John Sweeney

Sweeney Charged With Drunk Driving Felony

Zachary Roth | August 14, 2009, 1:08PM

Troubled former GOP congressman John Sweeney was indicted this morning on a felony drunk driving charge, reports the Albany Times-Union.

The charges concern an April 5 incident. But in 2007, Sweeney pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drunk driving charge offense.

Read more »

Lobbyists

Riches To Rags For Abramoff Clan?

Zachary Roth | June 3, 2009, 6:07PM

Jack Abramoff's wife and five children are living "just above the poverty line" in a house with a leaky roof which they can't afford to live in but, given its depressed price, also can't afford to sell.

That's according to lawyers for the disgraced former lobbyist, who are arguing in court that Abramoff should be allowed to keep spending a tax refund of more than $520,000 to pay legal and other bills. Last month, the Justice Department moved to stop Abramoff from using the refund to pay the bills, arguing that he first must pay $23 million in restitution to the Indian tribes he swindled.

Read more »

Jack Abramoff

Casting Call for Casino Jack

Lila Shapiro | April 30, 2009, 9:02AM

As Zack Roth reported on Monday, Kevin Spacey has signed on to play Jack Abramoff in the upcoming "modern day GoodFellas" type thriller Casino Jack.

As devoted mappers of Abramoff's twisted world, we wanted to give TPM readers a chance to share their dream cast lists. So we've put together a gallery of some of the key players. Leave your notes in the comments. The best suggestions will be incorporated into a glamorous Casino Jack: TPM Photo Feature.

Enter.

Jack Abramoff

Two Thumbs Up! Kevin Spacey To Play Abramoff in Casino Jack

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2009, 3:08PM

Get ready for Jack Abramoff: The Movie.

The well-sourced Hollywood blogger Nikki Finke reported Friday that Kevin Spacey and director George Hickenlooper were visiting the disgraced former lobbyist in prison -- as part of their research for Casino Jack, which will start filming next month, with the man who once played Keyser Soze in the lead role. (Variety had reported last August on plans for the project, then known as Bagman.)

Read more »

Jack Abramoff

Sweeney To Enter Rehab, Says Lawyer

Zachary Roth | April 14, 2009, 5:41PM

Eagle-eyed reader B.K. passes along this tidbit which we missed from late last week.

As we told you, former New York GOP congressman -- and Jack Abramoff buddy -- John Sweeney last week was charged with a felony DUI after he told officers who stopped his car that he was in "big trouble" and refused to take a roadside sobriety test. But later in the week, a local New York news channel reported that Sweeney's court appearance, scheduled for last Friday, had been postponed.

Read more »

Bob Ney

Ney's New Role? Right-Wing Radio Talk Show Host

Zachary Roth | April 13, 2009, 5:25PM

A second act for our old friend Bob Ney.

Starting today, the former Ohio GOP congressman will be hosting a midday chat show on a right-wing West Virginia radio station, WVLY AM 1370, according to the station's web site.

Read more »

Karl Rove

J. Edgar Rove? Bush's Brain Claims He Kept Loyalty File On GOP Rep

Zachary Roth | April 10, 2009, 12:46PM

Did Karl Rove compile a "loyalty file" on former GOP congressman Tom Feeney? That's what Rove himself has reportedly claimed.

Politico reports on a chance encounter at Charlie Palmer's Steak last night between Bush's brain and Jason Roe, a former chief of staff to Feeney, the Florida congressman who was defeated for reelection last fall*.

Read more »

Ann Copland

Cochran Aide Pleads Guilty In Abramoff Scheme

Zachary Roth | March 10, 2009, 3:29PM

Another day, another guilty plea in the Abramoff saga.

This time it's Ann Copland, the former longtime aide to Mississippi GOP senator Thad Cochran, who was indicted recently on charges that she accepted gifts from Team Abramoff including tickets for concerts and sports events. In exchange, Copland used her position to help Abramoff's clients, the Mississippi Choctaw Indians.

The plea was announced in a Department of Justice press release.

Todd Boulanger, the Abramoff crony who has already pleaded guilty in connection with the wide-ranging scam, once sent an email to Abramoff arguing that Copland should be kept happy because, ''she's more valuable to us than a rank-and-file House member.''

Emails suggest Copland was particularly demanding in seeking favors from Abramoff's crew.

Copland worked for Cochran for 29 years, before abruptly quitting last spring, as her name began to surface in connection with Abramoff.

Today's plea deal, which presumably involves a pledge to cooperate with the ongoing prove, will likely increase speculation that Cochran, who has not been charged with anything, could be in prosecutors' crosshairs.

Don Young

Don Young Aide The Latest To Be Indicted In Abramoff Scam

Zachary Roth | March 6, 2009, 3:30PM

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.

