Abramoff's Restaurant

[Cocoa]

you can get anything you want...

http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/8/4/152337/8867

The Jack Abramoff-Tom DeLay scandal has received no shortage of publicity. But relatively little attention has been paid to the fact that Signatures, the swanky Pennsylvania Avenue trattoria Abramoff still co-owns, has netted at least four Republican members of Congress in what appear on their face to be violations of the congressional gift ban.

<snip>

* Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) told the New York Times that he ate at Signatures "once or twice a month" on the house but said, "Just because you are a member of Congress doesn't mean you have to give up your friendships ... it was dinner with a friend and I didn't think of it as a gift."

* Bob Ney (R-OH)'s representative said "There were times when meals and/or drinks were bought by him or for him by other members, lobbyists, or other persons, all within the limits of the gift rules." But former employees say Ney frequently ate and drank without paying while spending evenings talking with staffers and lobbyists. Signatures' records also show that the restaurant hosted a fundraiser for Ney in April 2002. According to PoliticalMoneyLine.com, neither Ney's campaign nor his PAC paid Signatures for the event.

* John T. Doolittle (R-CA)'s spokeswoman said "To his recollection, any meal the congressman had at Signatures was either paid for personally or paid for in compliance with House rules by someone with whom the congressman was dining."

more...

[babylonsister]

1. If the walls could talk in that restaurant...

This is a nest of wasps! I hope someone busts up the nest soon. Imagine all the nefarious goings-on in this place!

[0007]

4. This bunch don't have anything on John Gotti and the joint

he hung out.

[babylonsister]

5. Funny, my first thought was the mafia. This bunch, IMO, had

alot more going on than Gotti did that could affect so many more people. And they could conduct their business in broad daylight w/o fearing cops, hitmen, etc. The possibilities of what was talked about there are amazing. I imagine the books are so cooked by now, we'll never know who picked up the bills (and wrote them off) for all that camaraderie between the pols and the lobbyists.

[0007]

6. Isn't that the truth. I read the other where Arthur Anderson

who cooked the books for Ken Lay was let off the hook. Nothing like buying the best attorneys money can buy and a judge here and there, 'eh?

[papau]

2. Jack Abramoff's "LOBBYIST" restaurant Signatures just closed!

DCist is a website about Washington, D.C. November 18, 2005
The Weekly Feed: Open and Closed Edition
Closed!
Did anyone along Pennsylvania Avenue hear a door slamming loudly Wednesday night? If you did and are perplexed about it, let us fill you in. Signatures, the "lobbyist hangout" next to the Navy Memorial, closed its doors. And closed them abruptly, at that. It turns out that when you're being investigated by the Senate, the Department of Justice, and the Ft. Lauderdale Police for connections to a murder, people aren't clamoring to frequent the restaurant you own. Jack Abramoff, who allegedly bilked several Native American tribes out of millions of dollars to line his own pockets and those of his Washington friends, was handed back ownership of Signatures after a deal to sell it fell through. Given the amount of time Jack has to spend on his legal woes, one of the few things you can't blame him for is wanting restaurant ownership out of his hair.

There is, however, an upside to all of this (other than that of watching the downfall of an alleged criminal/slimeball), and it's that the restaurant's excellent chef, Morou, is on the free market. You've probably heard of Morou. He's all over the place. He won this year's Capital Food Fight, and beat out 1789's Ris Lacoste and Tosca's Cesare Lanfranconi for a chance to compete in Iron Chef USA in January. In short, he's an all-star. We have confidence that he will land somewhere deserving of him or — better yet — will start up a place of his own sans baggage. We'll keep you apprised of any developments. In the meantime, head over to C-Span to watch the hearings for background.

[Tanuki]

3. You can get anything you want

at Abramoff's Restaurant.
Come right in, you neo-con hack
They're serving up bribes and greed and graft.
You can get anything you want
At Abramoff's Restaurant.


(Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone)