Unraveling Abramoff - (washingtonpost.com)

Unraveling Abramoff - (washingtonpost.com): "Jack A. Abramoff: Up until 2004, Jack Abramoff was one of the most influential lobbyists in Washington.

Michael Scanlon: A former press secretary to Rep. Tom DeLay, Scanlon pleaded guilty on Nov. 22, 2005, to conspiring to bribe a congressman and other public officials.

Ben Waldman: A former Reagan administration aide, Waldman joined Abramoff and Kidan in purchasing SunCruz Casinos.

Adam Kidan: Kidan, a New York City businessman who had owned the Dial-a-Mattress franchise in Washington, was indicted in August 2005 on fraud charges related to the 2000 purchase of SunCruz Casinos with Abramoff.

Grover Norquist: Founder and president of the conservative lobbying group Americans for Tax Reform, Norquist allegedly allowed Abramoff to route money through the group in order to whip up opposition to an anti-gambling bill.

Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis: A Greek immigrant who started the Miami Subs restaurant chain and the Florida-based SunCruz Casinos, Boulis was killed in February 2001, just months after selling a 90 percent share of his gambling business to Abramoff's group.

Ralph Reed: Best known as the first executive director of the Christian Coalition during the early 1990s, Reed is now a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Georgia. In 1981 he worked as an intern for Abramoff, the newly elected chairman of the College Republicans National Committee. Abramoff promoted Reed in 1983, appointing him to succeed Grover Norquist as executive director of the organization. Reed left the Christian Coalition in 1997 and started a political consulting firm in Georgia....Reed secretly accepted payments from Abramoff to lobby against Indian casino gambling and oppose an Alabama education lottery at the same time that Abramoff was being paid to promote Indian casino gambling....Reed also worked for another Abramoff client seeking to block a congressional ban on Internet gambling.

Italia Federici: Federici is president of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy. Over three years, Abramoff directed Indian tribes he represented to contribute about $500,000 to her group.

Rev. Louis P. Sheldon: Sheldon is the founder of the Traditional Values Coalition that represents a number of conservative Christian churches. Sheldon's organization, which has protested loudly against gambling, allegedly accepted money from an online lottery firm, eLottery, to help in the company's $2 million pro-gambling campaign.(with Reed and Abramhoff)

David Safavian: Safavian, who once worked with Abramoff, worked in the White House until he was arrested Sept. 19, 2005, for allegedly lying to investigators in the probe of the lobbyist's activities. Until his resignation, Safavian was the top administrator at the federal procurement office in the White House Office of Management and Budget, where he set purchasing policy for the entire government. (Hunderds of billions of dollars)

J. Steven Griles: Griles was deputy secretary of the Interior Department from July 2001 to January 2005.... Griles advised Abramoff how to get members of Congress to pressure the department and provided him information about Interior decision-making. The e-mails show Abramoff tried to influence Griles through Italia Federici, head of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy.

Rep. Robert Ney (R-Ohio): Ney, 51, was subpoenaed in early November by the federal grand jury investigating Abramoff's lobbying activities. The lawmaker is under scrutiny because of alleged favors he performed for Abramoff and Scanlon, including introducing legislation, putting two statements into the Congressional Record, contacting federal officials to influence decisions and meeting with Abramoff's clients.

Rep. Thomas DeLay (R-Tex.): DeLay was one of the most powerful leaders on Capitol Hill before he was indicted on campaign finance charges in September 2005 and temporarily resigned as House majority leader. Abramoff, whom DeLay once called "one of my closest and dearest friends," held fundraisers for the congressman and arranged for DeLay to accompany him on a luxury golf trip to Scotland and a trip to the Northern Mariana Islands. Abramoff also maintained close ties with DeLay aides. DeLay and two of his associates were indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy and money laundering in relation to fundraising and spending in the 2002 Texas legislative races.

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.): Burns, chairman of the Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee, pressured the Bureau of Indian Affairs to award a $3 million grant to the Saginaw Chippewas of Michigan – a client of Abramoff's – despite objections from Interior Department officials.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.): As chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, McCain launched an investigation into Abramoff's activities after Washington Post stories in 2004 detailed the lobbyist's dealings with tribes and secret kickbacks to Scanlon.

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.): Dorgan, ranking Democrat on the committee, has pursued the probe even as he has received attention for his previous links to Abramoff. Dorgan met with one of Abramoff's associates and pushed legislative language urging government regulators to decide whether one tribal client of Abramoff deserved federal recognition.

Tony C. Rudy: A former top aide to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), Rudy was central to Abramoff's efforts to scuttle an anti-gambling bill in July 2000. He e-mailed Abramoff internal congressional communications and advice, according to documents and the lobbyist's former associates.