Allen Stanford

Ney Praised Stanford In Congressional Record -- Just As He Did For Abramoff

Zachary Roth | February 24, 2009, 6:21PM

Did Allen Stanford get the Jack Abramoff treatment from Bob Ney?

Via the Sunlight Foundation, check out what Ney, the Ohio GOP congressman who went to jail for his role in the Jack Abramoff scandal, entered into the Congressional Record in September 2005:

Mr. Ney: Mr. Speaker --

Whereas, Allen R. Stanford has been recognized as the 2006 Recipient of the "Excellence in Leadership Award" by the Inter-American Economic Council ; and

Whereas, Allen R. Stanford has been acknowledged for his performance and leadership in the areas of finance and investments; and

Whereas, Allen R. Stanford should be commended for his service as the CEO of the Stanford Financial Group based in Houston, Texas.

Therefore, I join with the residents of the entire 18th Congressional District of Ohio in honoring and congratulating Allen R. Stanford for his outstanding accomplishments.

We already knew that Stanford and Ney, who sat on the House Financial Services committee, were tight. Here they're positioned right next to each other at a 2004 Washington event put on by the Stanford-backed Inter-American Economic Council.

(Looks like Ney even got a speaking gig at that event).

And Ney's chief of staff, Wil Heaton -- who also pleaded guilty in connection with the Abramoff scheme -- went on that now-famous (kind of) 2005 junket to Antigua for lawmakers and their aides, paid for by the IAEC.

But the statement unearthed by the Sunlight Foundation suggests the relationship was even cozier. Indeed, it fits an intriguing pattern:

According to Abramoff's plea agreement, one of the "official acts" that Ney took on behalf of Abramoff was an October 2000 agreement "to insert a statement into the Congressional Record which praised the new owner of the Florida gaming company, Abramoff's business partner."

The Abramoff partner was Adam Kidan, who in 2005 pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud in connection to his venture with Abramoff. Abramoff and Kidan gave $10,000, in Ney's name, to the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Just as Abramoff and Kidan sought to get a PR boost by having nice things said about them in Congress, Stanford may have also have stood to benefit from Ney's move. Stanford's ability to attract investors depended on maintaining a sterling reputation. Having his "outstanding accomplishments" praised in the Congressional Record could go a long way to polishing that reputation.

What might Ney have gotten in return? Well, he received $26,200 in campaign contributions from Stanford Financial Group employees. And, even more interestingly, the Sunlight Foundation's Paul Blumenthal notes that the majority of that sum, $14,200, came just over a month after the Congressional Record statement -- after Ney had gotten nothing from Stanford for all of 2005.

Blumenthal also notes that, during more trying times for the congressman, Stanford became a contributor to Ney's legal defense fund.

So, memo to federal investigators: if you see Bob Ney praising anyone else in the Congressional Record, it might be worth getting a little suspicious.

Ann Copland

Cochran Aide Charged In Abramoff Probe

Zachary Roth | February 23, 2009, 9:23AM

The next domino is set to fall in the Jack Abramoff saga.

Ann Copland, a former longtime aide to Sen. Thad Cochrain (R-MS), was charged late last week with accepting gifts from, and doing favors for, the corrupt lobbyist and his cronies.

Reports the Associated Press:

Court documents filed Thursday say Ann Copland took thousands of dollars worth of event tickets and meals out in Washington from Abramoff and associates at his firm. Prosecutors say the gifts were in exchange for her favors benefiting one of their top clients, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

For weeks, there had been speculation that this move might be coming. When Team Abramoff member Todd Boulanger was charged last month, court documents referred to a Cochran staffer as having accepted gifts from Boulanger, in exchange for doing legislative favors for the Choctaw. The Associated Press quickly identified the staffer as Copland.

Then when Boulanger pleaded guilty shortly after, court documents revealed email exchanges between him and Copland, in which she complained that there were no "Hebrew National hotdogs" in the corporate suite at a Baltimore Orioles game that Abramoff's firm had provided her, and declared she was "freaking out" because no food was provided for her party at a Washington ice skating event.

Boulanger once wrote to Abramoff of Copland:

She's more valuable to us than a rank and file house member.

Copland abruptly left Cochran's office last year as Abramoff prosecutors gained more convictions of Hill aides. She had worked there 29 years.

So: Could the wide-ranging probe now have Cochran in its sights? We may be about to find out...

Allen Stanford

Through Obscure Non-Profit, Stanford Wooed Lawmakers

Zachary Roth | February 20, 2009, 6:58PM

By now, we've all seen those pictures of Allen Stanford hobnobbing with lawmakers in Antigua. But, with the exception of one trip by Sen. John Cornyn, it wasn't Stanford himself who picked up the tab for these jaunts -- it was an obscure outfit called the Inter-American Economic Council.

And taking a closer look at the IAEC, and its ties to Stanford, sheds some light on how the Texas billionaire gained access to all those members of Congress -- and what he hoped to gain by doing so.

