Hmmm....if the sentence for defrauding someone were 30 months in jail, then, if a Congressman perpetrated a fraud on the 10 million people in Ohio (I'm guessing at Ohio's population), then why not sentence the offender to 30 months TIMES 10 MILLION? In other words, life in prison for violating the public trust. Now THAT might be a deterrent to corruption in Washington. Might.
The lawmaker (Ney) agreed to push legislation helpful to Abramoff clients including Indian tribes and a foreign beverage distiller. He 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.
Abramoff, once an influential lobbyist, is the star witness in an FBI corruption investigation that has shaken Capitol Hill. He is serving six years in a Maryland federal prison in a fraudulent Florida casino deal.
Ney’s sentencing is the latest development in a long-running investigation that so far has yielded convictions of several former congressional aides and two members of the Bush administration _ David Safavian and Robert Stillwell.
Among those still under scrutiny for their ties to Abramoff are former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas; former Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.; Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif.; Steven Griles, a former deputy secretary at the Interior Department, and Italia Federici, a political fundraiser for former Interior Secretary Gale Norton.
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