Another Republican goes to jail

[telcoman]

One less corrupt Republican in Washington

Obama and Biden will finish the job starting Nov 4th--------------------------------------------------------------------------NY Times

September 5, 2008Abramoff Is Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison By NEIL A. LEWISWASHINGTON — Jack Abramoff, the one-time flamboyant lobbyist who amassed a fortune by showering officials, especially members of Congress and their aides, with gifts, was sentenced on Thursday to four years in prison.

Mr. Abramoff has already served about two years of a six-year prison term after pleading guilty to unrelated fraud charges in Florida. The sentence imposed on Thursday, which the judge said would be served at the same time as the Florida term, followed Mr. Abramoff’s guilty plea in Washington to charges of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials. He will have to serve nearly six years in jail on both sets charges.

Federal Judge Ellen S. Huvelle ordered that Mr. Abramoff serve the time on a variety of fraud and corruption charges that grew out of an influence-peddling investigation that touched Republican congressional leaders and mid-level officials in the Bush administration.

Mr. Abramoff, who had come to symbolize an out-of-control, even brazen style of courting government officials, told Judge Huvelle he had come to realize how far he had overstepped the bounds of what was permissible. He apologized profusely and said in a quavering voice that he had “fallen into an abyss. My name is the butt of a joke.”

Prosecutors had asked Judge Huvelle to reduce Mr. Abramoff’s sentence from the approximately 11 years recommended in federal sentencing guidelines. The judge’s decision to do so reflected Mr. Abramoff’s cooperation with investigators. Even so, the judge sentenced Mr. Abramoff to nine months longer than the 39 months the government had sought. She said that Mr. Abramoff had engaged in a “consistent course of corrupt conduct” but recognized his substantial cooperation with law enforcement authorities.

Beginning with the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994, Mr. Abramoff sat at the center of a lobbying conglomerate that bilked Indian tribes of tens of millions of dollars and then used much of that bundle to win favor with members of Congress. He provided members and their aides with gifts, the most infamous of which was a lavish golf outing to Scotland.

In asking for the reduction of his prison term, the government had cited his cooperation with investigators, which prosecutors said was, “wholly or partially credited for convictions of a Member of Congress, five high-level legislative branch officials, one high-level executive branch official and two other mid to low-level public officials.”

But the government also left open the possibility that the roster of people prosecuted under the umbrella of the Abramoff scandal could still expand, noting that there were still “ongoing investigations.” The government outlined Mr. Abramoff’s cooperation in those as-yet uncompleted investigations in a closed pleading to Judge Huvelle.

Those poor Indians!

Telcoman

[Cold_Zero]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twRPO7DQoL4

Y'all's Boy!

[Soravia]

Like dems don't and no other party's politicans ever did.

That's what you get when you elect someone without integrity. Which is why I root for the old dude McCain.

[Cold_Zero]

*cough*William J. Jefferson*cough*

[Soravia]

Aung San. Never heard of anyone better.

[Cold_Zero]

I'm locking this thread. i'm askingthe mods not to post around the lock. I'm tired of this stuff and EVERYONE needs to start playing nice.