The IAEC's website says that the Washington-based group was founded in 1999 and that it aims to "provide senior Government Officials, leading Business Executives, and Academic Professionals the opportunity to engage in a dialogue about current and future economic strategies in the Hemisphere." And in 2003, the Associated Press reported (via Nexis) that, according to IAEC president Barry Featherman, the organization "relies mostly on contributions from U.S. corporations."

But the group appears to have remarkably close ties to Stanford himself. In this 2006 report, Bloomberg described Stanford as a "principal backer" of the organization. And Stanford Financial told Bloomberg that it had "donated the use of its aircraft" to the IAEC for one 2006 trip to Jamaica that four Democratic lawmakers went on.

That same year, the IAEC gave Stanford its "Excellence in Leadership" award. A press release put out by the group (since removed from its website) declared that Stanford "has strongly supported the work that the IAEC is doing in Latin America and the Caribbean."

Stanford also appears to have taken advantage of IAEC-funded events by showing up personally to schmooze lawmakers. We already posted these shots of current or former lawmakers including Katherine Harris, Pete Sessions, Tom Feeney, James Clyburn, and John Sweeney chilling with Stanford and Caribbean dignitaries in Antigua in 2005.

But there's also another set of interesting shots from the previous year, showing Stanford breaking bread with, and addressing, lawmakers -- including former GOP congressman Bob Ney (since jailed for taking bribes from Jack Abramoff) -- at an IAEC-sponsored event in Washington.

(You can see the slideshow of photographs from that event here.)

What was Stanford talking to lawmakers about? An IAEC press release from (via Nexis) from the event gives a hint. It says that in his speech, Stanford "addressed the need to streamline regulatory regimes that make it difficult for investors to take advantage of all of the opportunities that exist in the region."

And that same year, Newsday reported (via Nexis) on an IAEC-sponsored trip to Jamaica that included Democratic congressman Gregory Meeks. The IAEC, said the paper, hoped to "ease Patriot Act restrictions on offshore banking," and that according to Meeks, "the trip was an effort by the Inter-American Economic Council to explain the hardships the act has imposed on Caribbean banks."

In other words, Stanford and the IAEC used these events to try to convince lawmakers not to crack down on tax loopholes that work to benefit offshore banking -- exactly the loopholes that allowed Stanford to operate his alleged multi-billion-dollar scam, free from regulatory scrutiny, for so long .

In fact, the IAEC even seems to have used its clout to create a new congressional caucus -- the Caribbean Caucus -- made up of may of the lawmakers who went on the IAEC-backed trips.

After one such trip in 2003, attended by then-Rep. Phil Crane (R-IL), among others, Featherman, the IAEC president, revealed that "Congress is expected to form an informal, bipartisan Caribbean caucus to focus on issues of interest to the region," according to the AP (via Nexis).

The Caribbean Caucus would at various times include, among others, Ney, Meeks, Sweeney, Sessions, Feeney, Charlie Rangel, Mel Watt, Donald Payne, Phil English, Steve Chabot, Donna Christensen, Diane Watson, and Al Wynn, all of whom went to events on IAEC's dime.

Indeed, Stanford seems to have had some sway not only over the IAEC, but over the membership of the Caribbean Caucus itself. That Bloomberg story from 2006 reports that it was Stanford himself who asked Sessions to become a member of the caucus. Sessions seems to have agreed.

The IAEC is staying mum about its relationship to Stanford -- it hasn't returned either of TPMmuckraker's calls over the last few days. And the office of Rep. Payne, who was at one time listed as a co-chair, along with Ney, of the Caribbean Caucus, declined to make anyone available to answer TPMmuckraker's questions.

Allen Stanford

Six Degrees Of Allen Stanford

Zachary Roth | February 18, 2009, 2:24PM

Here at TPMmuckraker, the more we think about the Allen Stanford saga, the more it seems like a kind of harmonic convergence of recent high-profile muck.

The emerging story's range of ties -- some incidental, some more substantive -- to some other high-profile scandals of the past few years, from Bermard Madoff to Jack Abramoff to Rod Blagojevich -- is pretty striking.

First, Madoff.

It's not just that questions about the pace of the SEC's Stanford investigation -- including whether the agency's decision to bring charges yesterday was prompted in part by recent news reports -- have to be considered in light of the SEC's well-documented missteps on the Madoff case.

It's also that, according to the SEC complaint, Stanford's investors were exposed to losses via Madoff -- but falsely assured them they weren't.

From the complaint:

In a December 2008 Monthly Report, the bank told investors that their money was safe because SID "had no direct or indirect exposure to any of [Bernard] Madoffs investments."

But, contrary to this statement, at least $400,000 in Tier 2 was invested in Meridian, a New York-based hedge fund that used Tremont Partners as its asset manager. Tremont invested approximately 6-8% of the SIB assets they indirectly managed with Madoffs investment firm.

