his life, associates and actions. That is indeed what is missing in this egocentric character and valuesless political culture. There are honest politicians but their work and commitments are marginialized and ridiculed by the big mouths and pockets of the others. If his book discusses the personal issues of how the interpersonal relationships between congressional colleagues, aides and lobbyists becomes a private club that allows crooked elected officials to "pass as hard workers for the citizenry back home" and dominate the political culture of the Capitol.
My question to Volz would be: How could you not have seen & sensed the democratic distortions and money-driven contortions of politics while you were participating as a foot soldier in the arena? Perhaps this is the education he talks about: how is a sensitivity to improper self-grandizement in public service nurtured so that the allure of standing close to power is not blinding to wrongdoing.
I have always wondered how any honest, well-meaning soul could tolerate walking the halls with the fake gentlemanly/womanly pomposity of so many of our elected officials.
usonianfiles
Very few people have the insight & strength to act counter their environmental context. Certainly, the immaturity that characterizes GOP operatives would prevent it.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/situations-matter-...
I applaud & admire people who turn from The Dark Side, and seek to remedy the harm. It deepens them, and us, when they share what they learned from public humiliation.
I would disagree that Constitutional remedies are unnecessay. BOTH law and personal integrity are necessary to thwart corruption in public service. Accountability and public censure are necessary to keep the sociopathic vultures at bay.
usonianfiles The way I read the article was that Volz is admitting that he *did* see and sense the democratic distortions and money-driven contortions of politics while he was participating as a foot soldier in the arena, and that the fact he participated anyway was both a moral and legal transgression.
Well I can't paste what he said and I'm not going to re-write it but I laud his new-found awareness if its genuine, but I also have a problem with the fact that at one point he says the culture accepts a corrupt system and then suddenly says, "I'm not advocating getting rid of it." and then uses the fact that $5,000 will buy face time with a senator.
He doesn't see how that corrupts the ideal of democracy, he does acknowledge that it exists and he's correct that no one in power is willing to talk about it -- the reasons are obvious. Which is why a movement of the people, from the people needs to unite to unscrew the lid on corruption and elitist control which frankly, has been in place since the inception of this country.
its people like him who think that control by money and privilege is ok. I don't know how people can so casually reference that and then at the same lament our about how the people don't have proper access or representation.
Its like acknowledging that the battery is dead in your car but refusing to allow anyone to change it because once you have the car running you'll have to go to work. So lets just engage in crazy logic and play along and agree that the battery is fine, lets just get in the car and see if it starts again by magical thinking powers. Because that's easier for us as well to just hang around and lament about not having a way to get to work.
Comments have been disabled on the site that points out a Ron Paul supporter, a Pastor, has called for the death of homosexuals. Would that be because Islam also calls for the death of homosexuals? It is clear that although many on the Left have a hostile approach to religion that does not seem to include Islam, the most brutal and oppressive on earth. Why is that?
howienica Yes, Howie. That's right. You've figured it out. The Ron Paul threads are closed to comments because of Islam.
I am amazed to find you here being able to comment, Squiddy. Why, Uncle Remus screamed at me yesterday that he was going to namejack SO many people on ALL threads at TPM that they would have no choice but to close down comments everywhere because they were just not smart enough to stop him.
Flying Squidhowienica
fargo116howienica And his friend THEREALMACTOS was going to get his ex-employee aunt to ban me.
I forgot about that one....LOL Flying Squid howienica
howienica
And posters on this site have and will still condemn those practices as well. What makes you think we'd give Islam a pass. Many here will gladly point out the idiocies from any religion.
pshipkeyhowienica And I don't think that Islam is anywhere near the most brutal and oppressive religion. If you're going to discount religions which no longer exist like ones that require regular human sacrifice, I would point to North Korea's Juche religion which is about as brutal and oppressive as you can get.
howienica Good lord, what are you drinking this early in the morning, better back off son, its ruining your eyesight.
I just wish Kramer the Pimp would answer the question: "Why are you so upset over the Fast & Furious scanndal, since it put more guns into people's hands?" It's been three days now. ane he hasn't answered.
