Electronic eavesdropping on Congress and Senate? (Abramoff and Ney relate

[chat_noir]

Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) oversaw the process for awarding the wireless contract.

WiFi fight involves Abramoff

In 2000, the House of Representatives was close to deciding how to improve wireless telecommunications reception inside the Capitol when LGC Wireless, one of the two companies competing for the license, indicated its surprise that a lesser known, foreign company had edged ahead.

LGC, of San Jose, Calif., had a track record that included installing indoor wireless networks at New York City’s airports, in the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, and at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The company complained in a letter to the House general counsel that the process on Capitol Hill was unfair and deeply flawed

“(Ney) does not recall having a conversation with Jack Abramoff about the merits of Foxcom, nor does he recall a similar conversation with Neil Volz* from the time Volz left the House Administration Committee through the period when the license was awarded,” said Brian Walsh, Ney’s spokesman. Volz had been Ney’s chief of staff until early 2002.

The Washington Post reported that MobileAccess donated $50,000 to the Capital Athletic Foundation, which was run by Abramoff, in 2001. Two years later, MobileAccess paid Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff’s former employer, $240,000 in lobbying fees.

The FBI and National Security Agency reviewed the security of LGC’s technology to make sure foreign intelligence services could not penetrate the network, according to documents reviewed by The Hill.

The Hill: The Newspaper for and about The U. S. Congress March 2005



In 2000, LGC Wireless, a San Jose, California-based firm was considered in the lead to provide wireless connectivity for the U.S. House of Representatives. A year earlier, the House Administration Committee, then headed by Republican Representative Bill Thomas of California, granted LGC authority to conduct a design and securityn survey of the Capitol. In addition, the FBI and NSA reviewed LGC's system design to ensure that foreign intelligence agencies could not penetrate the House's wireless network. By December 2000, LGC had cleared its plans with the Capitol Architect, the House Information Resource Office, and the House Administration Committee. However, soon a new Israeli co,pany named Foxcom Wireless, which changed its name to MobileAccess, began making an end run to secure the Capitol wireless contract. The new chairman of the House Administration Committee, Republican Representative Bob Ney of Ohio, clearly favored MobileAccess over LGC and in 2002, the Israeli company received the House wireless contract. Ney had a close poltical and financial relationship with GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, an extreme pro-Israeli political insider, who came under Justice Department investigation for questionable ties to Ney and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. It was later revealed by The Washington Post that in 2001 MobileAccess donated $50,000 to the Capital Athletic Foundation, which was run by Abramoff. In 2004, MobileAccess paid $240,000 in lobbying fess to Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff's former firm. The ranking member on the House Administration Committee, Democratic Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, said he was not kept fully informed of the wireless contract by either Thomas or Ney. LGC also cried foul when, in 2004, the U.S. Senate awarded MobileAccess a $3.9 million contract to install a wireless network for the Senate.<49> As with the questions surrounding Information Spectrum Inc. abruptly replacing Larimore Associates as the Jersey City Police Department computer system contractor, similar complaints were aired by LGC. Ian Sugarboard, LGC's CEO told The Hill newspaper, ". . . it appeared that lobbyists had exerted undue influence on the deal." In addition, the House Administration Committee did not specify what security criteria MobileAccess had to meet. The FBI and NSA had previously approved LGC's security countermeasures.<50>

<49> Patrick O'Connor and Jonathan E, Kaplan, "Wi Fi fight involves Abramoff," The Hill, March 3, 2005, p. 11.
<50> Ibid.


Portland Indy Media Center



* Neil Volz