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{{Short description|American lobbyist (born 1959)}} | |||
{{Current}} | |||
{{Distinguish|Jack Antonoff}} | |||
{{cleanup-rewrite|See Talk section named--"Let's talk it out - what is Abramoff significance" for the cleanup proposal}}], the week of ] ], after his guilty plea.]]'''Jack A. Abramoff''' (born ], ]) is a United States political ] and businessman who plead guilty on ], ] to three criminal felony counts in federal court. On ], Abramoff pled guilty in a separate matter to two criminal felony counts in a different federal court. | |||
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}} | |||
{{Infobox officeholder | |||
| image = File:Jack Abramoff at "In the Dock" 2011.jpg | |||
| caption = Abramoff in an interview with ] in 2011 | |||
| office = ] | |||
| term_start = 1981 | |||
| term_end = 1985 | |||
| predecessor = Steve Gibble | |||
| successor = Ted Higgins | |||
| birth_name = Jack Allan Abramoff | |||
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|2|28}} | |||
| birth_place = ], U.S. | |||
| death_date = | |||
| death_place = | |||
| nationality = ] | |||
| party = ] | |||
| spouse = {{marriage|Pamela Clarke Alexander|1986}} | |||
| children = 5 | |||
| education = ] (])<br />] (]) | |||
| occupation = {{flatlist| | |||
* Lobbyist | |||
* businessman | |||
* film producer | |||
* writer | |||
}} | |||
| website = {{Official website|https://abramoff.com/}} | |||
| known_for = ] | |||
| module = {{Infobox criminal | |||
| child = yes | |||
| criminal_charge = ], ], ] | |||
| criminal_penalty = 5 years and 10 months ] | |||
| criminal_status = Released December 3, 2010 | |||
}} | |||
}} | |||
'''Jack Allan Abramoff''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|eɪ|b|r|əm|ɒ|f}}; born February 28, 1959) is an American ], businessman, film producer, and writer.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/11/18/142506057/jack-abramoff-from-corrupt-lobbyist-to-washington-reformer| title= Jack Abramoff: From Corrupt Lobbyist To Washington Reformer| author= James, Frank | date= November 18, 2011| work= ]| access-date= March 9, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098180/ | title = Red Scorpion (1988) | website = ] |access-date=August 18, 2017}}</ref> He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by ]<ref>{{cite web |title=Beating the odds |url=https://www.vox.com/2014/5/22/5723878/how-a-bill-becomes-a-law-in-2014 |first=Andrew |last=Prokop |publisher=] |date=May 22, 2014 |access-date=January 16, 2020}}</ref> that resulted in his conviction and 21 other people either pleading guilty or being found guilty,<ref name="HuffP1064602"/> including ] officials ] and ], U.S. Representative ], and nine other lobbyists and congressional aides. | |||
Abramoff is a central figure in a series of high-profile ]. He personally donated money to the campaign funds and Leadership ]s of numerous ] candidates for ], from 2000 to 2006. Some of Abramoff's lobbying clients are involved in a ]. | |||
Abramoff was ] National Chairman from 1981 to 1985, a founding member of the ], allegedly financed by ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bilderberg.org/roundtable/lhiff.html| title=Front for Apartheid| work= Newsday| date= July 16, 1995| author1= Dele Olojede | author2= Timothy M. Phelps }}</ref><ref name = FastRise/> and served on the board of directors of the ], a ] ]. From 1994 to 2001 he was a top lobbyist for the firm of ], and then for ] until March 2004. | |||
== Antecedents == | |||
Abramoff has been under investigation: | |||
*By federal ] for his involvement in the ],. | |||
*By a grand jury in ] over an alleged plot to control the functions of the courts in that territory. | |||
*He has also been indicted on ], ], by a third grand jury in ], Florida, for ] arising out of an unrelated business deal, the purchase of ] | |||
*Regarding the ], on ], ], Abramoff pleaded guilty to three felony counts, conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion. In addition, Abramoff and other defendants must make restitution of at least $25 million ] that was defrauded from clients, most notably the ] tribes. | |||
*Further, Abramoff owes the ] $1.7 million as a result of his guilty plea to the tax evasion charge. The agreement alleges that Abramoff bribed public officials, including a person identified as "Representative #1," confirmed to be ], a Republican congressman from ]. Also included: the hiring of congressional staffers and conspiring with them to lobby their former employers—including members of Congress—in violation of a one-year federal ban on such lobbying. Ney has established a legal defense fund for himself to defend against possible charges related to Abramoff. On ], ], Ney relinquished his post as Chairman of the House Administration Committee. | |||
*Abramoff's guilty plea was part of a ] that requires him to cooperate in the ongoing investigation of his role in congressional corruption. | |||
*Regarding the ] case, on ], ], Abramoff pled guilty to conspiring to commit ] and ], and of a separate charge of wire fraud. | |||
*He is also linked to a scandal involving a troubled multibillion-dollar ] contract. | |||
*Further, he made multiple payments to ], former Senior Fellow at the ], and at least one other think tank expert, ], to write opinion pieces favorable to his clients. | |||
After a guilty plea in the ] and his dealings with ] in January 2006, he was sentenced to six years in federal prison for ], conspiracy to bribe public officials, and ]. He served 43 months before being released on December 3, 2010.<ref name="Inmate Finder, Jack Abramoff">{{cite web|url=http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=jack&Middle=&LastName=abramoff&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0|title=Inmate Locator|access-date=March 31, 2017|archive-date=August 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827012525/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=jack&Middle=&LastName=abramoff&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0|url-status=dead}}</ref> After his release from prison, he wrote the autobiographical book '']'' which was published in November 2011. | |||
The investigations and indictments of Abramoff have taken on significant national importance because of the lobbyist's close political connections with leading national politicians. | |||
Abramoff's lobbying and the surrounding scandals and investigation are the subject of two 2010 films: the documentary '']'', released in May 2010,<ref>Stephen Holden, , '']'', May 7, 2010.</ref> and the feature film '']'', released on December 17, 2010, starring ] as Abramoff.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1194417/|title=Casino Jack|date=January 7, 2011|access-date=March 31, 2017|via=IMDb}}</ref><ref>, ''Vulture'' at '']'', June 15, 2010.</ref> | |||
*Abramoff was Senior Director of Government Affairs for the ] legal and ] firm and was ] National Chairman from ]–]. | |||
*He is also a Director of the ], a ] think tank that critics say was used as a conduit to funnel money that could be legally given by a non-profit organization but not by a business or lobbyist. | |||
*He was the founder member of the ], an ]—financed ] that operated from 1986 to 1992. | |||
==Early |
==Early life and education== | ||
Abramoff was born February 28, 1959, in ].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book| url=https://archive.org/details/followmoneyhowge00ande | url-access=registration | author=John Anderson| title= Follow the money: how George W. Bush And the Texas Republicans hog-tied America| publisher= Scribner| year=2007| isbn= 978-0-7432-8643-5| page= }}</ref><ref> May 1, 2005</ref> His parents were Jane (née Divac) and Franklin Abramoff, who was president of the franchises unit of ] credit card company. Abramoff is ].<ref name = FastRise>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/28/AR2005122801588.html | title = The Fast Rise and Steep Fall of Jack Abramoff | newspaper = Washington Post|date = December 29, 2005 | access-date = August 17, 2006 |author1=Schmidt, Susan |author2=Grimaldi, James V. | page = A01 }}</ref><ref>''The Perfect Villain: John McCain and the Demonization of Lobbyist Jack Abramoff'', Martin & Lawrence Press, 2008, by Gary S. Chafetz, p. 2-3</ref> | |||
Abramoff was born in ], ], where his father was a businessman. In 1968 his family moved to ], California and Abramoff would later attend ]. | |||
In 1969, when Abramoff was ten years old, his family moved to ]. After seeing ] at age twelve, Abramoff decided to practice ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0604.morris.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717140509/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0604.morris.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 17, 2006 |title=Bad for the Jews, Worse for the Christians |first=Rachel |last=Morris |date=April 2006 |publisher=] |access-date=June 28, 2007 }}</ref> | |||
According to the '']'', Abramoff had an early political setback in ] when he "ran for student council president at the Hawthorne School, a ] ] and ]. Heading into a runoff election, Abramoff was disqualified for exceeding the spending limit. The principal, Herbert recalled, penalized Abramoff for holding a party, stating it amounted to a campaign expenditure that pushed him over the limit (Allowed budget)." | |||
Abramoff attended ], where he played ] and was a weightlifting champion.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> In 2007, ]-winning food critic ] of the '']'', who attended Beverly Hills High School at the same time, recounted an incident in which Abramoff pushed him and his ] down a flight of stairs. The incident was reported in '']'' under the heading, "Jack Abramoff the bully".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jewishjournal.com/uncategorized/17619/|title=Jack Abramoff the bully|first=Brad A.|last=Greenberg|date=October 4, 2007|website=Jewish Journal}}</ref> | |||
==College years== | |||
In college, Abramoff organized Massachusetts campuses for Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign. He graduated from ] in 1981 and earned his ] at the ] in 1986. | |||
Abramoff attended ], where he was elected treasurer of the Brandeis College Republicans.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated-->|title=News Briefs |url=https://archive.org/details/thejustice08reel08/page/n451/mode/2up |work=The Justice |date=October 20, 1981 |access-date=February 6, 2024}}</ref> In an April 1980 meeting at Brandeis, Abramoff was elected chairman of the Massachusetts Alliance of College Republicans, an organization of student volunteers working for ]'s ].<ref>{{cite news |last=Caplan|first=Rebecca|date=April 22, 1980|title=Mass College Republicans Meet Here; Selected New Board Members |url=https://archive.org/details/thejustice08reel08/page/n177/mode/2up|work=The Justice |access-date=February 6, 2024}}</ref> Abramoff cited the Massachusetts College Republicans' role in Reagan's ] as a "major factor", claiming that "Reagan spent only $25,000 in the state and won by a mere 3000 votes. Five thousand (members of the) College Republicans produced thousands of votes for him".<ref>{{cite news |last=Weinberg|first=Sandy|date=November 25, 1980|title=BCR Celebrates Reagan Victory |url=https://archive.org/details/thejustice08reel08/page/n283/mode/2up |work=The Justice |access-date=February 6, 2024}}</ref> | |||
After a campaign managed by ] and aided by ], Abramoff was elected chairman of the ]. "It is not our job to seek peaceful coexistence with the Left," Abramoff was quoted as saying in the group's ] annual report, "Our job is to remove them from power permanently". Abramoff "changed the direction of the committee and made it more ] and conservative than ever before," notes the CRNC. | |||
In 1981, Abramoff graduated with a ] in ]. He earned his ] from the ] in 1986. | |||
At the CRNC in the 1980s, Abramoff developed political alliances with College Republican chapter presidents across the nation, many of whom went on to active roles in state and national politics and business. Some of these long-standing alliances are the subject of various federal investigations into Abramoff and his political and business dealings. | |||
According to ], Abramoff gained much of his credibility in the conservative movement through his father, Franklin Abramoff. As president of ], Abramoff's father worked closely with ], a personal friend of Reagan.<ref name ="NEaston">{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i078vP9ji7cC&pg=PA139| title=Gang of Five: Leaders at the Center of the Conservative Crusade |author= Nina J. Easton| publisher=Simon and Schuster| year= 2001 | isbn=0-7432-1164-2 |pages=139–143}}</ref> | |||
==In Hollywood== | |||
Abramoff spent ten years in ], producing such movies as '']'', an ] film made in 1988 just after his term with the College Republicans ended. This movie was filmed in ] (now ]) and was funded by the ] through the ]. | |||
===College Republican National Chairman=== | |||
Abramoff joined ], a pro-Reagan group that helped ] build support for the ] and staged an unprecedented meeting of anti-Communist rebel leaders in ] in Jamba, ]. His membership ended on a sour note, however, when the group's millionaire founder, ], a former ] gubernatorial candidate, concluded that Abramoff had spent his money carelessly. | |||
{{Conservatism US|activists}} | |||
] | |||
After graduating from Brandeis, Abramoff ran for election as chairman of the ] (CRNC). After a campaign which cost over $11,000 and was managed by ], Abramoff won the election. His chief competitor, ] was persuaded to drop out (later, as Amy Ridenour, she became a founding director of the ]. She was treated to several ] when he was working as a lobbyist). Abramoff "changed the direction of the committee and made it more ] and conservative than ever before", notes the CRNC. "It is not our job to seek peaceful coexistence with the ]", Abramoff was quoted as saying in the group's 1983 annual report. "Our job is to remove them from power permanently."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/943038721.html?dids=943038721:943038721&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+18%2C+2005&author=JONATHAN+CHAIT&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=M.5&desc=JONATHAN+CHAIT|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001044216/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/943038721.html?dids=943038721:943038721&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+18,+2005&author=JONATHAN+CHAIT&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=M.5&desc=JONATHAN+CHAIT|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 1, 2007| title=Big on money, short on memory (commentary) |author=Chait, Jonathan|date=December 18, 2005 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> | |||
Norquist served as executive director of the committee under Abramoff. He later recruited ], a former president of the ] College Republicans chapter, as an unpaid intern. According to Reed's book ''Active Faith'', Reed introduced Abramoff to Pamela Clarke Alexander, and they later married.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/washington/09lobby.html?pagewanted=print | work=The New York Times | first=Philip | last=Shenon | title=Lobbying Cases Shine Spotlight on Family Ties | date=April 9, 2006}}</ref> | |||
==Legal work== | |||
In the second half of the 1990s, Abramoff was employed by Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP, the lobbying arm of Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, based in Seattle WA. Abramoff joined the law firm of ], which once described him as "directly involved in the Republican party and conservative movement leadership structures and is one of the leading fund raisers for the party and its congressional candidates." With the move to Greenberg Traurig Abramoff took as much as $6 million dollars worth of client "work" from his old firm. | |||
As chair of the CRNC, Abramoff addressed the ] in ].<ref>''Official Report of the Proceedings of the 33rd Republican National Convention, Held in Dallas, TX, August 21, 22, 23 1984.'' 1984. Republican National Committee.</ref> | |||
In early 2003, ] was Abramoff's day-to-day supervisor. Among the work his team did for ], Abramoff listed ] the White House. | |||
===Long-standing college political alliances=== | |||
Abramoff is founder and former chairman of the ] (IFF) (a group that was bankrolled by the then-apartheid South African army ) and serves on the Board of Directors of the ]. | |||
At the CRNC, Abramoff developed political alliances with College Republican chapter presidents across the nation. Many would later hold key roles in state and national politics and business, and some would later interact with Abramoff in his role as a lobbyist. Some of those relationships were at the core of the federal investigation. | |||
At the CRNC, Abramoff, Norquist and Reed formed what was known as the "Abramoff-Norquist-Reed triumvirate". After Abramoff's election, the trio purged "dissidents" and re-wrote the CRNC's bylaws to consolidate their control over the organization. According to Easton's ''Gang of Five'', Reed was the "hatchet man" and "carried out Abramoff-Norquist orders with ruthless efficiency, not bothering to hide his fingerprints".<ref name ="NEaston"/> | |||
==Saipan connection== | |||
Congressman ], former ] of the ], once called Abramoff one of his "closest and dearest friends," during a ] trip to the ] of ] in ]: "When one of my closest and dearest friends, Jack Abramoff, your most able representative in ], invited me to the islands, I wanted to see firsthand the ] success and the progress and reform you have made," DeLay said at a benefit dinner for ] of ] (one of Abramoff's clients) in the islands' ]. After the trip, Abramoff helped DeLay craft policy that extended exemptions from federal ] and ]s to Saipan industries, even though the products were allowed to be labelled ']' as part of the U.S. ]. Brian Ross at ] for '']'' on ], ] pointed out that factories in Saipan have forced their workers to have ] in order to keep their jobs. | |||
In 1983, the CRNC passed a resolution condemning "deliberate planted ] by the ] and ] proxy forces" against the government of ], at a time when the country's government was under worldwide criticism for its ] regime.<ref>{{cite news | |||
==Eshkol Academy== | |||
|url=http://www.alternet.org/story/13134 | |||