Pendergest, Davis and Stanford knew about this exposure to loss relating to the Meridian investment. On December 15, 2008, an Analyst informed Pendergast, Davis and Stanford in a weekly report that his "rough estimate is a loss of $400k ... based on the indirect exposure" to Madoff'.

As for Abramoff, we reported yesterday that a bevvy lawmakers with ties to the crooked lobbyist or a history of other ethical problems - including then-GOP members of Congress Bob Ney, Katherine Harris, Tom Feeney, and John Sweeney, as well as current Rep. Charlie Rangel -- went on a 2005 junket to Antigua that was funded by an organization with close links to Stanford.

Indeed, until yesterday, that organization, the Inter-American Economic Council, had photographs from the trip -- showing Harris, Feeney, and pals hobnobbing in splendor with Antiguan dignitaries -- posted on its website. It's since removed them, but not before we saved them. You can see the slideshow here.

And there's also another congressional angle which, though not on a par with the Abramoff sleaze, nonetheless appears to reflect the cynical money-for-access culture that has characterized Washington politics in recent years:

In 2002, as we reported yesterday, after lobbying from Stanford's firm, the Democratic-controlled Senate killed a bill designed to bolster efforts to catch financial fraud. During that cycle, Stanford's company had given an eye-popping $800,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. And according to campaign finance records examined by TPMmuckraker, it had also given generously to key Democrats on the Senate Banking committee: $8000 to Chuck Schumer, $6000 to Chris Dodd, and $1000 to then-chair Paul Sarbanes.

So there's that.

What about Blago?

Well, it turns out that, according to lobby disclosure reports examined by TPMmuckraker, one of Stanford's paid lobbyists in 2002 -- the year that the firm was lobbying on the anti-financial-fraud bill -- was John Wyma. One form lists Wyma and his team's work as "Helping them address legislature (sic) which involves financial services companies."

In case you'd forgotten, Wyma used to be one of Blagojevich's closest aides, before cooperating with Pat Fitzgerald's investigation by secretly recording conversations with the then governor.

The two were apparently think as thieves at one time. The Chicago Tribune reported at the time of Blago's arrest:

The governor routinely reported exchanging personal gifts and often appeared at Wyma-sponsored fundraisers where Wyma's clients hobnobbed with the governor before turning over checks for his campaign fund.

Now all we need is a link to the U.S. Attorney firings, and we'll be all set.

Jack Abramoff

Cochran Aide To Abramoff Crony: Why No Hebrew National Hotdogs?

Zachary Roth | February 11, 2009, 3:41PM

We've told you about Ann Copland, the former aide to Mississippi GOP senator Thad Cochran, who, according to court documents, accepted tickets to ball-games, concerts, and other events from Abramoff crony Todd Boulanger, in return for getting Cochran to take actions benefiting Abramoff's clients.

Well today the Associated Press offers some more great details about how things worked between Copland and Boulanger.

In June 2003, Copland emailed Boulanger from a suite a luxury suite at Baltimore's Camden Yards, where she had taken a group to watch an Orioles game:

"Ackkk. Only beer and no Hebrew National hot dogs," complained Copland.

Ackkk indeed.

That email was included in Boulanger's plea agreement last week, when he pleaded guilty to bribing several Hill aides.

Here's another good exchange. Reports the AP:

Copland apparently grew so comfortable accepting gifts that she sounded angry in one e-mail from the firm's box suite at a Washington ice-skating event after no food had arrived for her party of 14 people.

"I'm freaking out here," she wrote Boulanger.

He responded that she would be reimbursed if she had to buy food herself.

What was Copland giving in return? The AP explains:

For example, when Copland asked Boulanger for the suite at the Orioles game in 2003, he responded in part by asking whether a Choctaw provision the firm no longer wanted had been removed from an appropriations bill.

Copland assured him it had, and the final version of the bill contained an explicit statement that the provision "is no longer necessary."

Boulanger once wrote to Abramoff, of Copland:

She's more valuable to us than a rank and file house member.

Jack Abramoff

Report: Staffer Who Got Gifts From Team Abramoff Was Gregg Aide

Zachary Roth | February 4, 2009, 2:50PM

Last week, when Todd Boulanger pleaded guilty to his role in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, he cited a Staffer F in his plea. That staffer had received tickets to hockey and baseball games (with champagne and filet mignon provided, in the latter case) from Boulanger and Team Abramoff.

And today the Associated Press reports that Staffer F is Kevin Koonce, a former legislative director for New Hampshire GOP senator Judd Gregg.

Koonce, who has not been charged with a crime, now works at a private firm, Sorini Samet & Associates. But he told the AP he's on personal leave. Another staffer who received similar favors from Team Abramoff, Trevor Blackann, pleaded guilty last fall to failing to disclose the gifts on his tax returns.

