By CURT ANDERSON – 43 minutes ago
MIAMI (AP) — Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff's ex-partner in a Florida casino boat deal is getting his prison sentence for fraud cut in half.
A federal judge in Miami agreed Wednesday to reduce the sentence for 43-year-old Adam Kidan from just under six years to nearly three years. Kidan and Abramoff pleaded guilty in 2006 to fraud in connection with their 2000 purchase of the SunCruz Casinos operation.
Prosecutors and Kidan's attorney say he has cooperated fully with investigators in the SunCruz case and the 2001 murder of former SunCruz owner Gus Boulis.
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By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 19, 2008; A17
If lobbyists find the path to their clients' riches obstructed by an implacably hostile federal official, they might achieve success by an end run or an appeal to more senior authorities. But a more extreme solution -- if the foe has high-level support -- is to pull strings at the White House and orchestrate the official's removal.
That option was chosen by Jack Abramoff and his colleagues at the Washington office of Greenberg Traurig in the Bush administration's early days, to oust Alan Stayman from a State Department negotiating job. Stayman had earned their ire by advocating labor reforms in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. protectorate where Abramoff's clients wanted to keep paying immigrants less than the federal minimum wage to work in textile factories.
Stayman was supported by James A. Kelly, who was a White House aide to President Ronald Reagan and served as the State Department's assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific from 2001 to 2005. Kelly, citing ongoing negotiations with Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, told his department's personnel office on May 1, 2001, that he wanted Stayman to remain for two more years.
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Nicholas F. Benton: Deeper Abramoff Tie to White House
The New York Times
June 17, 2008
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 11:56 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The first Bush administration official convicted in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal is entitled to a new trial, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
David Safavian, the former chief of staff for the General Services Administration, was convicted of lying to investigators about his relationship with Abramoff, the disgraced lobbyist who has admitted bribing government officials. Safavian was sentenced to 18 months in prison but the sentence was put on hold while the appeal played out.
''David Safavian has been destroyed by this,'' attorney Barbara Van Gelder, who defended Safavian at trial, said Tuesday. ''He has been debarred. He's been unemployable and he's been seen as a villain. This is vindication.'
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Abramoff to be sentenced in September
In a joint motion filed today by Abramoff's attorneys and the Justice Dept., the two sides asked U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, who accepted Abramoff's guilty plea in January 2006, to allow the preparation of a presentencing report, and to set a date to sentence the one-time K Street superstar.
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"While the government anticipates that Mr. Abramoff’s cooperation in the form of possible testimony will continue for the foreseeable future, the parties believe that they are in a position to inform the court about the full scope of his misconduct and cooperation, and that, consistent with the commitments in the plea agreement with Mr. Abramoff, sentencing in the near future in this case is appropriate."
Carlos Bonilla, a volunteer economic adviser to McCain
McCover-Up: Abramoff & the GOP Money Machine
ELECTION '08 | With Abramoff back in the news, let's revisit the Abramoff/McCain Indian connection
From documents at: Oversight Committee report finds Abramoff influenced White House actions
On October 18, 2001, Kevin Ring sent an unknown number of tickets to an unknown event to Mr. Bonilla by courier. In addition, in response to an offer from Kevin Ring, Mr. Bonilla requested and was provided with two tickets to sit in the Abramoff suite for the November 20, 2001, Washington Wizards game.
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One action that White House officials took at the request of Mr. Abramoff was to intervene to force the removal of a State Department official, Alan Stayman. In a previous position at the Office of Insular Affairs in the Department of the Interior, Mr. Stayman had advocated positions opposed by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, then a client of Mr. Abramoff. Mr. Stayman was appointed to his position at the Department of State during the Clinton Administration.
In a recent Committee deposition, Monica Kladakis, then-Deputy Associate Director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel (OPP), confirmed that OPP became involved in Mr. Stayman's removal after White House officials were contacted by Mr. Abramoff's team.
Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis issued a proposed Committee report on White House contacts with Jack Abramoff that concludes that Mr. Abramoff had personal contact with President Bush, that high-level White House officials held Mr. Abramoff and his associates in high regard and solicited recommendations from them on policy matters, that Mr. Abramoff and his associates influenced some White House actions, and that Mr. Abramoff and his associates offered White House officials expensive tickets and meals.
Documents and Links
--MORE--Make No Mistake: McCain's a Neocon
New Abramoff Plea is Trouble for McCain & the GOP
On Jack Abramoff, John McCain Drives Straight Talk Express Into Double Talk Detour
McCain's Campaign Won't' Comment On An Ongoing Investigation
The wife U.S. Republican John McCain callously left behind
By Sharon Churcher
Last updated at 1:45 AM on 08th June 2008
Now that Hillary Clinton has at last formally withdrawn from the race for the White House, the eyes of America and the world will focus on Barack Obama and his Republican rival Senator John McCain.
While Obama will surely press his credentials as the embodiment of the American dream – a handsome, charismatic young black man who was raised on food stamps by a single mother and who represents his country’s future – McCain will present himself as a selfless, principled war hero whose campaign represents not so much a battle for the presidency of the United States, but a crusade to rescue the nation’s tarnished reputation.
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Forgotten woman: But despite all her problems Carol McCain says she still adores he ex-husband
McCain likes to illustrate his moral fibre by referring to his five years as a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam. And to demonstrate his commitment to family values, the 71-year-old former US Navy pilot pays warm tribute to his beautiful blonde wife, Cindy, with whom he has four children.
Guilty Plea by Ex-Congressional Aide
State Senator James Marzilli Arrested for Sexual Assault
Massachusetts State Senator James Marzilli was arrested on Tuesday for trying to sexually assault a stranger on a park bench. He groped, lied and then led the Krispy Kreme badges on a foot chase that naturally led to his arrest (come on politicians aren’t known for their diet and exercise either).
State Sen. James Marzilli was arrested in Lowell yesterday after he allegedly attempted to sexually assault a stranger sitting on a park bench, gave police a false name and then led officers on a foot chase that ended in a downtown parking garage, law enforcement officials said.
Marzilli (D-Arlington), absolved of a separate sexual assault accusation last month, now faces a slew of new charges after yesterday’s alleged attack, which police said occurred in broad daylight on a busy street.
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by dengre
Tue May 13, 2008
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Like Abramoff, Bush and DeLay, Senator Clinton has proven herself to be an "ends-justify-the-means" kind of gal. As I said, we include her on the Ticket at our peril.
But it is more than just one set of donations that form the links between Senator Clinton and the Tan Family (and through them, links to the Abramoff Scandal).
A few years ago, the Tan Family created a multi-national Corporation, Luen Thai, to expand the reach of their business and give it a patina of respectability. Richard Helfenbein is the fellow running Tan Family USA operations and he has added another $6,700 to Senator Clinton. His wife has matched his gift.
Oh, and for those of you who used to work in a textile mill in the USA, you can thank Richard for your new job as a greeter at Wal-Mart. The focus of Luen Thai USA is to "help" brands "outsource" their textile manufacturing for profits. The story of the rise of Luen Thai and the Tan Family is the story of How you lost your job, but I digress...
Helfenbein is a neighbor of the populist of Chappaqua. The Family is down with the HRC. Richard’s son is a big supporter of Senator Clinton. He served as her first Page, as an intern in her office, work with Bill and he is working on her Campaign for the White House.
There are more links between Senator Clinton and the Tan Family as well. Some go back to 1995 and a visit she made to Guam (you can read more about it here).
Despite repeated requests by me and many others, Hillary Clinton has not returned the Tan Family money. And it is a problem for two reasons:
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DC Madam Deborah Jean Palfrey suicided?
DC Madam scandal widens: Cheney, Giuliani, Abramoff
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"If taken into custody, my physical safety and most probably my very life would be jeopardized," she wrote. "Rape, beating, maiming, disfigurement and more than likely murder disguised in the form of just another jailhouse accident or suicide would await me."
Tough 'D.C. Madam' threatens a courtroom battle
Sunday, April 1, 2007
When she gets in a fight, Deborah Jeane Palfrey fights rough.
Palfrey is standing up to federal prosecutors who accuse her of running a prostitution ring servicing hundreds of men in the nation's capital, and a key part of her battle plan is to go public with her customers' names.
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