In 2002 Abramoff founded the ],in Maryland.According to emails revealed during the US Senate hearings into the Abramoff-Reed Indian Gambling Scandal,The Schools dean, ] was paid $20,000 a month, through Abramoff's ]. The Eshkol Academy closed in 2004 after questions were raised in the press about Abramoff's financial dealings with Indian tribes. In 2004, thirteen former Eshkol employees sued the Academy, demanding nearly $300,000 in back salary. The teachers' complaint claims that the Capital Athletic Foundation "was used to launder funds from the tribes to Eshkol." Federal tax records show that various Indian tribes donated more than $1 million to the foundation, which in turn benefited the school. | |||
|title=Part III: DeLay's Godfather | |||
|date=May 14, 2002 | |||
|publisher=AlterNet | |||
|access-date=January 26, 2006 | |||
|archive-date=January 28, 2006 | |||
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060128022735/http://www.alternet.org/story/13134/ | |||
|url-status=dead | |||
}}</ref> | |||
In 1984, Abramoff and other College Republicans formed the "USA Foundation", a ] tax-exempt organization which held two days of rallies on college campuses around the United States celebrating the first anniversary of the ]. In a letter to campus Republican leaders, Abramoff claimed: | |||
==SunCruz Casinos fraud indictment== | |||
On August 11, 2005, Abramoff and his partner, ], were indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on fraud charges arising from a ] deal to buy ], a firm that ran "cruises to nowhere", where gambling was permissible. Kidan and a third associate, Ben Waldman, as yet unindicted, are accused of using a fake ] to defraud Foothill Capital Corp. and Citadel Equity Fund Ltd that had agreed to lend $60 million to purchase the casinos on condition that Abramoff and his partners made a cash contribution of $23 million. The indictment alleges that the transfer was counterfeit. Kidan and Abramoff have since pleaded guilty. See ] for more information. | |||
{{blockquote|While the Student Liberation Day Coalition is nonpartisan and intended only for educational purposes, I don't need to tell you how important this project is to our efforts as . I am confident that an impartial study of the contrasts between the Carter/Mondale failure in Iran and the Reagan victory in Grenada will be most enlightening to voters 12 days before the general election.<ref>{{cite news | |||
|author1=Kurtz, Howard |author2=Babcock, Charles R. | |||
|title=Two 'Nonpolitical' Foundations Push Grenada Rallies | |||
|newspaper=The Washington Post | |||
|date=October 4, 1984}}</ref>}} | |||
===Citizens for America=== | |||
In 1985, Abramoff joined ], a pro-Reagan group that helped ] build support for the ]n ]. Citizens for America staged an unprecedented meeting of ] rebel leaders known as the ] in ]. This conference included leaders of the ] from ], ] from ], the Contras, and opposition groups from ]. Out of this largely ceremonial conference came the International Freedom Foundation. Abramoff helped to organize, and also attended the conference.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/28/AR2005122801588.html|title=The Fast Rise and Steep Fall of Jack Abramoff|newspaper=]|date=December 29, 2005|access-date=July 22, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> | |||
Abramoff's membership ended on a sour note when Citizens for America's sponsor ], a former New York gubernatorial candidate, concluded that Abramoff had spent his money carelessly.<ref>{{cite news|title = Staff Shakeup Hits Conservative Group | |||
===The murder of Konstantinos Boulis=== | |||
|newspaper = The Washington Post | |||
In September 2005 murder charges were brought against three men for the murder of ], the seller of the Sun Cruz Casino. Anthony Moscatiello, a former bookkeeper for the ] and Anthony Ferrari were charged with murder, conspiracy and solicitation to commit murder. James Fiorillo, was charged with murder and conspiracy. Moscatiello had previously received $145,000 from Kidan through SunCruz for services that were allegedly never rendered. Ferrari had received $95,000 as payment for security services and further sums in casino chips. | |||
|date = July 27, 1985 | |||
|last = Blumenthal | |||
|first = Sidney }}</ref> | |||
In 1986, Reagan appointed Abramoff as a member of the ] Council.<ref>{{cite web | |||
Boulis owned the SunCruz business, which offered 'cruises to nowhere', taking passengers into international waters out of reach of the Florida state gambling laws. Florida state made several attempts to shut the business down, finally succeeding in ] when federal prosecutors charged Boulis with violating shipping laws over the ship's registration. Boulis agreed to pay a $1 million fine, sell the business, and never work in the gaming industry. He then sold the business to Kidan and Abramoff, who were to pay $23 million immediately. Boulis alleged that the $23 million payment was never made. Boulis also alleged that Kidan had links to ]. Kidan had hired Anthony Moscatiello as a business advisor despite a previous indictment as an associate of the Gambino crime family led by Mafia crime boss ]. In February ], Boulis was shot to death five months later in what police called "a gang style hit". A suit brought by Boulis' estate alleges that Adam Kidan made three payments of $10,000 to Moscatiello immediately prior to the murder. | |||
|url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1986/50386d.htm | |||
|title=Appointment of Eight Members of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, and Designation of the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Executive Director | |||
|publisher=Ronald Reagan Presidential Library | |||
|date=May 3, 1986 | |||
|access-date=May 31, 2006 | |||
|archive-date=February 21, 2006 | |||
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060221081917/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1986/50386d.htm | |||
|url-status=dead | |||
}}</ref> | |||
==Film production== | |||
The casinos were subsequently auctioned off to new management in a ] action brought by Foothill Capital. Foothill settled with Abramoff for an undisclosed sum and continue litigation against Kidan. | |||
{{Further|Red Scorpion|Red Scorpion 2}} | |||
Abramoff spent ten years in ], where he developed, wrote, and produced, with his brother Robert, the 1989 film '']''. The film ultimately cost $16 million, exceeding its $8 million initial budget. It starred ], who played the ] ] commando Nikolai, sent by the ] to assassinate an ]n revolutionary in a country similar to ]. Nikolai sees the evil of the Soviets and changes sides, becoming a freedom fighter for the African side.<ref name=redscorp>{{cite book|last=Julius|first=Marshall|year=1997|title=Action!: The Action Movie A-Z|page=166}}</ref><ref name=inangola>{{cite book|last=Dubose|first=Lou|author2=Reid, Jan |year=2004|title=The Hammer: Tom DeLay God, Money, and the Rise of the Republican Congress|url=https://archive.org/details/hammertomdelaygo00dubo|url-access=registration|page=|publisher=PublicAffairs | isbn=9781586482381 }}</ref><ref name=scorplot>{{cite web|url=http://imdb.com/title/tt0098180/plotsummary|title=Plot summary for Red Scorpion (1989)|publisher=IMDb|access-date=February 10, 2008}}</ref> Abramoff also executive-produced its 1994 sequel '']''. | |||
The ] financed the film through the ], a front group chaired by Abramoff, as part of its efforts to undermine international support for the ].<ref name=scorpfund>]. ''Washington Babylon'', a '']'' blog, April 17, 2006. Archived from .</ref> | |||
Press accounts have suggested that Abramoff used his political connections to gain support for the deal in Washington . | |||
The filming location was in ], now ].<ref>{{cite news | |||
|url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=18&art_id=6701&sid=5674800&con_type=1 | |||
|title=Bitten by the Red Scorpion | |||
|author=Carlson, Peter | |||
|date=November 30, 2005 |publisher=The Standard (Hong Kong) | |||
|url-status=dead | |||
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060309165646/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=18&art_id=6701&sid=5674800&con_type=1 | |||
|archive-date=March 9, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | |||
|url = http://www.seekgod.ca/cnp.a.htm#abramhoff | |||
|title = Council for National Policy (CNP) -A- Member Biographies | |||
|access-date = May 27, 2006 | |||
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060518193944/http://www.seekgod.ca/cnp.a.htm#abramhoff | |||
|archive-date = May 18, 2006 | |||
|url-status = dead | |||
}}{{unreliable source?|date=June 2010|reason=self-published source}}</ref> | |||
On April 27, 1998, Abramoff wrote a letter to the editor of '']'' rebutting an article critical of him and his alleged role as effectively a public relations puppet of the ]-led ], writing: | |||
], then House minority whip gave Boulis a flag that had flown over the capitol building. Abramoff brought his lead financier in the deal to a fund raiser for DeLay in Abramoff's box at ]. | |||
<blockquote>The IFF was a conservative group which I headed. It was vigorously ], but it was also actively anti-apartheid. In 1987, it was one of the first conservative groups to call for the release of ], a position for which it was roundly criticized by other conservatives at the time. While I headed the IFF, we accepted funding only from private individuals and corporations and would have absolutely rejected any offer of South African military funding, or any other kind of funding from any government – good or evil.<ref>Abramoff, Jack. ''The Seattle Times'' – Letters to the Editor. April 27, 1998</ref></blockquote> | |||
Ohio Republican Representative Bob Ney promoted the Kidan/Abramoff in the House on several occasions. In March 2000, before the deal was closed, Ney accused the SunCruz management of cheating passengers. On October 26 2000, praised the change of ownership. Ney has since accused Abramoff of duping him. | |||
During this period in ], Abramoff met South African-born ] ], who later became his religious advisor. He also met Lapin's brother and fellow rabbi ], who allegedly introduced Abramoff to Congressman ] (R-]) at a ] dinner shortly after the ] of Congress in 1994.<ref>{{cite news | |||
DeLay, Ney and Florida Republican Representative ] have each gone on golf trips to Scotland that were apparently arranged or funded by Abramoff. These trips took place in 2000, 2002, and 2003. Ney and Feeney each claimed that their trips were paid for by the National Center for Public Policy Research, but the group denied this. Spokespeople for Ney and Feeney blamed others for filing errors. | |||
|title=Meet the Lapin Brothers | |||
|url=http://www.seattleweekly.com/2005-05-11/news/meet-the-lapin-brothers/ | |||
|author=Anderson, Rick | |||
|date=May 11, 2005 | |||
|publisher=Seattle Weekly | |||
}}</ref> Lapin later claimed that he did not recall making the introduction. | |||
==Lobbyist== | |||
Rep. ] (R-Calif.) was listed as a financial reference for Abramoff's purchase of the ] casino cruise line. He was also quoted as saying, "I don't remember it, but I would certainly have been happy to give him a good recommendation", and "He's a very honest man." by the Washington Post | |||
===Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds=== | |||
{{Further|Preston Gates & Ellis}} | |||
In December 1994, Abramoff was hired as a lobbyist at ], the lobbying arm of the law firm Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, based in ]. According to '']'', following the Republican takeover of Congress in 1995, partner Emanuel Rouvelas determined that the firm "didn't have a conservative, ] Republican with strong ties to the new Republican leadership".<ref>{{cite news | publisher = The Seattle Times | title = Democratic Firm Learns To Do Business With New Congress | first = Robert T. | last = Nelson | date=January 27, 1995 }}</ref> The traditionally ]-leaning firm hired Abramoff for the specific purpose of attaining these wanted ties. Abramoff was described in a press release as having close ties to ] and ], the former the Republican Speaker of the House and the latter the Republican House Majority Leader. | |||
''The Seattle Times'' reported in February 2006 that Abramoff used Preston Gates & Ellis to access a higher pedigree of clientele.<ref>{{cite news | publisher = The Seattle Times | title = How scheming lobbyist operated in Seattle firm | url = https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20060207/prestongates07m/how-scheming-lobbyist-operated-in-seattle-firm|author1=Postman, David |author2=Bernton, Hal|date = February 7, 2006 | access-date = August 17, 2006 }}</ref> | |||
===Kidan enters guilty plea=== | |||
On ], ] Kidan entered a guilty plea in a Miami federal court to one count of conspiracy and one of wire fraud, each of which carries a possible sentence of five years in prison. U.S. District Judge Paul Huck accepted the plea and set sentencing for March 1. | |||
====Choctaw gambling==== | |||
==Saleh Kamel, Terrorism, Abramoff & Money Laundering== | |||
In 1995, Abramoff began representing Native American tribes with gambling interests. He became involved with the ], a federally recognized tribe. One of Abramoff's first acts as a tribal gaming lobbyist was to defeat a Congressional bill to tax Native American casinos, sponsored by ] (R-TX) and ] (R-]). According to ''Washington Business Forward'', a lobbying trade magazine, "Tom DeLay was a major factor in those victories, and the fight helped cement the alliance between the two men".<ref>{{cite news | publisher = Washington Business Forward | url = http://www.bizforward.com/wdc/issues/2002-11/government/abramoff/ | title = Jack Doubles Down | work = Government, Inc. | first = John | last = Bresnahan |date=November–December 2002 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061206184358/http://www.bizforward.com/wdc/issues/2002-11/government/abramoff/ | archive-date = December 6, 2006 }}</ref> DeLay has called Abramoff "one of (his) closest and dearest friends". | |||
On December 29, 2005, '']'' reported: "Jack Abramoff liked to slip into dialogue from '']'' as he led his lobbying colleagues in planning their next conquest on ]. In a favorite bit, he would mimic an ice-cold ] facing down a crooked ]'s demand for a cut of ] gambling profits: 'Senator, you can have my answer now if you like. My offer is this: nothing.{{'"}}<ref></ref> | |||
Prior to the events of September 11th, 2001 chief hijacker ] and several of the other 9/11 hijackers were reported to have made multiple visits to the SunCruz casino cruise ship off the Gulf coast in Florida. This has led some to speculate that Mohamed Atta was using the casino to launder money for ] and that possibly Atta was involved in a scheme with Abramoff and the mob to smuggle heroin. To date none of these allegations has been confirmed or investigated. | |||
] political writer Thomas Frank considers Abramoff to have acted as a ].<ref name="salon.com">Thomas Frank ''salon.com'' August 7, 2008</ref><ref>Kojo Nnamdi, Alex Gibney, Bob Ney, Neil Volz ''WAMU-FM'' April 29, 2010</ref> ], director and writer of the 2010 documentary film ''],'' described Abramoff's criminal '']'', saying, "one of his (Abramoff's) great gifts was being able to tell people what they wanted to hear, and this was how he was able to sell things and get them into trouble." He was interviewed with former U.S. Representative ] and former Greenberg Traurig lobbyist Neil Volz on ] ] affiliate ] radio show. | |||
In 2002 Abramoff worked for the Global Council of Islamic Banks, whose chairman, ], was under investigation for allegedly funding terrorism and terrorists, including ]. | |||
====Saipan and Northern Mariana Islands==== | |||
{{main|Jack Abramoff CNMI scandal}} | |||
Abramoff and his law firm were paid at least $6.7 million by the ] (CNMI) from 1995 to 2001. It made manufactured goods labeled with "]", but it was not subject to U.S. ] and ] laws. After Abramoff paid for DeLay and his staffers to go on trips to the CNMI, they crafted policy that extended exemptions from federal ] and ]s to the islands' industries. Abramoff also negotiated with the Marianas for a $1.2 million ] for "promoting ethics in government" to be awarded to David Lapin, brother of his associate Daniel Lapin. | |||
Abramoff secretly funded a trip to the Marianas for Congressmen ] (D-]) and ] (D-]). In 1999, Congressman ] (R-]) went on an ] to the ] with ] (R-CA) and ] (R-CA), delegates of ], ], and the ], and eight staffers.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Talking Points Memo |url=http://talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/RMItravel.html |title=Travel Record from House Committee on Resources |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223050324/http://talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/RMItravel.html |archive-date=December 23, 2007 }}</ref> | |||
==Guam grand jury investigation== | |||
In 2002, Abramoff was retained under a secret contract by the ] Superior Court to lobby against a bill proposing to put the Superior Court under the authority of the Guam ]. | |||
Documentation indicates that Abramoff's lobbying team helped prepare Rep. ]'s (R-TX) statements on the ] floor in which he attacked the credibility of escaped teenaged ] "Katrina", in an attempt to discredit her testimony regarding the state of the ] industry in the Marianas.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=TPM Muckraker |title=For Abramoff, Lawmaker Slandered Teen Sex Slave |url=http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/001591.php |author=Paul Kiel |date=September 25, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923003425/http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/001591.php |archive-date=September 23, 2008 }}</ref> ] magazine reported Abramoff's dealings in the CNMI and the plight of garment workers like Katrina in a major article published in their spring 2006 issue.<ref>Clarren, Rebecca. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060702152508/http://www.msmagazine.com/spring2006/paradise.asp |date=July 2, 2006 }} ''Ms. Magazine''. Spring 2006.</ref> | |||
The $324,000 was paid to Abramoff through a ], lawyer by means of 36 ] of $9,000 each. If done to avoid the federal reporting requirements for payment transfers this would constitute illegal 'structuring' under 31 USC 5324(a). The form of payment might also be illegal if it was used to evade federal contracting rules requiring an open tender for contracts over $10,000. | |||
Abramoff arranged for mailings from a ] marketing company to ] voters. He bribed Roger Stillwell, a high-ranking political appointee at the ] who was responsible for some Native American gaming policy; Stillwell pleaded guilty in 2006 to accepting gifts from Abramoff. All government officials and employees are prohibited from accepting gifts from consultants, businesses and lobbyists. | |||
On Nov. 18, 2002, a grand jury issued a subpoena demanding that the administrator of the Guam Superior Court release all records relating to the contract. | |||
