Jack Abramoff Reports to Md. Prison

Jack Abramoff leaves Federal Court in Washington in this Jan. 3, 2006 file photo. Abramoff, convicted of federal charges after using expensive gifts, campaign donations and exotic trips to win access to the powerful in Washington, went to prison Wednesday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert - AP)

Visitation is limited and, in his e-mail, Abramoff told friends he understood if they couldn't make the trip. He explained the 15-minute time limit on phone calls, said he wouldn't have access to e-mail and hoped he'd have use of a typewriter.

"Please bear in mind, though, that I am not permitted to conduct any ongoing business while in prison, and plan to be even stricter on myself than the rules require," he wrote.

He also noted that authorities could _ and likely would _ read his mail.

Abramoff told friends he would look for spiritual meaning in prison. As an Orthodox Jew, he did not spell out the word "God" in his e-mail.

"I have learned more lessons in the past three years than I have my whole life, and I am hoping that my family and I can see the good in G-Ds plan for us during these times, and gain strength from it," he wrote.

Federal prisons accommodate religious needs, including prayer services and kosher meals, prison officials said.

Abramoff's e-mail did not address the public corruption investigation, which has also ensnared Ney's former chief of staff and two aides to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas. The case cost DeLay his leadership seat before he ultimately resigned, and it contributed to the Election Day defeat of Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont. Safavian was sentenced in October to 18 months in prison for lying to investigators about his ties to Abramoff. He is asking a federal judge to postpone his sentence until he can appeal his conviction.

Burns, who received about $150,000 in Abramoff-related donations and whose aides traveled on the lobbyist's jet to the 2001 Super Bowl, has denied any wrongdoing. Though two of DeLay's aides have pleaded guilty, the former majority leader maintains his innocence and has not been charged.

Also under scrutiny are Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., who accepted campaign money from Abramoff and used the lobbyist's luxury sports box for a fundraiser without initially reporting it, and former Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles, who senators and a former colleague said gave preferential treatment to Abramoff and his Indian tribe clients.

The Cumberland prison complex has housed a number of celebrity inmates, including Whitewater figure Webster Hubbell and former heavyweight boxing champion Riddick Bowe. Former Green Beret Jeffrey MacDonald is serving three consecutive life sentences in the prison near the camp for murdering his wife and daughters in North Carolina.