Posted on 09/16/2006 6:29:34 AM PDT by staytrue
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"Congressman Ney admits that he corruptly solicited and accepted a stream of benefits, valued at tens of thousands of dollars, in exchange for agreeing to perform, and performing, a series of official acts," said Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher. "He also admitted deceiving the public and the U.S. House of Representatives about his actions."
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Al-Zayat, known in London gambling circles as the "Fat Man," wanted to sell airplanes and airplane parts to Iran and, according to the plea agreement, Ney promised to ask the State Department to lift the ban and grant a visa for al-Zayat.
The Dispatch has reported that Ney had dinner in February 2003 with al-Zayat at a posh London casino where al-Zayat held a membership. In August 2003, Ney returned to the same casino, where he reported on his House financial disclosure records winning $34,000 from an initial $100 bet on a game of chance.
But according to the plea agreement, al-Zayat actually supplied Ney and at least one unnamed Ney staff member with thousands of dollars in gambling chips and allowed Ney to pocket the winnings. The plea agreement said Ney returned to the United States in February 2003 with $3,250 in winnings and $47,000 more in August of that year.
The plea agreement shows that Ney undertook extensive precautions to hide the amount of gambling money he brought back into the United States. Prosecutors said that during the August 2003 trip, Ney handed $5,000 to the unnamed staff member and asked him to carry the money through U.S. customs.
Ney admitted in the plea documents that he "intentionally concealed his receipt of the things of value from Abramoff and the foreign businessman," including filing a false U.S. Customs disclosure form where he stated his winnings, false congressional travel-disclosure forms and false congressional annual financial-disclosure forms.
In addition to casino-related money, the plea agreement said that Ney accepted three free trips from Abramoff — an August 2002 golfing junket to Scotland on a private jet, valued at $160,000; a gambling and vacation outing in New Orleans in May 2003, valued at $7,200; and a trip to Lake George, N.Y., in August 2003, at a cost of more than $3,500.
Ney also accepted "frequent meals and drinks," mostly at Abramoff’s then-Washington restaurant, Signatures, with total costs exceeding "many thousands of dollars," according to the Justice Department. Ney also took tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.
In return, Ney did such legislative favors as helping an Abramoff client to win a lucrative contract to install wireless telephone service in the House and promised Abramoff that he would insert into an election reform bill a provision that would have benefited a Texas tribe that wanted federal permission to re-open a casino.
In addition, the agreement says that Ney urged his former chief of staff, Neil Volz, to personally lobby him as soon as Volz left to become a private lobbyist for Abramoff. Federal law prevents any staff member from lobbying his former office for one year.
Cunningham now Ney, where is Kolbe in this? Republicans clean their house while Democrats let people like William Jefferson fester in denial like dust bunnies under the bed...........
Ney's been suspected of being "on the take" of the Iranian regime for years
Kolbe is retiring and is clean. The rinos seem to be less prone to corruption since they often come from the upper classes. Chafee, snowe, collins, dole, etc. are clean.
Besides greed what other malignant vice did this "Pol" exhibit? Usually out of the Seven "Pol's" exhibit ten!
A common thief who held a position of uncommon trust for years. He should be swabbing the prison floors and cleaning the toilets for many years with Abramoff, Cunningham, Fastow and Jeff Skilling.
Time for Hillary to come clean , what was Jack buying there ?
In recent prophecies, God has spoken that He will 'clean up Washington.' It's about time. I do believe all this 'shaking up' is as a result of His moving to do just what He declared. He's cleaning house. My, the dust is flying.
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