====Naftasib==== | |||
On Nov. 19, 2002, ] Frederick A. Black, the chief prosecutor for Guam and the instigator of the indictment, was unexpectedly demoted and removed from the office he had held since 1991. The federal grand jury investigation was quickly wound down and took no further action. | |||
Executives of Naftasib{{clarify|date=August 2018}}, a ] energy company, funneled almost $3.4 million to Abramoff and DeLay advisor ] between 1997 and 2005. About $60,000 was spent on a ] to Russia in 1997 for Tom DeLay, Buckham, and Abramoff. In 1998, $1 million was sent to Buckham via his organization ] to "influence DeLay's vote in 1998 on legislation that helped make it possible for the ] to bail out the faltering Russian economy". DeLay voted for the legislation. The money was funneled through the ] company Voor Huisen, the ] company Chelsea Enterprises, and the ] law firm James & Sarch Co.<ref>{{cite web | title = $3,617,238. | url = http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007739.php | work = ] | author = Marshall, Joshua|access-date = August 17, 2006|date = February 24, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060705195229/http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007739.php|archive-date=July 5, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | |||
|title=A 3rd DeLay Trip Under Scrutiny | |||
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28319-2005Apr5.html?nav=rss_business | |||
|author=R. Jeffrey Smith, James V. Grimaldi (staff writers) | |||
|newspaper=The Washington Post | |||
|date=April 6, 2005}}</ref> | |||
The executives involved, who met DeLay during the 1997 trip, were Marina Nevskaya and Alexander Koulakovsky. Nevskaya was also involved in Abramoff's support of an ] military academy, according to an email sent to Abramoff.<ref>{{cite news | |||
In May ] Black was succeeded by Leonardo Rapadas at the recommendation of the Guam Republican Party. He was confirmed without any debate. "Fred Radewagen, a lobbyist who had been under contract to the Gutierrez administration, said he carried that recommendation to top Bush aide Karl Rove in early 2003." | |||
|url=http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w050620&s=crowley062305 | |||
|author=Michael Crowley | |||
|publisher=The New Republic | |||
|title=You've Got Mail | |||
|date=June 23, 2005}} Republished at </ref> | |||
====eLottery, Inc.==== | |||
In ], Public Auditor Doris Flores Brooks initiated a new investigation of the Abramoff contract which is continuing. | |||
{{main|Internet Gambling Prohibition Act}} | |||
In 1999, ] hired Abramoff to block the ], which he did by enlisting ], Norquist, and Tom DeLay's former chief of staff, ]. | |||
Emails from 2000 indicate that ] helped Abramoff pass checks from eLottery to ]'s ] (TVC) and Norquist's ] (ATR), en route to ]'s company, ].<ref>{{cite news | |||
==Indian tribes grand jury investigations== | |||
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/15/AR2005101501539_3.html | |||
{{main|Abramoff-Reed Indian Gambling Scandal}} | |||
|title = How a Lobbyist Stacked the Deck | |||
|author1=Schmidt, Susan |author2=Grimaldi, James V. | |||
|date=October 16, 2005 | |||
|newspaper = ] | |||
|page = 3}}</ref> | |||
===Greenberg Traurig=== | |||
] ], where he repeatedly refused to answer Senators' questions by "]".]] Abramoff and his partner ] are accused of conspiring with ], and ] to bilk ] gambling interests out of an estimated $85 million in fees. The lobbyists are accused of orchestrating lobbying against their own clients in order to force them to pay for lobbying services. | |||
{{Main|Team Abramoff}} | |||
{{Further|Greenberg Traurig}} | |||
On January 8, 2001, Abramoff left Preston Gates to join the government relations division of ] in ] The firm described Abramoff as "directly involved in the Republican party and conservative movement leadership structures" and "one of the leading fund raisers for the party and its congressional candidates".<ref>{{cite web|title=Jack A. Abramoff | url = http://gtlaw.com/bios/govadmin/abramoffj.htm | work = Greenberg Traurig – Biographies | publisher = ] | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030612020908/http://gtlaw.com/bios/govadmin/abramoffj.htm | archive-date = June 12, 2003}}</ref> With the move to Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff took as much as $6 million worth of client business from his old firm, including the Marianas Islands account. At Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff recruited a team of lobbyists known familiarly as "Team Abramoff". The team included many of his former employees from ] and former senior staffers of members of Congress. | |||
====Tribal lobbying==== | |||
In the course of the scheme, the lobbyists are accused of illegally giving gifts and making campaign donations in return for political favors to several politicians. For example: | |||
{{main|Jack Abramoff Native American lobbying scandal}} | |||
{| id="toc" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; font-size: 90%;" cellspacing="3" | |||
|- | |||
|style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;"|'''Abramoff's Tribal Clients''' | |||
|- style="padding: 1em 0; text-align: center;" | |||
|] | |||
] | |||
Senator ] (R-Montana) is an alleged recipient of illegal favors and $136,000 in campaign contributions from Abramoff, his firm, and his clients. As the chair of the Interior Subcommittee on Appropriations, Burns received over $136,000 in campaign contributions through Abramoff and then directed $3 million to the ] of ], an Abramoff client and one of the wealthiest tribes in the country from a program intended to help the neediest tribes fix dilapidated schools. | |||
] | |||
After initially claiming credit for the appropriation, Burns subsequently denied knowledge of it. "A lot of things happened that I didn't know about. It shouldn't have happened, but it did." | |||
] | |||
Although initially refusing to return Abramoff's donations, Burns ultimately said that he would return or give away $150,000 he received from Abramoff and his clients. | |||
Mashpee ] of Massachusetts | |||
In December, 2005, a leader of a tribe which gave $22,000 in campaign contributions to Burns in 2002 stated that they had done so solely at the request of Abramoff and believed the senator was part of “Abramoff's group.” | |||
] | |||
On ], ], Abramoff pleaded guilty to three felony counts, conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion, involving charges stemming principally from his lobbying activities in Washington on behalf of Native American tribes. In addition, Abramoff and other defendants must make restitution of at least $25 million that was defrauded from clients, mostly notably the Native American tribes. Further, Abramoff owes the Internal Revenue Service $1.7 million as a result of his guilty plea to the tax evasion charge. | |||
] | |||
In the agreement, Abramoff admits to bribing public officials, including a person identified as "Representative #1," but who is confirmed to be ], a Republican congressman from Ohio. Also included: the hiring of congressional staffers and conspiring with them to lobby their former employers—including members of Congress—in violation of a one-year federal ban on such lobbying. | |||
] | |||
Senator ], the senior Democrat on the Senate committee investigating Abramoff, advocated for programs pushed by Abramoff's clients around the time he accepted tens of thousands of dollars from associates and clients of Abramoff (though not directly from Abramoff). According to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Dorgan received at least $79,300 from Indian tribe clients and lobbying associates of Abramoff. Dorgan strongly denies any connection, saying that he never met Abramoff and that he had long supported funding for Indian tribes. Despite this, Dorgan announced in December 2005 that he would return donations totaling $67,000, in order to remove any remote possibility of a connection to the felonious lobbyist. | |||
] | |||
==Tyco Allegation== | |||
] Inc. claimed in August 2005 that Abramoff had been paid $1.7 million for an ']' to create a ']' campaign to oppose proposals to penalize US corporations registered abroad for tax reasons. Timothy Flanigan, Tyco general council, stated to the Senate Judiciary Committee that Abramoff bragged that he could help Tyco avoid tax liability aimed at off-shore companies because he "had good relationships with members of Congress." | |||
] | |||
Tyco then paid Abramoff almost $2 million to lobby against laws aimed at taxing domestically centered businesses which had moved their headquarters out of the United States to avoid tax liability. The work was allegedly never performed, and most of the fee Tyco paid Abramoff to lobby against the legislation was "diverted to entities controlled by Mr. Abramoff". | |||
|} | |||
Around the time he joined Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff's choice of lobbying clients changed to focus much more on ] tribes. While Abramoff was a registered lobbyist for 51 clients while working at Preston Gates, with only four being tribes, Abramoff eventually represented 24 clients at Greenberg Taurig, according to lobbyist registration records, seven of which were tribes. | |||
==Connection to Israel-Palestine== | |||
In May, 2005, Michael Isikoff reported in a '']'' article entitled "Fund-Raising: Take It to the (West) Bank," that Abramoff--" 'a super-Zionist,' one associate says"--had, apparently, diverted "money meant for inner-city kids" to ] illegally ] the Palestinian ] in order to help them "fight the Palestinian '']''." Investigators believe that more than $140,000 of ] funds were actually used for "purchases of camouflage suits, sniper scopes, night-vision binoculars, a thermal imager and other material described in foundation records as 'security' equipment." '']'' reported that it was revealed in US Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearings that the Capital Athletic Foundation "also paid a monthly stipend and Jeep payments to a high-school friend of Abramoff who conducted sniper workshops for members of the Israeli Defense Force in Israel's West Bank." However, as Professor ] asserts, in critiquing ''The Hill's'' report, "the Israeli army does not need shooting lessons from . The sniper lessons were for the colonists, practice for shooting Palestinians." The "high-school friend" is, apparently, "Abramoff's connection" to the Jewish West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit, "Schmuel Ben-Zvi, an American emigre who, the lobbyist told associates, was an old friend he knew from Los Angeles." | |||
====Tyco International Ltd.==== | |||
==Connection to Malaysia== | |||
Former White House Deputy Counsel ] left his job in December 2002 to work as General Counsel for Corporate and International Law at ]. He immediately hired Abramoff to lobby ] and the ] on matters relating to Tyco's ] ].<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/24/politics/24justice.html |title=Democrats Press Justice Dept. Nominee Anew |work=] |first=Eric |last=Lichtblau |date=September 24, 2005 |access-date=August 17, 2006 |page=A16}}</ref> Flanigan stated to the ] that Abramoff "bragged" that he could help Tyco avoid tax liability aimed at ] because he "had good relationships with members of Congress".<ref name = Tyco>{{cite news |title=Tyco Exec: Abramoff Claimed Ties to Administration |newspaper=] |first=R. Jeffrey |last=Smith |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/22/AR2005092202204.html |date=September 23, 2005 |page=A06 |access-date=August 17, 2006 }}</ref> | |||
Abramoff's firms also represented the government of Malaysia, and worked toward improving Malaysian relations with the United States, particularly with trade relations. Because ] worked with a lobbying firm that represented ], some have alledged a connection between the two, and theorized that Abramoff and Norquist were running a scam in which Norquist's firm would create issues that Abramoff's firm would then take care of. Abramoff also reportedly wanted to spread his influence deep into the ] world through a front group called the ]. | |||
In August 2005, Tyco Inc. claimed that Abramoff had been paid $1.7 million for "]", or the creation of a fake "]" campaign to oppose proposals to penalize U.S. corporations registered abroad for tax reasons. The work allegedly was never performed, and most of the fee Tyco paid Abramoff to lobby against the legislation was "diverted to entities controlled by Mr. Abramoff".<ref name = Tyco /> | |||
==David H. Safavian== | |||
A former top procurement official in the Bush administration, ], has been charged with lying and obstruction of justice in connection with the Abramoff investigation. Safavian, who traveled to Scotland with Ney on a golf outing arranged by Abramoff, is accused of concealing from federal investigators that Abramoff was seeking to do business with the General Services Administration at the time of the golf trip. Safavian was then GSA chief of staff. | |||
====Foreign governments==== | |||
==Access to the White House== | |||
Abramoff's team represented the government of ], and worked toward improving Malaysian relations with the United States, particularly with trade relations.<ref>{{cite news | |||
An article published in the ] on ], ] alleged that Abramoff asked for $9 million in ] from the president of the African nation of ], ] to arrange a meeting with President Bush and directed his fees to a Maryland company now under federal scrutiny. Bongo did meet with President Bush in the Oval Office on ], ]. There has been no evidence in the public record that Abramoff had any role in organizing the meeting or that he received any money or had a signed contract with Gabon. | |||
|title=Think Tank's Ideas Shifted as Malaysia Ties Grew | |||
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59539-2005Apr16.html | |||
|newspaper=The Washington Post | |||
|author=Edsall, Thomas B. | |||
|date=April 17, 2005}}</ref> | |||
Abramoff also met with the ], offering a plan to deflect criticism from American ] groups over the regime's alleged role in the ]. Abramoff promised to enlist Reed to assist and start a grassroots campaign to improve the image of ] in the United States.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://darfur.tribe.net/thread/21564b09-d585-4737-b286-dd27c986a7e9 | title = Abramoff Offered to Aid Sudan, Envoy Says | work = Los Angeles Times | date = April 6, 2006 | author1 = Hamburger, Tom | author2 = Silverstein, Ken | access-date = August 17, 2006 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060515074107/http://darfur.tribe.net/thread/21564b09-d585-4737-b286-dd27c986a7e9 | archive-date = May 15, 2006 }}</ref> | |||
White House and State Department officials described Mr. Bush's meeting with President Bongo, whose government is regularly accused by the United States of human rights abuses, as routine. The officials said they knew of no involvement by Mr. Abramoff in the arrangements. Officials at Gabon's embassy in Washington did not respond to written questions. | |||
====Channel One News==== | |||
], Special Assistant to the President and Assistant to the Senior Advisor ] from 2001 to 2005, as an administrative assistant for Jack Abramoff and ] before being as the most senior assistant to ] in ]. | |||
Abramoff was a lobbyist for the school television news service ]. From 1999 to 2003, Channel One retained him to ensure Congress did not block funds to their service. Not only did Channel One face frequent campaigns by political groups to persuade Congress to limit its presence in schools, but it also derived much of its advertising revenue from U.S. government sources, including the ] and military recruitment. Since Abramoff and Channel One parted ways, Channel One's advertising revenues have dropped substantially, but a cause-and-effect relationship would be difficult to establish.<ref>{{cite web|title=Primedia Employed Lobbyist Abramoff for Channel One |first=Ira |last=Teinowitz |date=January 10, 2006 |url=http://www.commercialalert.org/news/Archive/2006/01/primedia-employed-lobbyist-abramoff-for-channel-one |work=Commercial Alert |access-date=August 17, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010074735/http://www.commercialalert.org/news/archive/2006/01/primedia-employed-lobbyist-abramoff-for-channel-one |archive-date=October 10, 2006 }}</ref> | |||
====Telecommunications firm==== | |||
== Channel One News == | |||
On October 18, 2005, '']'' reported that Bob Ney, as chair of the ], approved a 2002 license for ]-based ] company to install antennas for the U.S. House of Representatives. The company, then Foxcom Wireless, an ]i start-up ] firm, which has later relocated its headquarters from ] to ], and was renamed ], paid Abramoff $280,000 for lobbying. It also donated $50,000 to the ], a charity that Abramoff sometimes used to secretly pay for some of his lobbying activities.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lawmaker's Abramoff Ties Investigated |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/17/AR2005101701918_pf.html |newspaper=] |date=October 18, 2005 |page=A01 |author1=Grimaldi, James V. |author2=Schmidt, Susan |access-date=August 17, 2006 }}</ref> In ]'s ], these activities were described as ].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1121052scanlon1.html | title = Ex-DeLay Aide In Corruption Plea|work = ]|date = November 21, 2005 | access-date = August 17, 2006 }}</ref> | |||
Abramoff has been a lobbyist for the school TV news service ]. The Channel One Company had reportedly paid him to ensure Congress did not block funds to their service. | |||
===Skyboxes, "Signatures", and Scotland=== | |||
{{section-stub}} | |||
] in the ] neighborhood of ]]] | |||
Abramoff spent over $1 million to maintain four ] at major sports arenas for political entertaining, and hosted fundraisers at these skyboxes. including events for politicians publicly opposed to gambling, such as U.S. Representative ] (]-]).<ref>{{cite news | title = The lies of lobbygate | date = June 28, 2005 | url = http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050628/NEWS/506280307/1039 | work = ] | first = Jay | last = Bookman | access-date = August 17, 2006 | archive-date = August 19, 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060819152212/http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20050628%2FNEWS%2F506280307%2F1039 | url-status = dead }}</ref> | |||
Then ] Ranking Member ] returned $18,892 in contributions that his office found to be connected to Abramoff. Included in the returned donations was an estimated $1,892 that was never reported for Baucus' use of Abramoff's skybox at a professional sports arena and concert venue in Washington, D.C., in 2001.<ref>{{cite news | |||
