Former DeLay Aide Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy - New York Times

Former DeLay Aide Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy - New York Times: ": November 22, 2005

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 - Michael Scanlon, a former business partner of the lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a former top aide to Representative Tom DeLay, pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiring to bribe a member of Congress and other public officials.

Mr. Scanlon also agreed to repay $19.6 million to his former Indian tribe lobbying clients.

He acknowledged in a plea agreement that he and Mr. Abramoff, identified in the court papers as 'Lobbyist A,' agreed to make lavish gifts to public officials, including all-expense-paid trips to Europe and the Super Bowl, in exchange for official actions.

Federal law enforcement officials portrayed the plea bargain, under which Mr. Scanlon faces up to five years in prison, as an important development in the larger criminal investigation of Mr. Abramoff, who has been under scrutiny by a grand jury here for more than a year.

The investigation, which initially centered on accusations that Mr. Abramoff had defrauded tribal casinos of tens of millions of dollars in lobbying fees, has created alarm on Capitol Hill, where the lobbyist and his junior partner, Mr. Scanlon, claimed friendships among the Republican leaders of Congress.

Prosecutors have not named any of the public officials who were the targets of Mr. Scanlon's scheme.

But court papers in the case filed Monday and last week singled out one member of Congress - 'Representative No. 1' - as a focus of Mr. Scanlon's illegal lobbying, asserting that the lawmaker accepted gifts, including a 2002 golf trip to Scotland and regular meals at Mr. Abramoff's restaurant, 'in exchange for a series of official acts and influence.'

Representative Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican and chairman of the House Administration Committee, has acknowledged that he is the lawmaker, while saying there was no quid pro quo with Mr. Abramoff or Mr. Scanlon. Mr. Ney, who was subpoenaed this month by the grand jury investigating Mr. Abramoff, has said he was 'duped' by the lobbyists."