Gregg was announced yesterday as President Obama's pick for Commerce Secretary.
Asked about that inconvenient fact by a reporter just now at a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stressed that Gregg is not a target of the investigation, and that Koonce left Gregg's office in 2004.

Some good details from the AP's rundown:

As part of the plea documents, prosecutors said Staffer F tried to help insert spending measures and add other amendments to legislation for Boulanger's clients. Later, the staffer asked Boulanger if he could "score some hockey tickets," and Boulanger got him front-row seats.

Boulanger later got the staffer box tickets to see the Baltimore Orioles, but he wanted more.

"Could you make sure there's beer this time," he wrote in an e-mail. I "mean, the red sox, crab cakes, and fillet mignon's were nice but ... haha."

Later, Boulanger sent an e-mail to Abramoff expressing confidence that the senator for whom the staffer worked would give them a favor. "Easy money," Boulanger wrote, adding that the aide "practically lives in our various suites. We are shady."

Todd Boulanger

Boulanger Pleads Guilty

Zachary Roth | January 30, 2009, 5:13PM

Goodbye Savile Row, hello orange jumpsuit.

Todd Boulanger, the fashion-forward former lobbyist and Jack Abramoff crony who was indicted earlier this week for bribing government aides, has pleaded guilty, reports the Associated Press.

Boulanger has been cooperating with the investigation, according to his lawyer. Under the terms of his plea deal, prosecutors are recommending that he spend 18-24 months in prison, with reduced time if he continues to cooperate.

Boulanger was an aide to Sen. Bob Smith, a New Hampshire GOPer, before working with Abramoff as a lobbyist.

Court documents suggested that Boulanger and other members of Team Abramoff had schemed to provide a staffer to Mississippi senator Thad Cochran with tickets for concerts, ice skating, and other events.

Separate court records suggested that Boulanger also helped arrange a an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2003 World Series for Trevor Blackann, a former aide to Missouri senator Kit Bond. In November, Blackann pleaded guilty to making false statements on his tax returns in an effort to conceal the gift.

Interior Department

Interior To Take Another Look At Griles-Abramoff Ties?

Zachary Roth | January 29, 2009, 6:19PM

We noted earlier today that the new Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, yesterday said he wanted to re-open investigations into ethical lapses at the department under Bush. And he specifically mentioned, among other scandals, the Steven Griles affair, in which the department's number two official was convicted in connection to his ties to super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, becoming the highest-ranking administration official sentenced in the sprawling Abramoff probe.

So it's worth doing a quick refresher on what happened there.

In a nutshell, as we put it in 2007 before Griles was sentenced, he served for years as Abramoff's man at Interior. He provided the lobbyist with information that was useful to his tribal clients -- in return getting favors not for himself, but for his stable of girlfriends.

Abramoff gave $500,000 to a conservative group run by one of them, Italia Federici, a former aide to Interior Secretary Gail Norton. It was through Federici that Abramoff first gained access to Griles. Abramoff also interviewed two other Griles gal-pals for possible jobs. And Griles lied about all this to a Senate committee.

In 2007, Griles pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

Given the evidence against Griles and Federici, there was speculation that former Norton, who was cozy throughout her career with mining, logging and drilling interests, might also be of interest to investigators. (Abramoff once described Federici's group as "my access to Norton"). So if the Griles affair is indeed re-investigated, it'll certainly be worth watching where things lead.

We've put in a call to the department to get more specifics on what exactly Salazar might want to look at, and will let you know what we find out...

Interior Department

Interior Officials Could Still Face Prosecution For Ethical Misconduct

Zachary Roth | January 29, 2009, 1:08PM

The list of Bush administration officials who could now face prosecution for their misdeeds over the last eight years doesn't only include those who authorized harsh tactics in the War on Terror.

Yesterday, Ken Salazar, the Interior Secretary, said at a White House briefing that he planned to reopen probes into a web of ethical misconduct at the department's Minerals Management Service, which included employees accepting gifts from, and having sex with, representatives of the oil and gas companies they were supposed to be regulating.

Reports by the department's Inspector General recommended that two MMS managers implicated in the scandal be prosecuted. But the Bush Justice Department declined to bring charges, a decision that the IG, Earl Devaney, publicly criticized, telling a congressional committee last September: ''I would have liked a more aggressive approach, and I would have liked to have seen some other people prosecuted here.''

Devaney also complained during his testimony that his report had been incomplete because Chevron -- one of the companies charged with giving gifts to the staffers -- had hired lawyers for six employees implicated in the scandal who later refused to cooperate with the IG' investigation.

One of those who escaped prosecution was Greg Smith, who ran the Denver office of MMS's Royalty in Kind (RIK) program, in which the government forgoes royalties and takes a share of the oil and gas for resale instead. Smith was accused in the reports -- including one special report focused on him -- of coercing two subordinates into sex, doing cocaine with a subordinate, suggesting to other employees that they should lie to investigators, and taking $30,000 from a private company for marketing its services to oil and gas companies.