==Expansion to other members of Congress== | |||
|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/19/AR2005121901476.html | |||
On Friday, November 25, 2005, the Wall Street Journal reported the expansion of the investigation to four members of Congress: in addition to Ney and DeLay, the story mentioned Rep. ] (R., Calif.) and Sen. ] (R., Mont.) | |||
|title = Sen. Baucus Returns Funds Tied to Abramoff | |||
On December 2, 2005, the ''New York Times'' reported that federal prosecutors are considering a plea bargain arrangement that would let Abramoff off easy if he provides evidence that would implicate members of Congress and their senior staffers in receiving job offers in return for legislative favors. | |||
|newspaper = The Washington Post | |||
On January 3, 2006, Abramoff agreed to the plea bargain and to apparently reveal which politicians and lawmakers were paid, how much they were paid, and what they understood was required of them in return. If political action was expected in return for cash, a number of politicians may have committed crimes that warrant jail time. | |||
|author = news services | |||
|date = December 20, 2005 | |||
|access-date = July 23, 2009 | |||
}}</ref> | |||
Abramoff also co-owned of ], a high-end Washington establishment which he used to reward friends and associates. His fellow lobbyist ] treated ] official ] to free tickets to the skyboxes and took him out to Signatures multiple times in exchange for favors.<ref name="guilty"/> | |||
==References== | |||
The restaurant, once thriving, was closed once investigations closed in on Abramoff. | |||
''Some of this article was originally derived from material at ] (), available under the ].'' | |||
DeLay, Ney and Florida Republican Representative ] have each gone on golf trips to ] that were apparently arranged or funded by Abramoff. These trips took place in 2000, 2002 and 2003. Ney and Feeney each claimed that their trips were paid for by the ], but the group denied this. Spokespeople for Ney and Feeney blamed others for filing errors. Ney later pleaded guilty to knowing that Abramoff had paid for the trip. | |||
*{{imdb name|id=0009106|name=Jack Abramoff}} | |||
* | |||
A former top procurement official in the ], ], has been convicted of lying and ] in connection with the Abramoff investigation. Safavian, who traveled to Scotland with Reed and Ney on a golf outing arranged by Abramoff, was accused of concealing from federal investigators information about Abramoff's plans to do business with the ] at the time of the golf trip – in particular, seeking help finding property for his private religious school, Eshkol Academy, and for one of his tribal clients. Safavian was then GSA chief of staff.<ref>{{cite news | |||
*, '']'', December 21, 2005 | |||
|title=Lawmakers Under Scrutiny in Probe of Lobbyist | |||
* | |||
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/25/AR2005112501423.html | |||
* ''New York Times'', May 1, 2005. | |||
|date=November 26, 2005 | |||
* | |||
|access-date=August 17, 2006 | |||
* | |||
|newspaper=] | |||
* | |||
|author1=Schmidt, Susan |author2=Grimaldi, James V. | |||
* | |||
|page=A01}}</ref> However, this conviction was overturned on appeal.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/washington/18lobby.html|title=Appeals Court Overturns Conviction of a Former Official Linked to Abramoff|first=David|last=Stout| newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 18, 2008|access-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref> | |||
* from ] | |||
* ''New York Times''. | |||
==Access to the Bush administration== | |||
* ''Washington Post'' | |||
Jack Abramoff was a highly influential figure as lobbyist and activist in the ].<ref>John Anderson, ''Follow the money: how George W. Bush And the Texas Republicans hog-tied America'', Scribner: 2007 {{ISBN|0-7432-8643-X}}, 331 pages: 13</ref> In 2001, Abramoff was a member of the Bush administration's 2001 Transition Advisory Team assigned to the ].<ref name = USToday>{{cite news | title = Controversial lobbyist had close contact with Bush team | url = https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-05-06-abramoff-bush_x.htm | agency = Associated Press|date = May 6, 2005|access-date = August 17, 2006 | work=USA Today}}</ref> Abramoff befriended the incoming Deputy Secretary of the Interior ]. | |||
* | |||
* | |||
The draft report of the House Government Reform Committee said the documents – largely Abramoff's billing records and e-mails – listed 485 lobbying contacts with White House officials over three years, including 10 with top Bush aide ]. The report said that of the 485 contacts listed, 345 were described as meetings or other in-person contacts; 71 were described as phone conversations and 69 were e-mail exchanges.<ref>{{cite web | |||
*{{citenews|url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/08/08/bush_removal_ended_guam_investigation/|title= Bush removal ended Guam investigation|date=], ]|org=The Boston Globe}} | |||
|title=The Abramoff Report: Staff Report of the Committee on Government Reform | |||
*, ''Financial Times,'' August 12, 2005. | |||
|url=http://oversight.house.gov/abramoff/docs/abramoff.pdf | |||
*, ''NewsMeat.com'' | |||
|publisher=U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, 109th Congress | |||
*, ''Yahoo News'' | |||
|access-date=December 31, 2008 | |||
** | |||
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080731124622/http://oversight.house.gov/abramoff/docs/abramoff.pdf | |||
* | |||
|archive-date=July 31, 2008 | |||
*, ''Business Week'' | |||
|url-status=dead | |||
* ''Informed Comment'' | |||
}}</ref> | |||
* collected news and analysis from the ''Washington Post'' | |||
*{{citenews|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/28/AR2005122801588.html|title= The Fast Rise and Steep Fall of Jack Abramoff|date=], ]|org=The Washington Post}} | |||
In the first ten months of 2001, the Abramoff lobbying team logged almost 200 contacts with the Bush administration.<ref name = USToday /> He may have used these senior level contacts to assist in his lobbying for Indian tribes concerning tribal gaming. The Department of the Interior has Federal regulatory authority over tribal affairs such as tribal recognition and gaming. From 2000 to 2003, six Indian tribes paid Abramoff over $80 million in lobbying fees.<ref name = FastRise/> | |||
* | |||
* | |||
The Department of the Interior Office of Insular Affairs has authority over policy and grants to US territories such as the ] (CNMI).<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/northern-mariana-islands/ | title = Northern Mariana Islands | date = August 8, 2006 | work = ] | access-date = August 17, 2006 }}</ref> This may have assisted Abramoff in lobbying for ] interests in the islands. U.S. Senator ] (R-]) and DeLay also heavily lobbied the CNMI for opposing the ].<ref>{{cite news | url = https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/print?id=647725 | title = DeLay's Lavish Island Getaway|work = ABC News|date = April 6, 2005 | first = Brian | last = Ross | access-date = August 17, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Abramoff: The House That Jack Built |url=http://thinkprogress.org/abramoff/ |work=Think Progress |access-date=August 17, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060813154946/http://www.thinkprogress.org/abramoff |archive-date=August 13, 2006 }}</ref> | |||
* Excellent, simplified, summary. Good intro to the situation. | |||
*{{citenews|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/01/15/roots_of_a_lobbyist/|title= Roots of a lobbyist|date=], ]|org=The Boston Globe}} | |||
Abramoff asked for $9 million in 2003 from the president of ], ], to arrange a meeting with Bush and directed his fees to an Abramoff-controlled lobbying firm, ].<ref name = Bongo>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/10/politics/10lobby.html?ex=1289278800&en=3564c89497493794&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss |title=Lobbyist Sought $9 Million to Set Bush Meeting |work=] |date=November 10, 2005 |first=Philip|last = Shenon |access-date = August 17, 2006}}</ref> Bongo did meet with Bush in the Oval Office on May 26, 2004.<ref name = Bongo /> There has been no evidence in the public record that Abramoff had any role in organizing the meeting, or that he received any money or had a signed contract with Gabon.<ref name = Bongo /> | |||
White House and State Department officials described Bush's meeting with Bongo, whose government is regularly accused by the United States of ] abuses, as routine.<ref name = Bongo /> The officials said they knew of no involvement by Abramoff in the arrangements. Officials at Gabon's embassy in Washington did not respond to written questions.<ref name = Bongo /> | |||
], Rove's assistant since 2001, previously worked as an administrative assistant for both Abramoff and Reed.<ref name = FastRise /><ref>{{cite news | title = Connecting the Dots: Abramoff and Rove | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/nataffdaily/story/9130607 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060111053954/http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/nataffdaily/story/9130607 | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 11, 2006 | date = January 9, 2006 | first = Tom|last = Dickinson|publisher = Rolling Stone | access-date = August 17, 2006 }}</ref> | |||
According to former Malaysian Prime Minister ], Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to arrange a meeting between Mahathir and Bush, allegedly at the direction of ]. Mahathir insisted that someone unknown to him had paid for the meeting.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,185482,00.html | title = Fmr Malaysian PM: Abramoff Was Paid to Arrange Bush Meeting|agency = Associated Press|date = February 21, 2006 | access-date = August 17, 2006 | work=Fox News}}</ref> | |||
On May 9, 2001, Chief Raul Garza of the ] tribe of Texas met with Bush, with Abramoff and Norquist in attendance. Abramoff was identified in the background of a photo taken at the meeting.<ref>{{cite news | |||
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/politics/12lobby.html?ex=1297400400&en=b3401c810fac9067&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss | |||
|work=] | |||
|title=Photograph Shows Lobbyist at Bush Meeting With Legislators | |||
|author=] and ] | |||
|date=February 2, 2006 | |||
}}</ref> Days before the meeting, the tribe paid $25,000 to Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform at Abramoff's direction. According to the organization's communications director, John Kartch, the meeting was one of several gatherings with Bush sponsored by ATR. On the same day, the chief of the ] ]s also attended an ATR-sponsored gathering with Bush. The Coushattas also gave $25,000 to ATR soon before the event. | |||
The details of the Kickapoo meeting and a letter dated May 10, 2001, from ATR thanking the Kickapoos for their contribution were revealed to the '']'' in 2006 by former council elder Isidro Garza, who with Raul Garza (no relation), is under indictment in Texas for ] tribal money. According to Isidro Garza, Abramoff did not say the donation was required to meet Bush; the White House denied any knowledge of the transaction.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/10/politics/10abramoff.html?ex=1299646800&en=9587f3b5199aa66c&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss | |||
|title=$25,000 to Lobby Group Is Tied to Access to Bush | |||
|work=] | |||
|author=Philip Shenon | |||
|date=March 10, 2006 | |||
}}</ref> | |||
Other photos have surfaced of Abramoff and Bush meeting at the White House and ] on either December 22 or 23, 2002. The photos were found on a site that published many pictures of governmental events, ReflectionsOrders.com. The owner of the site removed the photos almost immediately when the presence of Abramoff and Bush together was discovered.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209083359/http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007536.php |date=December 9, 2012 }} January 26, 2006</ref> Some Internet users located the photos and preserved copies of some of them.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.thedoubles.com/gwbja.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071019011548/http://www.thedoubles.com/gwbja.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = October 19, 2007 | title = Wind-Breaking News! | work = Thedoubles.com | access-date = August 17, 2006 }}</ref> The owner of the site gave thousands of dollars to the Bush campaign and ], according to public FEC contribution records.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://dailydelay.blogspot.com/2006/01/photograph-company-president-that.html | title =Photograph Company President that "scrubbed" Abramoff photo with Bush gave to Bush | work = The Daily Delay | date = January 26, 2006 | access-date = August 17, 2006 }}</ref> | |||
An ] news report from March 2006 stated that: "... Abramoff recently granted a rare press interview to ], where he asserts President Bush and other prominent figures in Washington know him very well. He called them liars for denying contact with him".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5254005|title=Lobbyist Abramoff Says GOP Elite Know Him Well|website=]|access-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref> | |||
In June 2006, Abramoff began secretly granting exclusive interviews to former '']'' investigative reporter Gary S. Chafetz, without the knowledge of Abramoff's attorneys or the federal prosecutors with whom Abramoff had been cooperating. These interviews – conducted before and during Abramoff's imprisonment – continued until May 2008. In September 2008, Chafetz's book, ''The Perfect Villain: John McCain and the Demonization of Lobbyist Jack Abramoff'' was rushed into print prior to the ]. In his book, Chafetz asserted that Abramoff, though guilty of some of the charges, was the victim of misleading and sensational reporting by the ''Washington Post'', vengeance and mendacity on the part of Sen. ] (R-]), and strong-arm tactics of the ] who forced Abramoff into confessing to crimes he did not believe he was guilty of. Chafetz also accused federal prosecutors of abusive – and possibly illegal – tactics in their reliance on private and public ], which he characterized as vague and controversial.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13230.html|title=Book attacks McCain's Abramoff inquiry|website=]|date=September 8, 2008 |access-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson262.html|title=The Ultimate Prosecutorial Weapon: Honest Services Fraud by William L. Anderson|access-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref> | |||
==Abramoff organizations== | |||
{{main|List of Jack Abramoff-related organizations}} | |||
Abramoff has founded or run several non-profit organizations, including Capital Athletic Foundation and Eshkol Academy; as well as lobbying firms and political think tanks such as ], GrassRoots Interactive, and the National Center for Public Policy Research. While these organizations had varying degrees of legitimate activities, it has come to light that Abramoff used these organizations to channel millions of dollars to recipients not related to the organizations. | |||
===Capital Athletic Foundation and Eshkol Academy=== | |||
{{main|Capital Athletic Foundation|Eshkol Academy}} | |||
Although Federal tax records show that various Indian tribes donated more than $6 million to the Capital Athletic Foundation, less than 1% of the money went to athletic programs, the stated purpose of the foundation. The majority of the funds went to the Eshkol Academy in Maryland, an Orthodox Jewish school founded by Abramoff in 2002. Hundreds of thousands of dollars from CAF were also spent on golf trips to Scotland for Abramoff, Ney, ] Safavian, as well as purchases of camping equipment sent to a high school friend. Abramoff solicited Safavian's help in looking for property deals for Eshkol Academy and tribal clients, leading to Safavian's conviction.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmnew/is_/ai_n14760146 | title = Fund-Raising: Take It to the (West) Bank | date = May 2, 2006|publisher = ]|author = Isikoff, Michael | access-date = August 17, 2006 | author-link = Michael Isikoff }}</ref> | |||
===GrassRoots Interactive and Kay Gold=== | |||
{{main|GrassRoots Interactive}} | |||
GrassRoots Interactive, now defunct, was a small ], lobbying firm controlled by Abramoff and PJ Johnson. Millions of dollars flowed into GrassRoots Interactive in 2003, the year it was created, and then flowed out again to unusual places. At least $2.3 million went to a ] consulting firm that used the same address as the law office of Abramoff's brother, Robert. A separate check for $400,000, from GrassRoots, was made out to ] LLC, another Abramoff family company.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1110-04.htm |title=Lobbyist Sought $9 Million to Set Bush Meeting |work=] |date=November 10, 2005 |first=Philip |last=Shenon |access-date=August 17, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822044246/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1110-04.htm |archive-date=August 22, 2006 }}</ref> | |||
===Maldon Institute=== | |||
Abramoff was a board member and secretary/treasurer of the Maldon Institute for at least five years (1999–2003). He was one of only four board members, including ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientprofile.php?recipientID=1385|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070806211732/http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientprofile.php?recipientID=1385|url-status=dead|title=Maldon Institute, Inc.|date=August 6, 2007|archive-date=August 6, 2007|website=archive.is}}</ref> | |||
==Scandal and criminal investigations== | |||
In late 2004, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee began to investigate Abramoff's lobbying on behalf of American Indian tribes and casinos. In September he was called before the Committee to answer questions about that work, but ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,180602,00.html|title=Timeline of Key Events in Jack Abramoff Investigation|website=]|date=January 4, 2006|access-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref> | |||
===SunCruz Casinos fraud conviction=== | |||
{{main|SunCruz Casinos}} | |||
On August 11, 2005, Abramoff and ] were indicted by a federal ] in ], on fraud charges arising from a 2000 deal to buy SunCruz Casinos from ]. Abramoff and Kidan are accused of using a fake ] to make lenders believe that they had made a $23 million down payment, in order to qualify for a $60 million ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Abramoff will plead not guilty to fraud charges, lawyer says |url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/08/abramoff-will-plead-not-guilty-to.php |date=August 19, 2005 |first=Krista-Ann |last=Staley |publisher=] |access-date=August 17, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824141115/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/08/abramoff-will-plead-not-guilty-to.php |archive-date=August 24, 2006 }}</ref> Ney also was implicated in helping to consummate the deal. | |||
After the partners purchased SunCruz in September 2000, the business relationship with Boulis deteriorated, culminating in a fistfight between Kidan and Boulis in December 2000. In February 2001 Boulis was murdered in his car in a ]-style attack. The murder investigation included three individuals who had received payments from Kidan. Two of the suspects received life sentences for the murder charges, while a third associate pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 6 and half years time served already after he testified against his co-conspirators.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-boulis-murder-sentencing-closings-20150917-story.html|title=Moscatiello sentenced to life in prison for Miami Subs founder's murder|last=Olmeda|first=Raphael|date=September 18, 2015|access-date=September 6, 2017|publisher=Sun Sentinel}}</ref> | |||
On January 4, 2006, Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud in ], related to the SunCruz deal. The plea agreement called for a maximum sentence of just over seven years and would run concurrently with the sentence in the Washington corruption case, but could be reduced if Abramoff cooperated fully. The remaining four counts in the Florida indictment were dismissed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/04/politics/main1176617.shtml|title=Abramoff Pleads Guilty, Will Help in Corruption Probe|work=CBS News|date=January 4, 2006|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060127203916/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/04/politics/main1176617.shtml|archive-date=January 27, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
On March 29, 2006, Abramoff and Kidan were both sentenced in the SunCruz case to the minimum amount of 70 months, and ordered to pay US$21.7 million in restitution. According to the "memorandum in aid of sentencing", the sentencing judge, U.S. District Judge ], received over 260 pleas for leniency from various people, including "rabbis, military officers and even a professional hockey referee."<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna12066674|date =March 29, 2006 | access-date =September 4, 2006| title = Abramoff gets 5 years, 10 months in fraud case |website =] }}</ref> | |||
===Guam grand jury investigation=== | |||
{{main|Jack Abramoff Guam investigation}} | |||
In 2002 Abramoff was retained under a secret contract by the ] ] to lobby against a bill proposing to put the Superior Court under the authority of the ]. On November 18, 2002, a ] issued a ] demanding that the administrator of the Guam Superior Court release all records relating to the contract. On November 19, 2002, ] Frederick A. Black, the chief prosecutor for Guam and the instigator of the indictment, was unexpectedly demoted and removed from the office he had held since 1991. The federal grand jury investigation was quickly wound down and took no further action. In 2005 Public Auditor Doris Flores Brooks initiated a new investigation of the Abramoff contract, which is continuing. | |||
In 2006 California attorney and ] lobbyist Howard Hills, and Tony Sanchez, a former administrator of the Guam Superior Court, were indicted for unlawful influence, conspiracy for unlawful influence, theft of property held in trust, and official misconduct for allegedly authorizing 36 payments of $9,000 vis a vis a pre-existing contract between Hills and the Guam Superior Court, each written out to Hills, but funneled to Abramoff. Hills, trusting Sanchez as a court official at face value, assumed that this was a temporary circumstance and agreed to help facilitate transition for what he thought was a standard government contract between Abramoff and the court. For this Hills received no compensation. Before indictments or investigations were initiated, Hills halted his temporary contract with Abramoff and reported what he thought was potentially suspicious behavior to public officials when it occurred to him that something may be wrong. In 2007, superseding indictments were issued against Hills and Sanchez, and in 2008 further related indictments were handed down against Abramoff and Abramoff's firm at the time, Greenberg Traurig. The charges against both attorney Howard Hills and Greenberg Traurig have since been dismissed. | |||
===Native tribes grand jury investigations=== | |||
{{main|Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal}} | |||
Abramoff and his partner, ] (a former Tom DeLay aide), conspired to bilk ] gambling interests out of an estimated $85 million in fees. The lobbyists also orchestrated lobbying against their own clients in order to force them to pay for lobbying services. These practices were the subject both of long-running criminal prosecution and hearings by the ]. On November 21, 2005, Scanlon pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe a member of Congress and other public officials. | |||
On January 3, 2006, Abramoff pleaded guilty to three felony counts – conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion – involving charges stemming principally from his lobbying activities in Washington on behalf of Native American tribes.<ref>Forsythe, Michael and Jonathan D. Salant. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930083404/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aDq6Gy_i0shA&refer=top_world_news |date=September 30, 2007 }} ''Bloomberg News Service''. January 3, 2006.</ref> The four tribes Abramoff and his associates had been involved with included Michigan's ]s, California's ], the Mississippi ]s, and the Louisiana ]s.<ref>Schmidt, Susan. The Washington Post Online 22 February 2004 14 November 2008</ref> | |||
As a result, Abramoff and other defendants must make restitution of at least $25 million that was defrauded from clients, primarily the Native American tribes. Further, Abramoff owes the ] $1.7 million as a result of his guilty plea to the tax evasion charge. In the agreement, Abramoff admits to bribing public officials, including Ney.<ref>{{cite news | title = Lobbyist admits he gave Ney bribes | author1 = Torry, Jack | author2 = Riskind, Jonathan | date = January 4, 2006 | url = http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/contentbe/dispatch/2006/01/04/20060104-A1-01.html | publisher = ] | access-date = August 17, 2006 }} {{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Also included: the hiring of congressional staffers and conspiring with them to lobby their former employers – including members of Congress – in violation of a one-year federal ban on such lobbying.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/abramoff_info_010306.pdf|date = January 3, 2006 | access-date = August 17, 2006 | title = Abramoff complaint | newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> | |||
Later in 2006 Abramoff lobbyists Neil Volz and Tony Rudy pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges; in September 2006 Ney himself pleaded guilty to conspiracy and ]. | |||
On September 4, 2008, a Washington court found Abramoff guilty of trading expensive gifts, meals and sports trips in exchange for political favors, and U.S. District Judge ] sentenced him to a four-year term in prison, to be served concurrently with his previous sentences. Abramoff cooperated in a bribery investigation involving lawmakers, their aides, and members of the Bush administration.<ref>Schmidt, Susan and Grimaldi, James V. (November 26, 2005). "Lawmakers Under Scrutiny in Probe of Lobbyist"., p. A01. Retrieved 2006-08-17.</ref><ref name="US lobbyist jailed for corruption">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7599249.stm|title=US lobbyist jailed for corruption|work=BBC News|date=September 4, 2008}}</ref><ref name=wapost-sentence>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/04/AR2008090402321.html?hpid=topnews |title=Abramoff Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Corruption |newspaper=] |author=Wilber, Del Quentin |author2=Carrie Johnson |date=September 4, 2008 |access-date=September 4, 2008}}</ref> | |||
===People convicted in Abramoff probe=== | |||
Eventually 24 people were convicted of corruption or bribery. | |||
* ] (an Abramoff associate), was sentenced in ] in March 2006, serving 27 months in prison, followed by three years of probation.<ref name="United States muaz District Court Southern District of Florida Miami Division"> | |||
United States District Court, June 27, 2008</ref> | |||
* Todd Boulanger, an Abramoff deputy, pleaded guilty to lavishing congressional aides with meals, gifts and tickets to sporting events, concerts, and the circus in exchange for help with legislation favorable to Abramoff's clients. Sentenced to 30 days and fined.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/sports/convictions-in-the-abramoff-corruption-probe|title=Convictions in the Abramoff corruption probe|date=March 26, 2015|website=Associated Press}}</ref> | |||
* Roger Stillwell (R) Staff in the ] under ](R). Pleaded guilty and received two years suspended sentence for not reporting hundreds of dollars' worth of sports and concert tickets he received from Abramoff. | |||
* ] (R) (former Deputy Interior Secretary) the highest-ranking Bush administration official convicted in the scandal, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. He admitted lying to a Senate committee about his relationship with Abramoff, who repeatedly sought Griles' intervention at Interior on behalf of Indian tribal clients. | |||
* ] (R) (former White House official), the Bush administration's former top procurement official, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in October 2006<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/15446565 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205024225/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/15446565/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 5, 2013 |title=Safavian sentenced to 18 months in jail – politics – NBC News |work=NBC News |date=October 27, 2006 |access-date=December 27, 2011}}</ref> after he was found guilty of covering up his dealings with Abramoff.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2008/December/08-crm-1138.html |title=#08-1138: Former GSA Chief of Staff David Safavian Convicted of Obstruction, Making False Statements (2008-12-19) |publisher=Justice.gov |date=December 19, 2008 |access-date=December 27, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/20/AR2006062001626.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=Ex-Aide To Bush Found Guilty | first=Jeffrey H. | last=Birnbaum | date=June 21, 2006}}</ref> | |||
* ] (R-OH) then U. S. Representative, pleaded guilty September 2006, sentenced in January 2007 to 2½ years in prison, acknowledged taking bribes from Abramoff. Ney was in the traveling party on an Abramoff-sponsored golf trip to ] at the heart of the case against Safavian. | |||
:#Neil Volz (R) a former chief of staff to Ney who left government to work for Abramoff, pleaded guilty in May 2006 to conspiring to corrupt Ney and others with trips and other aid | |||
:#] (R) former chief of staff for Ney, pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge involving a golf trip to Scotland, expensive meals, and tickets to sporting events between 2002 and 2004 as payoffs for helping Abramoff's clients. | |||
:#Thomas Hart (R) former chief of staff for Ney, pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge involving a golf trip to Scotland, expensive meals, and tickets to sporting events between 2002 and 2004 as payoffs for helping Abramoff's clients. | |||
* ] (R) co-founder of the ], pleaded guilty to ] and obstruction of a Senate investigation into Abramoff's relationship with officials at the ]. | |||
* ] (R) Vice-President of the ], was discovered during the Abramoff investigation and pleaded guilty to income tax evasion. He got 45 days, plus 4 years probation.<ref>{{cite news | |||
|url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/abramoff-investigation-leads-to-another-guilty-plea-2007-07-14.html | |||
|title=Abramoff investigation leads to another guilty plea | |||
|work=The Hill | |||
|author=Mike Soraghan | |||
|date=July 14, 2007 | |||
|access-date=October 29, 2011 | |||
|archive-date=November 12, 2008 | |||
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112104714/http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/abramoff-investigation-leads-to-another-guilty-plea-2007-07-14.html | |||
|url-status=dead | |||
}}</ref> | |||
* ] (R) former aide to U. S. Representative ](R-AL), pleaded guilty to conspiracy. He acknowledged accepting tens of thousands of dollars' worth of gifts and a golf trip to Scotland from Abramoff's team in exchange for official acts on the lobbyist's behalf. | |||
* ] (R) former staff to ] (R-CA) was convicted of five charges of corruption.<ref name='WP-20080909'>{{cite news | |||
|title=Former Abramoff Associate Is Arrested: Indictment Charges Fraud, Conspiracy | |||
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090801302.html | |||
|date=September 9, 2008|page=A02 | |||
|newspaper=The Washington Post | |||
|author1=Carrie Johnson |author2=Del Quentin Wilber |access-date=March 11, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/kevin-a-ring/| title=Trial deadlocked for Abramoff associate Ring | author=Conery, Ben | work=The Washington Times | date=November 10, 2010 | |||
}}</ref> He was sentenced to 20 months in prison in October 2011.<ref name="HuffP1064602">{{cite news| url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/28/jack-abramoff-new-book-corruption-in-washington_n_1064602.html| author= Froomkin, Dan |title= Jack Abramoff, In New Book, Decries Endemic Corruption In Washington | date=October 28, 2011 | work=Huffington Post| access-date=March 13, 2012}}</ref> | |||
*] (R) US Senate aide, acknowledged bribing Trevor L. Blackann (R) aide to US Senator ] (R) with meals, concert passes and tickets to the opening game of the 2003 World Series between the Florida Marlins and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, pleaded guilty to using wire communications to defraud taxpayers of congressional aides' honest services.<ref name="auto">http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com, People convicted in the Abramoff lobbying scandal by The Associated Press, March 10, 2009, </ref><ref>{{cite news | |||
|url=http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/11/abramoff_lobbyists_wanted_meas.php | |||
|title=Abramoff Lobbyists Wanted Measure Attached To Young's Transportation Bill | |||
|publisher=TPM Muckraker | |||
|date=November 24, 2008 | |||
|author=Zachary Roth | |||
|access-date=October 29, 2011 | |||
|archive-date=May 20, 2011 | |||
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520154204/http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/11/abramoff_lobbyists_wanted_meas.php | |||
|url-status=dead | |||
}}</ref> | |||
*Trevor L. Blackann (R) a former aide to US Senator ] (R-MO) and then-US Rep. ] (R-MO), pleaded guilty to not reporting $4,100 in gifts from lobbyists in return for helping clients of Abramoff and his associates. Among the gifts were tickets to the World Series and concerts, plus meals and entertainment at a "gentleman's club." | |||
:#] (R) a former Staff member of Tom DeLay, pled guilty to committing bribery in the course of his work for Abramoff.<ref name="US lobbyist jailed for corruption"/><ref name="wapost-sentence"/> | |||
:#] (R) another former staff member of Tom DeLay, he also left DeLay to work with Abramoff; pleaded guilty to conspiracy.<ref name="wapost-sentence"/> | |||
* ] (R) former Chief of Staff to ] (R-OK), pleaded guilty to accepting bribes connected to the Federal Highway Bill. Istook was ''not'' charged. (2008)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsok.com/former-istook-aide-pleads-guilty-in-lobbying-scandal/article/3252011/|title=Former Istook aide pleads guilty in lobbying scandal|date=June 2, 2008|access-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref> | |||
* ] (R) Deputy Chief of Staff, Criminal Division of the Justice Department pleaded guilty to conflict of interest after accepting bribes from Jack Abramoff. (2008)<ref name='guilty'>{{cite news | |||
|title=Ex-Official Linked to Abramoff Pleads Guilty | |||
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/22/AR2008042202430_pf.html | |||
|date=April 23, 2008 | |||
|newspaper=] | |||
|first=James | |||
|last=Grimaldi | |||
|access-date=December 4, 2008}}</ref> | |||
* Horace Cooper (R) a former Labor Department official with the Bush administration and aide to US Rep. ] (R-TX), pleaded guilty to falsifying a document when he did not report receiving gifts from Abramoff.<ref name="huffingtonpost.com"> ''Huffington Post'', May 7, 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Justice Gives up Bungled Abramoff-Related Lobbying Case | website=US News & World Report | date=7 April 2010 | url=http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/04/07/justice-gives-up-bungled-abramoff-related-lobbying-case | access-date=30 June 2023}}</ref> | |||
* Ann Copland (R) a former aide to US Senator ] (R-MS) pleaded guilty to taking more than $25,000 worth of concert and sporting event tickets in return for helping Abramoff.<ref name="auto"/> | |||
*Roger Stillwell, a former Interior Department official, was sentenced to two years on probation in January 2007 after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge for not reporting hundreds of dollars worth of sports and concert tickets he received from Abramoff. | |||
* Fraser Verrusio (R) former Transportation Dept official, was found guilty of conspiracy and accepting bribes. Sentenced to 1 day in jail, 2 years' probation and a $1,000 fine.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2011/08/former-house-official-sentenced-to-brief-jail-stint-.html | title=Former House Official Sentenced to Brief Jail Stint }}</ref> | |||
==Incarceration== | |||