KateNHhowienica
howienica
Honest to God, are you actually suggesting that the homicidal hatred of one religion exempts the homicidal hatred of another? A pox on homicidal hypocrites of all stripes.
Our political system is like a factory that makes sausage. It is designed to allow all kinds of crap into the process and the finished product is barely edible. But that is how it is designed - it is hard to blame individual factory workers for the flaws of the design.
A gas-guzzling 1969 Camaro is never going to give you the fuel economy of a Prius. It is just the way it was designed. To improve your gas mileage, you need to upgrade the system you use.
Solution: figure out what product you want (Better sausage? improved mileage?) and then design the political machine to output that product. And in my view that means taking private money out of politics. <--tip of the iceberg...
barfood I kinda like my car battery analogy because we can't forget that the reason the system stays this way is because we're all complicit in supporting it. To make change in a system/political culture so deeply entrenched would really require some sacrifice from all of us and the willingness to challenge the way of life we accept as not just a privilege or a right, but as a necessity and it just ain't true.
Until we are willing to take responsibility collectively and then figure out how we'll move forward and force change, nothing will change.
KateNH barfood
We will never take responsibility collectively, if we're depending upon the Consumer-American culture that shaped most of us, unless overwhelming crises forces it. That leaves the "small group of thoughtful, committed" and DETERMINED people to design & force the issue to convince the Anthill that systematic change is a moral issue, or they realize the crisis does indeed affect them personally and current systems are harmful.
After that miracle, the system requires constant vigilance and maintenance to thwart those who constantly seek to corrupt for profit.
Systems and individual participation are interconnected, but if systems do not encourage integrity, it is very, very unlikely most individuals will practice it, let alone criticize the system that enables corruption. Unless they have no choice.
More proof that the rich can buy their way out of trouble. Abramoff now gets rich on his book and movie deals. WHen you are a Republican, crime pays!
There is one thing that came out of the Abramoff scandal which I can't really get upset about... namely that it's one of the only times in history that Indians fucked over the U.S. Government instead of the other way around.
Flying Squid Wasn't the way Abramoff ended up being investigated that he was fucking over the Indians? It's not like they were unharmed by the scandal.
“I think we need to focus more on changing the culture than changing the law with the Constitution,”
The right to petition the government for redress of grievances does not mean much practically since grievances are infinite and access to the halls of power are strictly limited to the wealthiest.
Also, even if Americans in general were of the most angelic dispositions, a subculture (i.e. K Street) that rewards sociopathic behavior still needs to be restrained by force of law.
So Volz doesn't think that money is a corrupting influence in Beltway politics? The bribery that goes on up there may be legal, but it certainly isn't moral.That tells me he hasn't learned anything.
Volz is not asking for your forgiveness... he is trying to tell us all from his insider perspective some of the things wrong with the system, and give some ideas on how to get changes. I believe in redemption, but he has a long way to go... meanwhile, if this book is real and truly helpful, he is headed in the right direction.
Ah yes mainstream american media. Whoring itself tor decades and wondering why all but the most stupid of its customers have fled.
ErnestPayne They're just as bought off as the rest of them. They see nothing wrong with being stenographers in the same mold as those in the Soviet Union who lied for TASS, Izvestia and Pravda.
josephebaconErnestPayne You're referencing this forces me to reprise this from Anatoly Marchenko: http://books.google.com/books?id=K8zRJnbUqD8C&...
The wreckage of broken lives left by Lack and his crew will never be better for some.
I'm pretty sure there was at least one murder connected directly to them and I would bet there are more.
Garden variety criminals.
he says he was lying then, -how do we know he's not lying now? just another political crook. trying to ease his soul and pad his wallet. what next for this dude? join the Jeesus train? get re-born? go for it.
gizdal Actions speak louder than words in this case. He ratted his friends, so he's a pariah, he took a low paying job and he had to self-publish his book instead of selling it to the sleazy, politically motivated publishing houses.
MatthewHubbard He's got a way to go before my little heart sheds a tear for him.
About Abramoff's book deal...given that he's profiting off of his own criminal acts, shouldn't that fall afoul of Son of Sam laws?
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