Ney Pleads Guilty, Says He'll Resign

Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, arrives at the Federal Courthouse, Friday, Oct. 13, 2006, in Washington. Ney pleaded guilty Friday in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling investigation, the first lawmaker to confess to crimes in an election-year scandal that has stained the Republican-controlled Congress and the Bush administration. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari) (Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP)

_Abramoff, the Republican super-lobbyist, admitted guilt in January. Two former aides to Tom DeLay, R-Texas, the former House majority leader, have also pleaded guilty, as has Ney's former chief of staff.

_Former White House official David Safavian, who was the Bush administration's top procurement official, was convicted of covering up his dealings with Abramoff. He is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 27.

_Roger Stillwell, a former Interior Department official, pleaded guilty in August to a misdemeanor charge for not reporting that Abramoff had given him tickets to football games and concerts.

Abramoff's lobbying team had 485 contacts with the Bush White House in three years, according to a recent House report.

Ney confessed his criminal acts during a half-hour session at a federal courthouse a few blocks from the Capitol, where until recently he wielded a gavel as chairman of the House Administration Committee.

Responding to each of 25 questions Huvelle asked, Ney agreed he had conspired to deprive the government of his "honest services," a fraud-related charge often used in public corruption cases.

Ney also acknowledged making false statements on his financial disclosure forms by concealing that Abramoff and a foreign businessman were the true source of gifts Ney received.

The gifts ranged from a trip to Scotland bankrolled by Abramoff's clients to thousands of dollars in gambling chips Ney got on two overseas junkets from foreign businessman Fouad al-Zayat, a Syrian-born aviation company owner in Cyprus.

"I allowed myself to get too comfortable with the way things have been done in Washington, D.C., for too long," Ney said in a written statement after his court appearance.

Ney said, "I never acted to enrich myself or to get things I shouldn't." Details of conspiracy suggested otherwise.

The congressman admitted he gave $5,000 from one gambling trip to a staff member to carry across the border so Ney could report a lower dollar amount to U.S. Customs officials.

Ney agreed to push legislation helpful to Abramoff clients including Indian tribes and a foreign beverage distiller. Ney agreed to help Al-Zayat get a visa to enter the United States and a legislative exemption to laws barring the sale of U.S.-made airplanes and parts to a foreign country.

Regarding Abramoff, Ney acknowledged accepting all-expense-paid and reduced-price trips to play golf in Scotland in August 2002, to gamble and vacation in New Orleans in May 2003 and to vacation in New York in August 2003. The total cost of all the trips _ in which others, including some aides, participated _ exceeded $170,000, prosecutors said. The congressman also admitted accepting meals and sports and concert tickets for himself and his staff.

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On the Net:

House ethics committee: http://www.house.gov/ethics/