A string of politicians and public officials have regretted making
friends with Jack Abramoff. The former super lobbyist has boasted that at one
point he essentially owned about one-quarter of Congress.
Those lawmakers included six-term Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio. He pleaded
guilty in 2006 to two felony counts after admitting he accepted gifts, trips
and campaign contributions from Abramoff as part of a wide-ranging conspiracy
and one of the most audacious lobbying scandals in congressional history.
Ney was the only member of Congress to go to prison due to the
scandal. He was sentenced to 2½ years. But it also derailed the political
career of the once-powerful House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.
While DeLay himself was never implicated in the Abramoff scandal,
two of his former top staffers pleaded guilty to corruption charges. After
being indicted on state corruption charges in Texas — of which he would later
be cleared — DeLay resigned from Congress in 2006.
Some two dozen people were convicted or pleaded guilty in the Abramoff
scandal, including two former White House staffers in the George W. Bush
administration.
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