Here is that article.
An excerpt:
A Justice prosecutor, Nathaniel Edmonds, said Scanlon was the first defendant to plead guilty and assist the government. Edmonds said the help Scanlon provided, starting with his guilty plea in 2005, was “critical” in unraveling the scheme. More background on the case here from the Justice Department. Clickhere , here and here for earlier coverage of Abramoff and Scanlon.
From the New York Daily News:
Corkery/News
Kevin Spacey’s upcoming hilm, ‘Casino Jack,’ paints an unflattering picture of some real life politicians.
Filming just wrapped on “Casino Jack,” in whichKevin Spaceyplays jailed lobbyistJack Abramoff. Having gotten a peek atNorman Snider‘s deft script, we can tell you that some of its real-life characters have cause for concern.
The screenplay paintsGeorge W. BushandKarl Roveas much chummier with Abramoff than they’ve acknowledged. (“How you doing there, buff guy?” Bush asks the black-hatted con artist in oneOval Officescene.)
FormerHouse Majority Leader Tom DeLaycomes off worse. Cigar-smoking DeLay, played bySpencer Garrett, is seen golfing with Abramoff on that infamous junket toScotland. He also enjoys the Polynesian scenery on theMariana Islands, where Abramoff solicits his protection for American textile manufacturers, who, we see, are running sweatshops. Dining together at Abramoff’s D.C. restaurant, Abramoff tells DeLay: “Tom, you’ll never get a check in this restaurant.” Says DeLay: “Good. … You’re my dearest friend, Jack.”
Three of the top ten gaming donors to McCain are tribal (here).
The main article from the NYTs:
Senator John McCain was on a roll. In a room reserved for high-stakes gamblers at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, he tossed $100 chips around a hot craps table. When the marathon session ended around 2:30 a.m., the Arizona senator and his entourage emerged with thousands of dollars in winnings.
A lifelong gambler, Mr. McCain takes risks, both on and off the craps table. He was throwing dice that night not long after his failed 2000 presidential bid, in which he was skewered by the Republican Party’s evangelical base, opponents of gambling. Mr. McCain was betting at a casino he oversaw as a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and he was doing so with the lobbyist who represents that casino, according to three associates of Mr. McCain.
From truthout:
Jack Abramoff, the onetime powerhouse Republican lobbyist whose influence peddling led to one of the biggest public corruption investigations in recent history, was sentenced by a federal judge today to four years in prison.
The sentence handed out by U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle comes nearly three years after Abramoff pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion, fraud and conspiracy for plying public officials with gifts in exchange for official actions.
It means that Abramoff likely will remain in prison until 2012, regardless of whether his sentence in a separate Florida fraud and conspiracy case is reduced. Huvelle said she wrestled with the appropriate sentence for Abramoff because he has cooperated extensively with authorities but committed “serious offenses.”
Indianz reports that the sentencing hearing for Jack Abramoff is tomorrow. Here are the two pleadings submitted to the court involving sentencing. The government’s memo details Abramoff’s fraudulent dealings with Indian tribes.
The case is US v. Safavian, and the opinion is here.
From the news coverage:
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court overturned the conviction of a former White House official Tuesday in a significant defeat for prosecutors who are overseeing the investigation into the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal.
David Safavian was convicted in 2006 of four charges related to statements he made to officials who were investigating Abramoff, a former lobbyist who pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe lawmakers and bilking his Indian-tribe clients out of millions of dollars.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out two felony-concealment charges against Safavian, saying he had “no legal duty to disclose” details about his relationship with Abramoff to General Services Administration ethics and inspector-general officials. At the time, Safavian was the GSA’s chief of staff and helped Abramoff attempt to buy two GSA-managed properties in the Washington area.
From Indianz:
Disgraced Republican lobbyists Jack Abramoff is in prison but his name is being thrown around a lot as the House considers legislation to authorize two off-reservation casinos.
Abramoff lobbied against casinos sought by tribes in Louisiana and Michigan. One of his former clients was the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, which spent $14 million in hopes of defeating rival gaming projects. The Saginaw Chippewas dumped Abramoff but the tribe is opposing legislation to allow the Bay Mills Indian Community and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to open casinos hundreds of miles from existing reservation. Other opponents include members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Las Vegas gaming interests. “I’m somewhat optimistic that we can get this through Congress, which is not to say it isn’t going to be a battle,” Bay Mills Chairman Jeff Parker told The Port Huron Times Herald. “Those opposed to this for financial reasons will continue to throw money at it.”
From the Port Huron Times Herald:
A media blitz aimed at rallying opposition to proposed casinos in Port Huron and Romulus is being orchestrated by a public-relations consultant who has worked for some of the biggest names in Democratic politics.
Peter Ragone III confirmed he is president of the newly created Americans for Gaming Reform Inc., which has launched a radio campaign in Detroit and bought a full-page ad Tuesday in Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Capitol Hill.
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