One employee told investigators that "Smith directed her to purchase cocaine for him during normal MMS business hours, and Smith used the term "office supplies" when discussing cocaine while at work."

Here's another good excerpt:

The RIK employee recalled that on one occasion in late 2004, Smith telephoned her repeatedly asking for drugs. She said she provided cocaine to him early that evening, but he continued to call her. Eventually, she said, Smith traveled to her house and wanted her to have sex with him. She said he also asked her if she had more cocaine, and she stated that she did not but that someone who was staying with her might. She said Smith obtained crystal methamphetamine from one of these individuals and she watched him snort it off the toaster oven in her kitchen. The RIK employee also said she and Smith engaged in oral sex that evening.

The other official who Devaney recommended prosecuting is accused of less tabloid friendly -- but equally serious -- misdeeds.

Lucy Dennet, a top official of the Minerals Revenue Management office in Washington DC, is accused of helping another MMS employee, Jimmy Mayberry, to create a lucrative MMS contract that benefited him after he left MMS. Mayberry and another former MMS employee, Milton Dial, have already pleaded guilty to creating the deal. Mayberry faces up to five years in prison.

One of the IG reports found:

In the matter involving Ms. Dennet, Mr. Mayberry and Milton Dial, the results of this investigation paint a disturbing picture of three Senior Executives who were good friends, and who remained calculatedly ignorant of the rules governing post-employment restrictions, conflicts of interest and Federal Acquisition Regulations to ensure that two lucrative MMS contracts would be awarded to the company created by Mr. Mayberry - Federal Business Solutions - and later joined by Mr. Dial. Ms. Dennet manipulated the contracting process from the start. She worked directly with the contracting officer, personally participated on the evaluation team for both contracts, asked for an increase to the first contract amount, and had Mayberry prepare the justification for the contract increase. Ms. Dennet also appears to have shared with Mr. Mayberry the Key Qualification criteria upon which bidders would be judged, two weeks before bid proposals on the first contract were due.

So it looks like Smith and Dennet may not be out of the woods yet.

Salazar also suggested that he'd re-open the investigation into the activities of Steven Griles, the former Deputy Interior Secretary who was convicted of obstructing justice in connection with the Jack Abramoff investigation. More on that to come...

Jack Abramoff

Another Member of Team Abramoff Charged

Zachary Roth | January 29, 2009, 9:09AM

At last, the bell has tolled for Todd Boulanger.

In November, he quit his job as a lobbyist at Cassidy and Associates, amid the growing likelihood that he'd be charged in Jack Abramoff's corruption scheme.

And now he has been.

The Associated Press reports:

The government says Todd Boulanger gave government aides "a stream of things of value," including all-expense-paid travel, tickets to professional sports and concerts and nights out at expensive restaurants, to reward and influence actions that would benefit his clients. He was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

One of those aides, it appears, was Trevor Blackann, a former staffer for Missouri Republicans Roy Blunt and Kit Bond, who pleaded guilty last fall to having accepted an all-expenses paid trip to the 2003 World Series -- including limousine service and a visit to a strip club -- arranged by Boulanger and another member of Team Abramoff, James Hirni.

But the Associated Press has identified another of the aides who accepted gifts from Boulanger: Ann Copland, a former staffer for Sen. Thad Cochran, the Mississippi Republican.

According to the documents, in 2002 Kevin Ring, another Abramoff crony who was charged last September, forwarded to Abramoff and Hirni an email from "Staffer E" (identified by AP as Copland), above which Ring wrote: "Wow ... We already told her she was fine on McCartney, ice skating and Green Day -- although we need to let her know how many tix she can have for each. Also, please review the other requests and let me know what we can do there."

Copland was hired by Mississippi Public Broadcasting in May 2008 as deputy executive director for education.

Before working with Abramoff, Boulanager was an aide to former Republican senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire.

It looks like Boulanger will plead guilty. The AP notes:

The charge was outlined in a federal court document known as an information -- a document normally filed as part of a plea deal.

So it's possible we could we see yet more charges filed in this long-running saga...

Late Update: Boulanger says he is cooperating with the investigation. His lawyer sent the following statement to AP:

Mr. Boulanger regrets this situation and is accepting responsibility for certain past conduct.

The circumstances underlying this situation arose more than five years ago, when Todd was employed by the law firm of Greenberg Traurig as a young lobbyist working under Jack Abramoff. Mr. Boulanger is cooperating with the Department of Justice in its investigation and looks forward to its complete and swift resolution.

David Safavian

Safavian Found Guilty Of Lying to Feds

Zachary Roth | December 19, 2008, 1:55PM

More fallout from the Jack Abramoff investigation, nearly five years after the first hints of the scandal first broke.