Abramoff served four years of a six-year sentence. On November 15, 2006, he began serving his term in the ] prison camp of ], Maryland, as inmate number 27593-112. The ] had requested that he serve his sentence there so as to be accessible to agents in Washington for cooperation as the investigations related to his associates intensified.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/15/AR2006111501159.html|title=Jack Abramoff Reports to Md. Prison|date=November 15, 2006|author1=David Dishneau |author2=Matt Apuzzo | publisher=Washington Post (AP)}}</ref> Abramoff worked as a clerk in the prison chaplain's office for 12 cents an hour. He was also teaching courses in public speaking and screenwriting to his fellow inmates and instituted a popular movie night.<ref name="NYTRedemption">{{cite news| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/us/jack-abramoff-making-a-multimedia-effort-at-redemption.html?pagewanted=all | title=For Ex-Lobbyist Abramoff, a Multimedia Effort at Redemption| author= Feuer, Alan| date= November 12, 2011 |work=The New York Times| access-date=March 13, 2012}}</ref> | |||
==Post-release activities== | |||
On June 8, 2010, he was released from federal prison and was transferred to a ] in ], until the end of his six-year sentence.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/06/08/jack.abramoff.released/index.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707085451/http://articles.cnn.com/2010-06-08/justice/jack.abramoff.released_1_ohio-republican-bob-ney-jack-abramoff-prison |url-status=live |archive-date=July 7, 2012 |title=Abramoff transferred from prison to halfway house |date=June 8, 2010 |publisher=CNN }}</ref> In late June he began working as an accountant at the ] pizzeria Tov Pizza, working about 40 hours a week from 10:30 a.m. till 5:30 p.m., earning between $7.50 and $10.00 per hour.<ref>{{cite news|last=Leibovich |first=Mark |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/us/24abramoff.html?ref=politics |title=Abramoff, From Prison to a Pizzeria Job |work=] |date=June 23, 2010 |access-date=June 24, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2010/06/22/jack-abramoffs-new-job-selling-pizza-not-influence/|title=Jack Abramoff's new job: Selling pizza, not influence|publisher=Baltimore Sun|date=June 22, 2010|access-date=June 24, 2010|archive-date=July 18, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718090828/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-06-22/news/bal-abramoff-pizza-0622_1_jack-abramoff-home-detention-new-job|url-status=live}}</ref> He finished working at Tov Pizza when he was released from the halfway house on December 3, 2010.<ref name="Inmate Finder, Jack Abramoff"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2010/12/13/abramoff-concludes-stint-at-kosher-pizzeria/|title=Abramoff concludes stint at kosher pizzeria|date=December 13, 2010|publisher=AP via baltimore.cbslocal.com}}</ref> | |||
Abramoff has returned to lobbying since his release from prison, having attempted to arrange meetings between then President-elect ] and foreign leaders. He is registered as a lobbyist.<ref name="reuters.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-abramoff/convicted-felon-jack-abramoff-registers-to-return-to-lobbying-idUSKBN19E2JN|title=Convicted felon Jack Abramoff registers to return to lobbying|date=June 23, 2017|newspaper=Reuters}}</ref> | |||
On June 25, 2020, Abramoff and CEO Roland Marcus Andrade were charged in San Francisco federal court with fraud in connection with a $5 million cryptocurrency deal. Abramoff agreed to a negotiated plea of guilty.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lobbyist Jack Abramoff And CEO Rowland Marcus Andrade Charged With Fraud In Connection With $5 Million Initial Coin Offering Of Cryptocurrency AML Bitcoin|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/lobbyist-jack-abramoff-and-ceo-rowland-marcus-andrade-charged-fraud-connection-5|access-date=August 25, 2022|website=www.justice.gov|date=June 25, 2020 }}</ref> On July 14, 2020, Abramoff pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and violating the Lobbying Disclosure Act in relation to the AML BitCoin case. Abramoff faces up to five years in prison for each count.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Jack Abramoff Pleads Guilty in Illegal Investment Promotion|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-14/jack-abramoff-pleads-guilty-in-illegal-investment-promotion|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=July 14, 2020 }}</ref> Notably, this makes Abramoff the first person to be convicted under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, which was amended as a result of his previous misconduct.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Criminal Becomes First Person to Break Law Passed Because of His Crimes|url=https://loweringthebar.net/2020/10/criminal-becomes-first-person-to-break-law-passed-because-of-his-crimes.html|website=loweringthebar.net|date=October 12, 2020}}</ref> | |||
===Criticism of lobbying industry=== | |||
{{blockquote|I was involved deeply in a system of bribery – legalized bribery for the most part ... still to a large part exists today.<ref>"Abramoff is with us" from Robert Weissman, ], January 17, 2013.</ref>}} | |||
In November 2011, the book '']'' Abramoff wrote after he was released from prison was published. The 300-page memoir is an account of his life in Washington as a lobbyist.<ref name="WPUnrepentant">{{cite news| url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/in-jack-abramoffs-memoir-capitol-punishment-an-unrepentant-reformer/2011/11/30/gIQAxZIpiO_story.html| title=In Jack Abramoff's memoir, 'Capitol Punishment,' an unrepentant reformer? | author= Smith, Jeffrey R.| date=December 9, 2011| newspaper=The Washington Post| access-date= March 9, 2012}}</ref> In its last chapter, titled "Path to Reform", Abramoff portrays himself as someone who supports genuine reform and lists a number of proposals to eliminate bribery of government officials, such as barring members of Congress and their aides for life from becoming lobbyists.<ref name="JJDestitute">{{cite web| url= http://www.jewishjournal.com/los_angeles/article/destitute_the_new_jack_abramoff_20120308| title= Destitute: The new Jack Abramoff | author= Lowenfeld, Jonah | date= March 8, 2012| work= ]| access-date= March 9, 2012}}</ref> | |||
Abramoff has become a critic of the lobbying industry and has appeared on radio and television, "trying ... to redeem and rebrand himself". He has a ] page and game app called "Congressional Jack", and a feature film in the works about the lobbying milieu. He plans to charge for giving talks about corruption in Washington, and has briefed F.B.I. agents on the nature of corruption.<ref name="NYTRedemption"/> He has joined the and has started in February 2012 as one of the lead bloggers at United Republic's newly launched {{URL | 1=http://www.republicreport.org/ | 2=Republic Report}}, described as "an anti-corruption blog focusing on how self-interested dollars are warping the public-interest responsibilities of America's democratic institutions" by the '']''.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-clemons/corruption-watchdogs-have_b_1252921.html| author=Clemons, Steve | title=Corruption Watchdogs Have a Hot New Blogger: Jack Abramoff| date= February 3, 2012| work=Huffington Post | access-date= March 9, 2012}}</ref> | |||
He has appeared as a guest on CNN to talk about lobbying and the ] healthcare reform law.<ref>{{cite news|last=Nasaw|first=Daniel|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18742919|access-date=July 14, 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=July 7, 2012|title=Jack Abramoff on CNN: Why does US TV book bad guys?}}</ref> In July 2012, Premier Networks announced it was launching "The Jack Abramoff Show" on ]'s "Talk Radio" channel, on which Abramoff would hold forth on political reform.<ref>{{cite web|title=Press release|url=http://premiereradio.com/news/view/1264.html|publisher=Premier Networks|access-date=July 14, 2012}}</ref> | |||
Following Abramoff's return to lobbying after his time in prison, lawmakers passed the Justice Against Corruption on K Street (JACK) Act, which requires convicts such as Abramoff to disclose their criminal history when they re-register to lobby.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060121505|title=ADVOCACY: Jack Abramoff joins super PAC, targets 'Green New Deal'|last=Hiar|first=Corbin|date=February 19, 2019|website=www.eenews.net|language=en|access-date=December 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kennedy.senate.gov/public/2018/12/sen-kennedy-announces-final-passage-of-justice-against-corruption-on-k-street-act-jack-act|title=Sen. Kennedy (R-La.) Announces Final Passage of Justice Against Corruption on K Street Act (JACK Act)|date=December 20, 2018|website=www.kennedy.senate.gov|language=en|access-date=September 19, 2021}}</ref> | |||
In June 2020, Jack Abramoff entered guilty pleas on charges of criminal conspiracy and failing to adhere to the JACK Act.<ref>https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/25/doj-charges-jack-abramoff-340434 Politico: DOJ files charges against disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff -by Theodoric Meyer</ref> | |||
==Personal life== | |||
Abramoff has been married to Pamela Clarke Abramoff (née Alexander), a co-manager and executive assistant at Capital Athletic Foundation, since July 1986.<ref name=aboutref1>{{cite web|url=http://marriage.about.com/od/insiders/p/Jack-And-Pam-Abramoff-Marriage-Profile.htm|title=Marriage Secrets of Famous Couples|access-date=March 31, 2017|archive-date=September 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906022609/http://marriage.about.com/od/insiders/p/Jack-And-Pam-Abramoff-Marriage-Profile.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The couple has five children.<ref name=aboutref1/> Pamela is a ] to Orthodox Judaism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trib.com/news/article_ef22be27-0bf2-5379-aa77-21d968e8e143.html|title=Abramoff rises fast, then falls|first1=SUSAN |last1=SCHMIDT |first2=JAMES V. ( of the Washington Post)|last2=GRIMALDI |publisher= The Star-Tribune]] |date=December 30, 2005 |access-date=March 31, 2017}} | |||
("see also": | |||
{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/28/AR2005122801588.html|title=The Fast Rise and Steep Fall of Jack Abramoff|first1=SUSAN |last1=SCHMIDT |first2=JAMES V. |last2=GRIMALDI |date=December 29, 2005 |newspaper= ] |access-date=July 18, 2018 }})</ref> | |||
==See also== | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
==References== | |||
{{Reflist|2}} | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{Category commons}} | |||
{{wikisourcepar|Abramoff Senate Indian Affairs Documents 2004-09-29|text}} | |||
{{Wikisource|Abramoff Senate Indian Affairs Documents 2004-09-29|Abramoff Senate Indian Affairs Documents}} | |||
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{{Wikinewscat}} | |||
* , ''Notable Names DataBase''. | |||
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* , '']''. | |||
* {{IMDb name|9106|Jack Abramoff}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 13:42, 18 December 2024
American lobbyist (born 1959) Not to be confused with Jack Antonoff.
Jack Abramoff | |
---|---|
Abramoff in an interview with Lawrence Lessig in 2011 | |
Chair of the College Republican National Committee | |
In office 1981–1985 | |
Preceded by | Steve Gibble |
Succeeded by | Ted Higgins |
Personal details | |
Born | Jack Allan Abramoff (1959-02-28) February 28, 1959 (age 65) Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Pamela Clarke Alexander
(m. 1986) |
Children | 5 |
Education | Brandeis University (BA) Georgetown University (JD) |
Occupation |
|
Known for | Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal |
Website | Official website |
Criminal status | Released December 3, 2010 |
Criminal charge | Fraud, conspiracy, tax evasion |
Penalty | 5 years and 10 months imprisonment |
Jack Allan Abramoff (/ˈeɪbrəmɒf/; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, and writer. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction and 21 other people either pleading guilty or being found guilty, including White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and congressional aides.
Abramoff was College Republican National Committee National Chairman from 1981 to 1985, a founding member of the International Freedom Foundation, allegedly financed by apartheid South Africa, and served on the board of directors of the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank. From 1994 to 2001 he was a top lobbyist for the firm of Preston Gates & Ellis, and then for Greenberg Traurig until March 2004.
After a guilty plea in the Jack Abramoff Native American lobbying scandal and his dealings with SunCruz Casinos in January 2006, he was sentenced to six years in federal prison for mail fraud, conspiracy to bribe public officials, and tax evasion. He served 43 months before being released on December 3, 2010. After his release from prison, he wrote the autobiographical book Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist which was published in November 2011.
Abramoff's lobbying and the surrounding scandals and investigation are the subject of two 2010 films: the documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money, released in May 2010, and the feature film Casino Jack, released on December 17, 2010, starring Kevin Spacey as Abramoff.
Early life and education
Abramoff was born February 28, 1959, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His parents were Jane (née Divac) and Franklin Abramoff, who was president of the franchises unit of Diners Club credit card company. Abramoff is Jewish.
In 1969, when Abramoff was ten years old, his family moved to Beverly Hills, California. After seeing the film version of Fiddler on the Roof at age twelve, Abramoff decided to practice Orthodox Judaism.
Abramoff attended Beverly Hills High School, where he played football and was a weightlifting champion. In 2007, Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold of the Los Angeles Times, who attended Beverly Hills High School at the same time, recounted an incident in which Abramoff pushed him and his cello down a flight of stairs. The incident was reported in The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles under the heading, "Jack Abramoff the bully".
Abramoff attended Brandeis University, where he was elected treasurer of the Brandeis College Republicans. In an April 1980 meeting at Brandeis, Abramoff was elected chairman of the Massachusetts Alliance of College Republicans, an organization of student volunteers working for Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign. Abramoff cited the Massachusetts College Republicans' role in Reagan's close victory in the state as a "major factor", claiming that "Reagan spent only $25,000 in the state and won by a mere 3000 votes. Five thousand (members of the) College Republicans produced thousands of votes for him".
In 1981, Abramoff graduated with a B.A. in English. He earned his Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1986.
According to Nina Easton, Abramoff gained much of his credibility in the conservative movement through his father, Franklin Abramoff. As president of Diners Club International, Abramoff's father worked closely with Alfred S. Bloomingdale, a personal friend of Reagan.
College Republican National Chairman
After graduating from Brandeis, Abramoff ran for election as chairman of the College Republican National Committee (CRNC). After a campaign which cost over $11,000 and was managed by Grover Norquist, Abramoff won the election. His chief competitor, Amy Moritz was persuaded to drop out (later, as Amy Ridenour, she became a founding director of the National Center for Public Policy Research. She was treated to several trips funded by Jack Abramoff when he was working as a lobbyist). Abramoff "changed the direction of the committee and made it more activist and conservative than ever before", notes the CRNC. "It is not our job to seek peaceful coexistence with the Left", Abramoff was quoted as saying in the group's 1983 annual report. "Our job is to remove them from power permanently."
Norquist served as executive director of the committee under Abramoff. He later recruited Ralph Reed, a former president of the University of Georgia College Republicans chapter, as an unpaid intern. According to Reed's book Active Faith, Reed introduced Abramoff to Pamela Clarke Alexander, and they later married.
As chair of the CRNC, Abramoff addressed the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas.
Long-standing college political alliances
At the CRNC, Abramoff developed political alliances with College Republican chapter presidents across the nation. Many would later hold key roles in state and national politics and business, and some would later interact with Abramoff in his role as a lobbyist. Some of those relationships were at the core of the federal investigation.
At the CRNC, Abramoff, Norquist and Reed formed what was known as the "Abramoff-Norquist-Reed triumvirate". After Abramoff's election, the trio purged "dissidents" and re-wrote the CRNC's bylaws to consolidate their control over the organization. According to Easton's Gang of Five, Reed was the "hatchet man" and "carried out Abramoff-Norquist orders with ruthless efficiency, not bothering to hide his fingerprints".
In 1983, the CRNC passed a resolution condemning "deliberate planted propaganda by the KGB and Soviet proxy forces" against the government of South Africa, at a time when the country's government was under worldwide criticism for its apartheid regime.
In 1984, Abramoff and other College Republicans formed the "USA Foundation", a non-partisan tax-exempt organization which held two days of rallies on college campuses around the United States celebrating the first anniversary of the invasion of Grenada. In a letter to campus Republican leaders, Abramoff claimed:
While the Student Liberation Day Coalition is nonpartisan and intended only for educational purposes, I don't need to tell you how important this project is to our efforts as . I am confident that an impartial study of the contrasts between the Carter/Mondale failure in Iran and the Reagan victory in Grenada will be most enlightening to voters 12 days before the general election.
Citizens for America
In 1985, Abramoff joined Citizens for America, a pro-Reagan group that helped Oliver North build support for the Nicaraguan Contras. Citizens for America staged an unprecedented meeting of anti-Communist rebel leaders known as the Democratic International in Jamba, Angola. This conference included leaders of the Mujahedeen from Afghanistan, UNITA from Angola, the Contras, and opposition groups from Laos. Out of this largely ceremonial conference came the International Freedom Foundation. Abramoff helped to organize, and also attended the conference.
Abramoff's membership ended on a sour note when Citizens for America's sponsor Lewis Lehrman, a former New York gubernatorial candidate, concluded that Abramoff had spent his money carelessly.
