Rep. Ney pleads guilty

WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A Republican congressman agreed to plead guilty to illegally accepting tens of thousands of dollars in trips, meals, drinks and tickets, becoming the first U.S. lawmaker convicted in the Jack Abramoff political corruption scandal, U.S. officials said on Friday.

The plea deal represented a sharp reversal for Ohio Rep. Bob Ney, who had denied any wrongdoing. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 and abandoned his race for re-election last month as the federal investigation intensified into his links to the convicted lobbyist Abramoff.
...
"Congressman Ney admits that he corruptly solicited and accepted a stream of benefits valued at tens of thousands of dollars in exchange for agreeing to perform and performing a series of official acts," Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher said.

"He also admitted deceiving the public and the U.S. House of Representatives about his actions," she said.

Unbeknownst to the two men, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had been monitoring their dealings. Less than three weeks later, agents raided Mr. Jefferson’s homes, in Washington and in New Orleans, and found stacks of cash stuffed in a freezer.

Mr. Jackson, 54, has pleaded guilty to paying more than $400,000 in bribes for Mr. Jefferson’s help; on Sept. 8, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Mr. Jefferson, who is seeking a ninth term in office, said earlier this year that his family’s dealings with Mr. Jackson were legitimate, and that when “all is said and done, you will see that there is an honorable explanation for everything.”

“I have come to recognize that a dependence on alcohol has been a problem for me,” said Mr. Ney, who friends say entered an in-patient alcohol-treatment facility this week.

“I am not making any excuses, and I take full responsibility for my actions.”

In 2002, Mr. Ney admitted, he introduced an amendment in the House to allow a “foreign-beverage-distiller client of Abramoff’s lobbying firm” to label its alcohol as “made in Russia” when in fact it was to be distilled in a former Soviet Republic outside of Russia.