The Associated Press reports:

David Safavian was found guilty of one count of obstruction and three counts of making false statements to investigators. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Safavian, the former top procurement official at the White House, was on trial for lying to investigators about his relationship with disgraced lobbyist jack Abramoff. His 2006 conviction on similar charges had been overturned.

AP adds:

Safavian and his lawyers decided this week not to put on a defense, ending their case without calling a single witness or without Safavian testifying.

David Safavian

Safavian Jury Reaches Verdict

Zachary Roth | December 19, 2008, 12:37PM

The jury in the corruption trial of Abramoff crony David Safavian has reached a verdict. We'll learn later today what it is, reports the Associated Press.

Safavian, who served as the White House's chief procurement officer, is on trial for allegedly lying to investigators about his relationship with Abramoff.

Safavian was convicted in 2006, but that conviction was overturned on appeal.

More when the verdict is available...

Jack Abramoff

Guilty Plea For Another Abramoff Crony

Zachary Roth | December 12, 2008, 4:27PM

James Hirni, the former lobbyist who was charged last month in connection with the wide-ranging Jack Abamoff probe, pleaded guilty today to providing an all-expenses paid trip to the World Series in New York to two congressional staffers, including entertainment at a strip club and a chauffeur-driven SUV.

Hirni was at the time a lobbyist for an equipment rental company that was pushing legislation in Congress. He recently was fired from his job doing "Republican outreach" for Wal-Mart, after news of the charges surfaced.

One of the two staffers who received the free trip, Trevor Blackann, a former aide to GOP senator Kit Bond, pleaded guilty last month to failing to disclose the trip on his tax returns.

Hirni's lawyer last month told ABCNews.com that Hirni is cooperating with prosecutors, suggesting that the feds are still working to build cases against bigger fish.

David Safavian

Potential Safavian Jurors Asked Whether They Play Golf

Zachary Roth | December 1, 2008, 6:29PM

Jury selection began today in the retrial of David Safavian, the Jack Abramoff crony who served as the top procurement official in the Bush White House.

Safavian was convicted in 2006 of obstructing justice and lying to investigators about his work with Abramoff, as well as concealing information about a golf junket he took to St. Andrews, Scotland with Abramoff and convicted former GOP congressman Bob Ney, among others. But that conviction was thrown out on appeal. He was then re-indicted in October, on charges of obstructing justice, lying on a financial disclosure form and providing false statements to various investigators.

The Washington Post reports that, in addition to the standard questions, the judge in the trial today asked potential jurors whether they played any golf. It's unclear whether that would increase or decrease their chances of being picked.

Regular readers may remember that Safavian's alleged love of golf was a major focus of the original trial.

Lobbyists

Wal-Mart Cans GOP Lobbyist After He's Charged in Abramoff Scheme

Zachary Roth | November 24, 2008, 3:10PM

Wal-Mart has fired James Hirni, the former Team Abramoff lobbyist who prosecutors on Friday charged with giving illegal gifts to two congressional staffers.

In a statement emailed to The Hill, a company spokesman wrote:

"Based on Mr. Hirni's [expected] guilty plea which relates to conduct occurring prior to and unrelated to his employment by the company, we terminated his employment."

Todd Boulanger, another former Abramoff team member implicated in the scheme resigned on Friday from the lobbying firm Cassidy and Associates. Boulanger has not been formally charged at this point.

Hirni had worked as Wal-Mart's "director of Republican outreach". He first represented the retail giant in 2004 while working with Abramoff at the law and lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig.

Jack Abramoff

Abramoff Lobbyists Wanted Measure Attached To Young's Transportation Bill

Zachary Roth | November 24, 2008, 12:29PM

So what did James Hirni and Todd Boulanger -- the former Team Abramoff lobbyists now in hot water for plying congressional staffers with undisclosed gifts -- want in return?

Both men were working for Abramoff at the law and lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig, on behalf of United Rentals, an equipment rental company. Court documents filed by prosecutors allege that in 2003, they wanted action on an amendment to a federal highway reauthorization bill that would have encouraged state public works agencies to rent, rather than buy, construction equipment. That would clearly have benefited United Rentals.

The documents further allege that immediately after they had paid for Blackann and another staffer (identified as Staffer D) to attend the World Series (and a "Gentleman's Club" in New York), Boulanger and Hinri sent drafts of the specific measure they wanted to Trevor Blackann, the staffer who just pleaded in connection with the scheme, and Staffer D.

Staffer D at the time worked for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which was then chaired by Rep. Don Young (R-AK). That committee was overseeing the larger highway reauthorization bill to which Boulanger and Hirni were seeking to attach their measure.

In November of that year, say the documents, Boulanger and Hirni prevailed on a Senate staffer to offer the amendment they wanted to the Senate version of the bill.

United Rentals hardly has a squeaky clean reputation. This September, it agreed to pay the SEC $14 million, ending a four-year probe into claims that the company fraudulently inflated its earnings and made fraudulent leasing transactions with suppliers, between 1997 and 2002. It did not admit or deny the charges.

