Abramoff: A Daily Wrap
ShareNational Journal's Richard Cohen has written a wrap-up of the day's events in Abramoff-ville.
Full text after the jump.
For the second consecutive day, Jack Abramoff pled guilty to federal charges in the continuing investigation of his lobbying and other business activities.
The Florida and Washington charges are connected in that Abramoff secured congressional assistance in navigating his complicated purchase of the cruise line.
Appearing this afternoon at the federal court in Miami, Abramoff signed a plea agreement to two felony counts: conspiracy and wire-fraud charges in connection with his purchase in 2000 of Florida-based SunCruz Casinos, which operates gambling cruise ships from several ports in the Sunshine State.
"Guilty, your honor," Abramoff told Judge Paul Huck, when he was asked how he wanted to plea, according to Associated Press. He agreed to cooperate in other federal proceedings, in return for which prosecutors agreed not to pursue additional charges against him.
Abramoff is scheduled to be sentenced on Mar. 16. His prison sentences are expected to run concurrently with his conviction for three separate charges for influence-peddling, to which he pleaded guilty in a Washington courtroom on Tuesday.
Today's convictions for Abramoff's corporate takeover of the troubled cruise line dealt with a separate set of issues from the Washington-based felonies. Adam Kidan, his partner in the venture, pleaded guilty to similar charges last month. Among other things, they made phony financial transfers and failed to provide accurate financial information. A few months after the SunCruz sale, previous owner Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis was murdered near his Fort Lauderdale office; three individuals, including one with organized-crime ties, were subsequently charged.
The Florida and Washington charges are connected in that Abramoff, according to his plea agreement with prosecutors, secured congressional assistance in navigating his complicated purchase of the cruise line, including statements of support that Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, submitted to the Congressional Record.
In a court document filed Tuesday, prosecutors agreed on the concurrent sentencing for the two plea deals, and that the Florida convictions were "not relevant conduct for sentencing purposes" in the Washington-based agreement. Otherwise, Abramoff likely would have faced a stiffer prison sentence.
Advertisement
Join the Discussion