In 1986, Reagan appointed Abramoff as a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
Film production
Further information: Red Scorpion and Red Scorpion 2Abramoff spent ten years in Hollywood, where he developed, wrote, and produced, with his brother Robert, the 1989 film Red Scorpion. The film ultimately cost $16 million, exceeding its $8 million initial budget. It starred Dolph Lundgren, who played the Spetsnaz Soviet commando Nikolai, sent by the USSR to assassinate an African revolutionary in a country similar to Angola. Nikolai sees the evil of the Soviets and changes sides, becoming a freedom fighter for the African side. Abramoff also executive-produced its 1994 sequel Red Scorpion 2.
The South African government financed the film through the International Freedom Foundation, a front group chaired by Abramoff, as part of its efforts to undermine international support for the African National Congress. The filming location was in South-West Africa, now Namibia.
On April 27, 1998, Abramoff wrote a letter to the editor of The Seattle Times rebutting an article critical of him and his alleged role as effectively a public relations puppet of the apartheid-led South African Defence Force, writing:
The IFF was a conservative group which I headed. It was vigorously anti-Communist, but it was also actively anti-apartheid. In 1987, it was one of the first conservative groups to call for the release of Nelson Mandela, a position for which it was roundly criticized by other conservatives at the time. While I headed the IFF, we accepted funding only from private individuals and corporations and would have absolutely rejected any offer of South African military funding, or any other kind of funding from any government – good or evil.
During this period in South Africa, Abramoff met South African-born rabbi David Lapin, who later became his religious advisor. He also met Lapin's brother and fellow rabbi Daniel Lapin, who allegedly introduced Abramoff to Congressman Tom DeLay (R-TX) at a Washington, D.C. dinner shortly after the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994. Lapin later claimed that he did not recall making the introduction.
Lobbyist
Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds
Further information: Preston Gates & EllisIn December 1994, Abramoff was hired as a lobbyist at Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP, the lobbying arm of the law firm Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, based in Seattle. According to The Seattle Times, following the Republican takeover of Congress in 1995, partner Emanuel Rouvelas determined that the firm "didn't have a conservative, Christian Coalition Republican with strong ties to the new Republican leadership". The traditionally Democratic-leaning firm hired Abramoff for the specific purpose of attaining these wanted ties. Abramoff was described in a press release as having close ties to Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey, the former the Republican Speaker of the House and the latter the Republican House Majority Leader.
The Seattle Times reported in February 2006 that Abramoff used Preston Gates & Ellis to access a higher pedigree of clientele.
Choctaw gambling
In 1995, Abramoff began representing Native American tribes with gambling interests. He became involved with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a federally recognized tribe. One of Abramoff's first acts as a tribal gaming lobbyist was to defeat a Congressional bill to tax Native American casinos, sponsored by Bill Archer (R-TX) and Ernest Istook (R-OK). According to Washington Business Forward, a lobbying trade magazine, "Tom DeLay was a major factor in those victories, and the fight helped cement the alliance between the two men". DeLay has called Abramoff "one of (his) closest and dearest friends".
On December 29, 2005, The Washington Post reported: "Jack Abramoff liked to slip into dialogue from The Godfather as he led his lobbying colleagues in planning their next conquest on Capitol Hill. In a favorite bit, he would mimic an ice-cold Michael Corleone facing down a crooked U.S. Senator's demand for a cut of Mafia gambling profits: 'Senator, you can have my answer now if you like. My offer is this: nothing.'"
Salon.com political writer Thomas Frank considers Abramoff to have acted as a con man. Alex Gibney, director and writer of the 2010 documentary film Casino Jack and the United States of Money, described Abramoff's criminal modus operandi, saying, "one of his (Abramoff's) great gifts was being able to tell people what they wanted to hear, and this was how he was able to sell things and get them into trouble." He was interviewed with former U.S. Representative Bob Ney and former Greenberg Traurig lobbyist Neil Volz on Kojo Nnamdi's National Public Radio affiliate WAMU-FM radio show.
Saipan and Northern Mariana Islands
Main article: Jack Abramoff CNMI scandalAbramoff and his law firm were paid at least $6.7 million by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) from 1995 to 2001. It made manufactured goods labeled with "Made in the USA", but it was not subject to U.S. labor and minimum wage laws. After Abramoff paid for DeLay and his staffers to go on trips to the CNMI, they crafted policy that extended exemptions from federal immigration and labor laws to the islands' industries. Abramoff also negotiated with the Marianas for a $1.2 million no-bid contract for "promoting ethics in government" to be awarded to David Lapin, brother of his associate Daniel Lapin.
Abramoff secretly funded a trip to the Marianas for Congressmen James E. Clyburn (D-SC) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS). In 1999, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) went on an Abramoff-funded trip to the Marshall Islands with John Doolittle (R-CA) and Ken Calvert (R-CA), delegates of Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, and eight staffers.
Documentation indicates that Abramoff's lobbying team helped prepare Rep. Ralph Hall's (R-TX) statements on the House floor in which he attacked the credibility of escaped teenaged sex worker "Katrina", in an attempt to discredit her testimony regarding the state of the sex slave industry in the Marianas. Ms. magazine reported Abramoff's dealings in the CNMI and the plight of garment workers like Katrina in a major article published in their spring 2006 issue.
Abramoff arranged for mailings from a Ralph Reed marketing company to Christian conservative voters. He bribed Roger Stillwell, a high-ranking political appointee at the Department of the Interior who was responsible for some Native American gaming policy; Stillwell pleaded guilty in 2006 to accepting gifts from Abramoff. All government officials and employees are prohibited from accepting gifts from consultants, businesses and lobbyists.
Naftasib
Executives of Naftasib, a Russian energy company, funneled almost $3.4 million to Abramoff and DeLay advisor Ed Buckham between 1997 and 2005. About $60,000 was spent on a trip to Russia in 1997 for Tom DeLay, Buckham, and Abramoff. In 1998, $1 million was sent to Buckham via his organization U.S. Family Network to "influence DeLay's vote in 1998 on legislation that helped make it possible for the International Monetary Fund to bail out the faltering Russian economy". DeLay voted for the legislation. The money was funneled through the Dutch company Voor Huisen, the Bahamas company Chelsea Enterprises, and the London law firm James & Sarch Co.
The executives involved, who met DeLay during the 1997 trip, were Marina Nevskaya and Alexander Koulakovsky. Nevskaya was also involved in Abramoff's support of an Israeli military academy, according to an email sent to Abramoff.
eLottery, Inc.
Main article: Internet Gambling Prohibition ActIn 1999, eLottery hired Abramoff to block the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, which he did by enlisting Ralph Reed, Norquist, and Tom DeLay's former chief of staff, Tony Rudy.
Emails from 2000 indicate that Susan Ralston helped Abramoff pass checks from eLottery to Lou Sheldon's Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) and Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), en route to Ralph Reed's company, Century Strategies.
Greenberg Traurig
Main article: Team Abramoff Further information: Greenberg TraurigOn January 8, 2001, Abramoff left Preston Gates to join the government relations division of Greenberg Traurig in Washington, D.C. The firm described Abramoff as "directly involved in the Republican party and conservative movement leadership structures" and "one of the leading fund raisers for the party and its congressional candidates". With the move to Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff took as much as $6 million worth of client business from his old firm, including the Marianas Islands account. At Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff recruited a team of lobbyists known familiarly as "Team Abramoff". The team included many of his former employees from Preston Gates and former senior staffers of members of Congress.
Tribal lobbying
Main article: Jack Abramoff Native American lobbying scandalAbramoff's Tribal Clients |
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
Mashpee Wampanoag people of Massachusetts |
Around the time he joined Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff's choice of lobbying clients changed to focus much more on Native American tribes. While Abramoff was a registered lobbyist for 51 clients while working at Preston Gates, with only four being tribes, Abramoff eventually represented 24 clients at Greenberg Taurig, according to lobbyist registration records, seven of which were tribes.
Tyco International Ltd.
Former White House Deputy Counsel Timothy Flanigan left his job in December 2002 to work as General Counsel for Corporate and International Law at Tyco International. He immediately hired Abramoff to lobby Congress and the White House on matters relating to Tyco's Bermuda tax-exempt status. Flanigan stated to the Senate Judiciary Committee that Abramoff "bragged" that he could help Tyco avoid tax liability aimed at offshore companies because he "had good relationships with members of Congress".
In August 2005, Tyco Inc. claimed that Abramoff had been paid $1.7 million for "astroturfing", or the creation of a fake "grassroots" campaign to oppose proposals to penalize U.S. corporations registered abroad for tax reasons. The work allegedly was never performed, and most of the fee Tyco paid Abramoff to lobby against the legislation was "diverted to entities controlled by Mr. Abramoff".
Foreign governments
Abramoff's team represented the government of Malaysia, and worked toward improving Malaysian relations with the United States, particularly with trade relations.
Abramoff also met with the government of Sudan, offering a plan to deflect criticism from American Christian groups over the regime's alleged role in the Darfur conflict. Abramoff promised to enlist Reed to assist and start a grassroots campaign to improve the image of Sudan in the United States.
Channel One News
Abramoff was a lobbyist for the school television news service Channel One News. From 1999 to 2003, Channel One retained him to ensure Congress did not block funds to their service. Not only did Channel One face frequent campaigns by political groups to persuade Congress to limit its presence in schools, but it also derived much of its advertising revenue from U.S. government sources, including the Office of National Drug Control Policy and military recruitment. Since Abramoff and Channel One parted ways, Channel One's advertising revenues have dropped substantially, but a cause-and-effect relationship would be difficult to establish.
Telecommunications firm
On October 18, 2005, The Washington Post reported that Bob Ney, as chair of the House Administration Committee, approved a 2002 license for Israel-based telecommunications company to install antennas for the U.S. House of Representatives. The company, then Foxcom Wireless, an Israeli start-up telecommunications firm, which has later relocated its headquarters from Jerusalem to Vienna, Virginia, and was renamed MobileAccess Networks, paid Abramoff $280,000 for lobbying. It also donated $50,000 to the Capital Athletic Foundation, a charity that Abramoff sometimes used to secretly pay for some of his lobbying activities. In Michael Scanlon's plea agreement, these activities were described as public corruption.
Skyboxes, "Signatures", and Scotland
Abramoff spent over $1 million to maintain four skyboxes at major sports arenas for political entertaining, and hosted fundraisers at these skyboxes. including events for politicians publicly opposed to gambling, such as U.S. Representative John Doolittle (R-CA).
Then Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Max Baucus returned $18,892 in contributions that his office found to be connected to Abramoff. Included in the returned donations was an estimated $1,892 that was never reported for Baucus' use of Abramoff's skybox at a professional sports arena and concert venue in Washington, D.C., in 2001.
Abramoff also co-owned of Signatures Restaurant, a high-end Washington establishment which he used to reward friends and associates. His fellow lobbyist Kevin A. Ring treated Justice Department official Robert E. Coughlin to free tickets to the skyboxes and took him out to Signatures multiple times in exchange for favors. The restaurant, once thriving, was closed once investigations closed in on Abramoff.
DeLay, Ney and Florida Republican Representative Tom Feeney have each gone on golf trips to Scotland that were apparently arranged or funded by Abramoff. These trips took place in 2000, 2002 and 2003. Ney and Feeney each claimed that their trips were paid for by the National Center for Public Policy Research, but the group denied this. Spokespeople for Ney and Feeney blamed others for filing errors. Ney later pleaded guilty to knowing that Abramoff had paid for the trip.
A former top procurement official in the Bush administration, David H. Safavian, has been convicted of lying and obstruction of justice in connection with the Abramoff investigation. Safavian, who traveled to Scotland with Reed and Ney on a golf outing arranged by Abramoff, was accused of concealing from federal investigators information about Abramoff's plans to do business with the General Services Administration at the time of the golf trip – in particular, seeking help finding property for his private religious school, Eshkol Academy, and for one of his tribal clients. Safavian was then GSA chief of staff. However, this conviction was overturned on appeal.
Access to the Bush administration
Jack Abramoff was a highly influential figure as lobbyist and activist in the Bush administration. In 2001, Abramoff was a member of the Bush administration's 2001 Transition Advisory Team assigned to the Department of the Interior. Abramoff befriended the incoming Deputy Secretary of the Interior J. Steven Griles.
The draft report of the House Government Reform Committee said the documents – largely Abramoff's billing records and e-mails – listed 485 lobbying contacts with White House officials over three years, including 10 with top Bush aide Karl Rove. The report said that of the 485 contacts listed, 345 were described as meetings or other in-person contacts; 71 were described as phone conversations and 69 were e-mail exchanges.
In the first ten months of 2001, the Abramoff lobbying team logged almost 200 contacts with the Bush administration. He may have used these senior level contacts to assist in his lobbying for Indian tribes concerning tribal gaming. The Department of the Interior has Federal regulatory authority over tribal affairs such as tribal recognition and gaming. From 2000 to 2003, six Indian tribes paid Abramoff over $80 million in lobbying fees.
The Department of the Interior Office of Insular Affairs has authority over policy and grants to US territories such as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). This may have assisted Abramoff in lobbying for textile interests in the islands. U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) and DeLay also heavily lobbied the CNMI for opposing the minimum wage.
Abramoff asked for $9 million in 2003 from the president of Gabon, Omar Bongo, to arrange a meeting with Bush and directed his fees to an Abramoff-controlled lobbying firm, GrassRoots Interactive. Bongo did meet with Bush in the Oval Office on May 26, 2004. There has been no evidence in the public record that Abramoff had any role in organizing the meeting, or that he received any money or had a signed contract with Gabon.
White House and State Department officials described Bush's meeting with Bongo, whose government is regularly accused by the United States of human rights abuses, as routine. The officials said they knew of no involvement by Abramoff in the arrangements. Officials at Gabon's embassy in Washington did not respond to written questions.
Susan Ralston, Rove's assistant since 2001, previously worked as an administrative assistant for both Abramoff and Reed.
According to former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to arrange a meeting between Mahathir and Bush, allegedly at the direction of The Heritage Foundation. Mahathir insisted that someone unknown to him had paid for the meeting.
On May 9, 2001, Chief Raul Garza of the Kickapoo tribe of Texas met with Bush, with Abramoff and Norquist in attendance. Abramoff was identified in the background of a photo taken at the meeting. Days before the meeting, the tribe paid $25,000 to Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform at Abramoff's direction. According to the organization's communications director, John Kartch, the meeting was one of several gatherings with Bush sponsored by ATR. On the same day, the chief of the Louisiana Coushattas also attended an ATR-sponsored gathering with Bush. The Coushattas also gave $25,000 to ATR soon before the event.
The details of the Kickapoo meeting and a letter dated May 10, 2001, from ATR thanking the Kickapoos for their contribution were revealed to the New York Times in 2006 by former council elder Isidro Garza, who with Raul Garza (no relation), is under indictment in Texas for embezzling tribal money. According to Isidro Garza, Abramoff did not say the donation was required to meet Bush; the White House denied any knowledge of the transaction.
Other photos have surfaced of Abramoff and Bush meeting at the White House and Oval Office on either December 22 or 23, 2002. The photos were found on a site that published many pictures of governmental events, ReflectionsOrders.com. The owner of the site removed the photos almost immediately when the presence of Abramoff and Bush together was discovered. Some Internet users located the photos and preserved copies of some of them. The owner of the site gave thousands of dollars to the Bush campaign and Republican National Committee, according to public FEC contribution records.
An NPR news report from March 2006 stated that: "... Abramoff recently granted a rare press interview to Vanity Fair magazine, where he asserts President Bush and other prominent figures in Washington know him very well. He called them liars for denying contact with him".
In June 2006, Abramoff began secretly granting exclusive interviews to former Boston Globe investigative reporter Gary S. Chafetz, without the knowledge of Abramoff's attorneys or the federal prosecutors with whom Abramoff had been cooperating. These interviews – conducted before and during Abramoff's imprisonment – continued until May 2008. In September 2008, Chafetz's book, The Perfect Villain: John McCain and the Demonization of Lobbyist Jack Abramoff was rushed into print prior to the 2008 presidential election. In his book, Chafetz asserted that Abramoff, though guilty of some of the charges, was the victim of misleading and sensational reporting by the Washington Post, vengeance and mendacity on the part of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and strong-arm tactics of the Justice Department who forced Abramoff into confessing to crimes he did not believe he was guilty of. Chafetz also accused federal prosecutors of abusive – and possibly illegal – tactics in their reliance on private and public honest services fraud, which he characterized as vague and controversial.