Jack Abramoff

Another Ex-Member of Team Abramoff Charged -- And One More Could Be Next

Zachary Roth | November 24, 2008, 11:07AM

More developments in the ongoing Jack Abramoff probe...

Last week Trevor Blackann, a former staffer for Missouri Republicans Roy Blunt and Kit Bond, pleaded guilty to concealing thousands of dollars in illegal gifts he received from lobbyists who were part of Team Abramoff.

Those lobbyists were quickly identified as James Hirni, until recently a lobbyist for Wal-Mart, and Todd Boulanger, who until last week worked for Cassidy and Associates, a top DC lobby shop.

And late Friday, ABCNews.com reported that prosecutors had filed charges against Hirni, and that he's expected to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Hirni's lawyer told the site that Hirni is cooperating with prosecutors, suggesting that DOJ is working to build cases against bigger fish.

As for Boulanger, he could be next to be charged: also Friday, Cassidy and Associates announced that it had "accepted the departure" of the lobbyist that afternoon.

Todd Boulanger

Justice Docs Suggest Identities of Team Abramoff Lobbyists Who Bribed Aide

Zachary Roth | November 21, 2008, 11:09AM

Yesterday, Trevor Blackann, a former aide to Missouri Republicans Sen. Kit Bond and Rep. Roy Blunt, pleaded guilty to concealing thousands of dollars in illegal gifts he received from lobbyists who were part of Team Abramoff.

Exactly who were those lobbyists? Today, Rollcall fingers Todd Boulanger and James Hirni as the top suspects:

According to documents provided by the Justice Department, Blackann received the majority of gifts -- valued at more than $3,100 -- in 2003 from an individual identified only as "Lobbyist D," a close Abramoff associate.

But details provided about "Lobbyist D" match the career trajectory of Todd Boulanger, a former aide to then-Sen. Bob Smith (R-N.H.), who later worked for the firm Preston Gates and then Greenberg Traurig.

...

Although unnamed, details about "Lobbyist E" match those of James Hirni, a former Senate aide who at one time worked for Greenberg Traurig with both "Lobbyist D" and Abramoff.

Boulanger has long been known as a key member of Team Abramoff. In 2006, TPMmuckraker published a 2002 email he sent to fellow lobbyists, asking them to contribute to the re-election camapign of Mississippi GOP senator Thad Cochran, whose office, wrote Boulanger, had "never said 'no'" to the Choctaw Indians, a casino-owning Abramoff client.

Both Boulanger and Hirni are still in the lobbying game. Boulanger works for Cassidy and Associates, while Hirni is a "director of Republican outreach" for Wal-Mart, according to Roll Call. Neither returned the paper's calls for comment.

Perhaps ominously for both, Blackann is said by his lawyer to be cooperating with prosecutors as they seek to build other cases.

As for Bond and Blunt themselves, the office of the former said yesterday he had "no knowledge" of Blackann's ilegal activities. Blunt's office has not yet commented publicly on the matter.

Jack Abramoff

Trip To "Gentleman's Club" Leads To Guilty Plea For Married Abramoff Crony

Zachary Roth | November 20, 2008, 5:03PM

The wide-ranging probe into the activities of disgraced GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff has netted another conviction.

Trevor Blackann, a former aide to two Missouri Republicans, Rep. Roy Blunt and Sen. Kit Bond, pleaded guilty today to making false statements on his tax returns, concealing thousands of dollars in illegal gifts he received from Team Abramoff, reports The Hill.

What were those gifts? Only a free trip to Game 1 of the 2003 World Series in New York, a junket that included:

- airline travel to and from New York City.
- a ticket to the game.
- admission to, and entertainment at, a "gentleman's club" for the married aide.
- one-night accommodations in an "upscale" hotel.
- transportation in a chauffeured SUV.
- a souvenir baseball jersey.
- free meals and drinks.

All in all, not a bad haul.

In return, court filings allege, Blackann got Bond to write a letter of support for someone who wanted a political appointment to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

According to the Associated Press, Blackann said in court documents Blackann that he knew "the lobbyists gave these things of value for or because of official actions they were seeking from him or had obtained from him."

Abramoff has been cooperating with prosecutors as they build cases against others in his circle.

Jack Abramoff

Abramoff's Sentence Reduced by Two Years

Kate Klonick | September 11, 2008, 10:06AM

From the AP:

A federal judge agreed yesterday to shave two years from former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff's prison sentence for a fraudulent Florida casino boat deal because of his extensive cooperation in that case and a wide-ranging political corruption probe that upended Washington politics.

The decision by US District Judge Paul Huck guarantees that Abramoff, 49, will serve no more than an additional four years in prison - the sentence imposed by a Washington, D.C., judge last week in the separate corruption case.