Last sentence handed down in Abramoff probe [View all]
Source: Associated Press
Last sentence handed down in Abramoff probe
Associated Press | Posted: Saturday, April 21, 2012 2:22 am
Tony Rudy was among the first people to plead guilty in the long-running probe of influence peddling tied to Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff. On Friday, the former aide to Rep. Tom DeLay was the last person sentenced in an investigation that focused on Congress, racked up 21 convictions, yet netted only one lawmaker.
Rudy's cooperation over the past six years helped win convictions of 18 people, but U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle still gave Rudy a sentence of five months in a halfway house and three years of probation for his role in conspiring with Abramoff and others to accept a stream of gifts when Rudy was a staffer and to offer gifts to public officials when he became a lobbyist _ all in exchange for legislative favors.
Team Abramoff's brazen behavior included lavish foreign trips for public officials, as well as frequent meals and tickets to sporting events. All the while, Abramoff and his coterie of former congressional aides were grossly overbilling their Indian tribe clients and secretly lobbying against them in order to create more need for lobbying services.
Abramoff spent 3 1/2 years in federal prison for his crimes. His crimes have long since been depicted in a documentary movie and a Hollywood release, with actor Kevin Spacey playing Abramoff.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/last-sentence-handed-down-in-abramoff-probe/article_67e4aaf7-20bd-53d2-854d-d97f4c731a8f.html#ixzz1sfBaB0wW
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