Abramoff organizations
Main article: List of Jack Abramoff-related organizationsAbramoff has founded or run several non-profit organizations, including Capital Athletic Foundation and Eshkol Academy; as well as lobbying firms and political think tanks such as American International Center, GrassRoots Interactive, and the National Center for Public Policy Research. While these organizations had varying degrees of legitimate activities, it has come to light that Abramoff used these organizations to channel millions of dollars to recipients not related to the organizations.
Capital Athletic Foundation and Eshkol Academy
Main articles: Capital Athletic Foundation and Eshkol AcademyAlthough Federal tax records show that various Indian tribes donated more than $6 million to the Capital Athletic Foundation, less than 1% of the money went to athletic programs, the stated purpose of the foundation. The majority of the funds went to the Eshkol Academy in Maryland, an Orthodox Jewish school founded by Abramoff in 2002. Hundreds of thousands of dollars from CAF were also spent on golf trips to Scotland for Abramoff, Ney, Ralph Reed Safavian, as well as purchases of camping equipment sent to a high school friend. Abramoff solicited Safavian's help in looking for property deals for Eshkol Academy and tribal clients, leading to Safavian's conviction.
GrassRoots Interactive and Kay Gold
Main article: GrassRoots InteractiveGrassRoots Interactive, now defunct, was a small Silver Spring, Maryland, lobbying firm controlled by Abramoff and PJ Johnson. Millions of dollars flowed into GrassRoots Interactive in 2003, the year it was created, and then flowed out again to unusual places. At least $2.3 million went to a California consulting firm that used the same address as the law office of Abramoff's brother, Robert. A separate check for $400,000, from GrassRoots, was made out to Kay Gold LLC, another Abramoff family company.
Maldon Institute
Abramoff was a board member and secretary/treasurer of the Maldon Institute for at least five years (1999–2003). He was one of only four board members, including PJ Johnson and John Rees.
Scandal and criminal investigations
In late 2004, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee began to investigate Abramoff's lobbying on behalf of American Indian tribes and casinos. In September he was called before the Committee to answer questions about that work, but pleaded the fifth.
SunCruz Casinos fraud conviction
Main article: SunCruz CasinosOn August 11, 2005, Abramoff and Adam Kidan were indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on fraud charges arising from a 2000 deal to buy SunCruz Casinos from Gus Boulis. Abramoff and Kidan are accused of using a fake wire transfer to make lenders believe that they had made a $23 million down payment, in order to qualify for a $60 million loan. Ney also was implicated in helping to consummate the deal.
After the partners purchased SunCruz in September 2000, the business relationship with Boulis deteriorated, culminating in a fistfight between Kidan and Boulis in December 2000. In February 2001 Boulis was murdered in his car in a Mafia-style attack. The murder investigation included three individuals who had received payments from Kidan. Two of the suspects received life sentences for the murder charges, while a third associate pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 6 and half years time served already after he testified against his co-conspirators.
On January 4, 2006, Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud in Miami, related to the SunCruz deal. The plea agreement called for a maximum sentence of just over seven years and would run concurrently with the sentence in the Washington corruption case, but could be reduced if Abramoff cooperated fully. The remaining four counts in the Florida indictment were dismissed.
On March 29, 2006, Abramoff and Kidan were both sentenced in the SunCruz case to the minimum amount of 70 months, and ordered to pay US$21.7 million in restitution. According to the "memorandum in aid of sentencing", the sentencing judge, U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck, received over 260 pleas for leniency from various people, including "rabbis, military officers and even a professional hockey referee."
Guam grand jury investigation
Main article: Jack Abramoff Guam investigationIn 2002 Abramoff was retained under a secret contract by the Guam Superior Court to lobby against a bill proposing to put the Superior Court under the authority of the Guam Supreme Court. On November 18, 2002, a grand jury issued a subpoena demanding that the administrator of the Guam Superior Court release all records relating to the contract. On November 19, 2002, U.S. Attorney Frederick A. Black, the chief prosecutor for Guam and the instigator of the indictment, was unexpectedly demoted and removed from the office he had held since 1991. The federal grand jury investigation was quickly wound down and took no further action. In 2005 Public Auditor Doris Flores Brooks initiated a new investigation of the Abramoff contract, which is continuing.
In 2006 California attorney and Marshall Islands lobbyist Howard Hills, and Tony Sanchez, a former administrator of the Guam Superior Court, were indicted for unlawful influence, conspiracy for unlawful influence, theft of property held in trust, and official misconduct for allegedly authorizing 36 payments of $9,000 vis a vis a pre-existing contract between Hills and the Guam Superior Court, each written out to Hills, but funneled to Abramoff. Hills, trusting Sanchez as a court official at face value, assumed that this was a temporary circumstance and agreed to help facilitate transition for what he thought was a standard government contract between Abramoff and the court. For this Hills received no compensation. Before indictments or investigations were initiated, Hills halted his temporary contract with Abramoff and reported what he thought was potentially suspicious behavior to public officials when it occurred to him that something may be wrong. In 2007, superseding indictments were issued against Hills and Sanchez, and in 2008 further related indictments were handed down against Abramoff and Abramoff's firm at the time, Greenberg Traurig. The charges against both attorney Howard Hills and Greenberg Traurig have since been dismissed.
Native tribes grand jury investigations
Main article: Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandalAbramoff and his partner, Michael Scanlon (a former Tom DeLay aide), conspired to bilk Native casino gambling interests out of an estimated $85 million in fees. The lobbyists also orchestrated lobbying against their own clients in order to force them to pay for lobbying services. These practices were the subject both of long-running criminal prosecution and hearings by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. On November 21, 2005, Scanlon pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe a member of Congress and other public officials.
On January 3, 2006, Abramoff pleaded guilty to three felony counts – conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion – involving charges stemming principally from his lobbying activities in Washington on behalf of Native American tribes. The four tribes Abramoff and his associates had been involved with included Michigan's Saginaw Chippewas, California's Agua Caliente, the Mississippi Choctaws, and the Louisiana Coushattas. As a result, Abramoff and other defendants must make restitution of at least $25 million that was defrauded from clients, primarily the Native American tribes. Further, Abramoff owes the Internal Revenue Service $1.7 million as a result of his guilty plea to the tax evasion charge. In the agreement, Abramoff admits to bribing public officials, including Ney. Also included: the hiring of congressional staffers and conspiring with them to lobby their former employers – including members of Congress – in violation of a one-year federal ban on such lobbying.
Later in 2006 Abramoff lobbyists Neil Volz and Tony Rudy pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges; in September 2006 Ney himself pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements.
On September 4, 2008, a Washington court found Abramoff guilty of trading expensive gifts, meals and sports trips in exchange for political favors, and U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle sentenced him to a four-year term in prison, to be served concurrently with his previous sentences. Abramoff cooperated in a bribery investigation involving lawmakers, their aides, and members of the Bush administration.
People convicted in Abramoff probe
Eventually 24 people were convicted of corruption or bribery.
- Adam Kidan (an Abramoff associate), was sentenced in Florida in March 2006, serving 27 months in prison, followed by three years of probation.
- Todd Boulanger, an Abramoff deputy, pleaded guilty to lavishing congressional aides with meals, gifts and tickets to sporting events, concerts, and the circus in exchange for help with legislation favorable to Abramoff's clients. Sentenced to 30 days and fined.
- Roger Stillwell (R) Staff in the Department of the Interior under George W. Bush(R). Pleaded guilty and received two years suspended sentence for not reporting hundreds of dollars' worth of sports and concert tickets he received from Abramoff.
- Steven Griles (R) (former Deputy Interior Secretary) the highest-ranking Bush administration official convicted in the scandal, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. He admitted lying to a Senate committee about his relationship with Abramoff, who repeatedly sought Griles' intervention at Interior on behalf of Indian tribal clients.
- David Safavian (R) (former White House official), the Bush administration's former top procurement official, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in October 2006 after he was found guilty of covering up his dealings with Abramoff.
- Bob Ney (R-OH) then U. S. Representative, pleaded guilty September 2006, sentenced in January 2007 to 2½ years in prison, acknowledged taking bribes from Abramoff. Ney was in the traveling party on an Abramoff-sponsored golf trip to Scotland at the heart of the case against Safavian.
- Neil Volz (R) a former chief of staff to Ney who left government to work for Abramoff, pleaded guilty in May 2006 to conspiring to corrupt Ney and others with trips and other aid
- William Heaton (R) former chief of staff for Ney, pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge involving a golf trip to Scotland, expensive meals, and tickets to sporting events between 2002 and 2004 as payoffs for helping Abramoff's clients.
- Thomas Hart (R) former chief of staff for Ney, pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge involving a golf trip to Scotland, expensive meals, and tickets to sporting events between 2002 and 2004 as payoffs for helping Abramoff's clients.
- Italia Federici (R) co-founder of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, pleaded guilty to tax evasion and obstruction of a Senate investigation into Abramoff's relationship with officials at the Department of the Interior.
- Jared Carpenter (R) Vice-President of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, was discovered during the Abramoff investigation and pleaded guilty to income tax evasion. He got 45 days, plus 4 years probation.
- Mark Zachares (R) former aide to U. S. Representative Don Young(R-AL), pleaded guilty to conspiracy. He acknowledged accepting tens of thousands of dollars' worth of gifts and a golf trip to Scotland from Abramoff's team in exchange for official acts on the lobbyist's behalf.
- Kevin A. Ring (R) former staff to John Doolittle (R-CA) was convicted of five charges of corruption. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison in October 2011.
- James Hirni (R) US Senate aide, acknowledged bribing Trevor L. Blackann (R) aide to US Senator Kit Bond (R) with meals, concert passes and tickets to the opening game of the 2003 World Series between the Florida Marlins and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, pleaded guilty to using wire communications to defraud taxpayers of congressional aides' honest services.
- Trevor L. Blackann (R) a former aide to US Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) and then-US Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), pleaded guilty to not reporting $4,100 in gifts from lobbyists in return for helping clients of Abramoff and his associates. Among the gifts were tickets to the World Series and concerts, plus meals and entertainment at a "gentleman's club."
- Michael Scanlon (R) a former Staff member of Tom DeLay, pled guilty to committing bribery in the course of his work for Abramoff.
- Tony Rudy (R) another former staff member of Tom DeLay, he also left DeLay to work with Abramoff; pleaded guilty to conspiracy.
- John Albaugh (R) former Chief of Staff to Ernest Istook (R-OK), pleaded guilty to accepting bribes connected to the Federal Highway Bill. Istook was not charged. (2008)
- Robert E. Coughlin (R) Deputy Chief of Staff, Criminal Division of the Justice Department pleaded guilty to conflict of interest after accepting bribes from Jack Abramoff. (2008)
- Horace Cooper (R) a former Labor Department official with the Bush administration and aide to US Rep. Dick Armey (R-TX), pleaded guilty to falsifying a document when he did not report receiving gifts from Abramoff.
- Ann Copland (R) a former aide to US Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) pleaded guilty to taking more than $25,000 worth of concert and sporting event tickets in return for helping Abramoff.
- Roger Stillwell, a former Interior Department official, was sentenced to two years on probation in January 2007 after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge for not reporting hundreds of dollars worth of sports and concert tickets he received from Abramoff.
- Fraser Verrusio (R) former Transportation Dept official, was found guilty of conspiracy and accepting bribes. Sentenced to 1 day in jail, 2 years' probation and a $1,000 fine.
Incarceration
Abramoff served four years of a six-year sentence. On November 15, 2006, he began serving his term in the minimum security prison camp of Federal Correctional Institution, Cumberland, Maryland, as inmate number 27593-112. The Justice Department had requested that he serve his sentence there so as to be accessible to agents in Washington for cooperation as the investigations related to his associates intensified. Abramoff worked as a clerk in the prison chaplain's office for 12 cents an hour. He was also teaching courses in public speaking and screenwriting to his fellow inmates and instituted a popular movie night.
Post-release activities
On June 8, 2010, he was released from federal prison and was transferred to a halfway house in Baltimore, Maryland, until the end of his six-year sentence. In late June he began working as an accountant at the kosher pizzeria Tov Pizza, working about 40 hours a week from 10:30 a.m. till 5:30 p.m., earning between $7.50 and $10.00 per hour. He finished working at Tov Pizza when he was released from the halfway house on December 3, 2010.
Abramoff has returned to lobbying since his release from prison, having attempted to arrange meetings between then President-elect Donald Trump and foreign leaders. He is registered as a lobbyist.
On June 25, 2020, Abramoff and CEO Roland Marcus Andrade were charged in San Francisco federal court with fraud in connection with a $5 million cryptocurrency deal. Abramoff agreed to a negotiated plea of guilty. On July 14, 2020, Abramoff pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and violating the Lobbying Disclosure Act in relation to the AML BitCoin case. Abramoff faces up to five years in prison for each count. Notably, this makes Abramoff the first person to be convicted under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, which was amended as a result of his previous misconduct.
Criticism of lobbying industry
I was involved deeply in a system of bribery – legalized bribery for the most part ... still to a large part exists today.
In November 2011, the book Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist Abramoff wrote after he was released from prison was published. The 300-page memoir is an account of his life in Washington as a lobbyist. In its last chapter, titled "Path to Reform", Abramoff portrays himself as someone who supports genuine reform and lists a number of proposals to eliminate bribery of government officials, such as barring members of Congress and their aides for life from becoming lobbyists.
Abramoff has become a critic of the lobbying industry and has appeared on radio and television, "trying ... to redeem and rebrand himself". He has a Facebook page and game app called "Congressional Jack", and a feature film in the works about the lobbying milieu. He plans to charge for giving talks about corruption in Washington, and has briefed F.B.I. agents on the nature of corruption. He has joined the United Republic anticorruption nonprofit organization and has started in February 2012 as one of the lead bloggers at United Republic's newly launched Republic Report, described as "an anti-corruption blog focusing on how self-interested dollars are warping the public-interest responsibilities of America's democratic institutions" by the Huffington Post.
He has appeared as a guest on CNN to talk about lobbying and the Affordable Care Act healthcare reform law. In July 2012, Premier Networks announced it was launching "The Jack Abramoff Show" on XM Satellite Radio's "Talk Radio" channel, on which Abramoff would hold forth on political reform.
Following Abramoff's return to lobbying after his time in prison, lawmakers passed the Justice Against Corruption on K Street (JACK) Act, which requires convicts such as Abramoff to disclose their criminal history when they re-register to lobby.
In June 2020, Jack Abramoff entered guilty pleas on charges of criminal conspiracy and failing to adhere to the JACK Act.
Personal life
Abramoff has been married to Pamela Clarke Abramoff (née Alexander), a co-manager and executive assistant at Capital Athletic Foundation, since July 1986. The couple has five children. Pamela is a convert to Orthodox Judaism.
See also
References
- James, Frank (November 18, 2011). "Jack Abramoff: From Corrupt Lobbyist To Washington Reformer". NPR. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
- "Red Scorpion (1988)". IMDb. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- Prokop, Andrew (May 22, 2014). "Beating the odds". Vox Media. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ Froomkin, Dan (October 28, 2011). "Jack Abramoff, In New Book, Decries Endemic Corruption In Washington". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
- Dele Olojede; Timothy M. Phelps (July 16, 1995). "Front for Apartheid". Newsday.
- ^ Schmidt, Susan; Grimaldi, James V. (December 29, 2005). "The Fast Rise and Steep Fall of Jack Abramoff". Washington Post. p. A01. Retrieved August 17, 2006.
- ^ "Inmate Locator". Archived from the original on August 27, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- Stephen Holden, "The Eye in a Hurricane of Corruption", New York Times, May 7, 2010.
- "Casino Jack". January 7, 2011. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via IMDb.
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External links
- Official website
- Jack Abramoff at IMDb
- Posts by Jack Abramoff at Republic Report
- Appearances on C-SPAN
Jack Abramoff scandals | |
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Events and scandals | |
Pleaded guilty or convicted | |
Indicted/charged | |
Named but not charged | |
Films | |
Others | |
Lists |
- People associated with the Jack Abramoff scandals
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