Quick Primer on Jack Abramoff (DeLay's buddy) scandal

[DFWdem]

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050829/29jack.htm

Specifically, Abramoff and his partner, Michael Scanlon, had sent $4 million to Abramoff's old friend Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition, to run a grass-roots operation to generate support for Cornyn's effort to shut Speaking Rock. But never mind that; Abramoff and Scanlon were still able to get $4.2 million out of the Tiguas for an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to reopen Speaking Rock. In fact, the Tigua tribal council voted on the deal the very same day a local newspaper ran a story about 450 casino employees being laid off--an irony that wasn't lost on Abramoff. "Is life great or what!!!" he wrote Scanlon in an E-mail.

Some had a different view. Marc Schwartz, a Texas consultant who served as the Tiguas' point man on the deal with Abramoff, told a congressional panel it was one of "the most despicable acts of greed and fraud that I hope to never, ever see again." Today, the Tigua affair is at the heart of a complex series of deals and machinations that may, in sum, represent the biggest political lobbying scandal to hit Washington in a generation. A federal grand jury is looking into Abramoff's lucrative lobbying on behalf of several Indian tribes and examining his relationships with influential members of Congress. Along with Scanlon, Abramoff collected a staggering $87 million over five years from tribes in Louisiana, Michigan, California, Mississippi, and Alabama, congressional investigators say.

That's only part of the story, however. Earlier this month, Abramoff and a former business partner were indicted on federal fraud charges related to the failed purchase of a Florida casino-boat company. The six-count indictment alleges that Abramoff and Adam Kidan falsified a wire transfer of $23 million in order to persuade two lenders to produce $60 million to finance the purchase of the firm, SunCruz Casinos, from Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis, in 2000. Boulis was killed by three gunshots to the chest in early 2001 as he drove home from a business meeting, and the crime remains unsolved. The indictment makes no mention of the killing. Through his attorney, Abramoff has denied the fraud charges.

The jury is still out on that. But some Democrats are elated by the fact that DeLay has been drawn into the Abramoff inquiry. "One of my closest and dearest friends," DeLay once said of Abramoff. The two men enjoyed lavish overseas trips together and played some memorable golf at historic links like Scotland's St. Andrews. The trips, too, are being examined by federal and congressional investigators.

Much more at the link. Some big-time beltway players are undoubtedly in deep crap.

[Beam Me Up]

1. Thanks for this. It is so hard to follow EVERYTHING. Primers like this

really help.

Book marked and nominated.

:thumbsup: