Flipped: The Beginning of the End

The Washington Post reports today that flipped associate of Jack Abramoff and former aide to former-House majority leader Tom DeLay has pleaded guity on one count of conspiracy in a bribery scandal in Congress. He will also provide investigators information about "Representative #1", Bob Ney (R-OH), likely in addition to other Congressional Republicans. The charge stems from overt bribery of officials beginning in 2000, the year he left DeLay's office. Gifts that were offered were listed in the indictment, as reported by the Post:

"The plea agreement lists gifts Ney was offered or received, including a golf trip to Scotland in 2002, $4,000 to his campaign committee, $10,000 to the National Republican Campaign Committee made with credit to Ney, regular meals and drinks at Abramoff's Signatures restaurant, sports tickets, and frequent golf and related expenses at courses in the Washington area."

The bribes were paid for official acts including

"providing legislation, agreeing to put statements into the Congressional Record, contacting federal officials to influence decisions, meeting with Abramoff's clients and endorsing a wireless telecommunications company that wanted to install antennas in House office buildings [...] [assisting in] Abramoff's efforts to buy a fleet of Florida casino ships [SunCruz Casinos, Inc. from Gus Boulis, who was later murdered allegedly by individuals with ties to Abramoff] [,...] help to two Texas tribal clients of Abramoff that wanted permission to open casinos [...] help pass[ing] tax legislation affecting [a California] tribe"

He wull also provide information on an all-expenses-paid trip to the Commenwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, an island chain in the Pacific that is part of the U.S. DeLay has been implicated in (among other trips) this one, where he was asked to help defeat legislation that would have required employers to follow U.S. labor law in order for their products to continue to be labeled as "Made in the U.S.A.". The Marianas Islands are reputed to be a haven for exploitative labor, abusing immigrants from East Asia in what are essentially work prisons, where workers are forced to submit to pregnancy tests, forced to abort any pregnancies and where they are not subject to redress under U.S. labor laws.

It will be interesting to hear what he has to say about the lawmakers involved.