NYT : Ney Pleads Guilty Over Abramoff Bribes

Ney Pleads Guilty Over Abramoff Bribes

By PHILIP SHENON and DAVID STOUT | October 13, 2006

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 — Representative Bob Ney of Ohio pleaded guilty to corruption charges today in connection with the scandal swirling around the lobbyist Jack Abramoff. He said he was ready to take his punishment for selling his integrity and his office.

In a calm and clear voice, Mr. Ney admitted before Judge Ellen S. Huvelle in Federal District Court that he had indeed engaged in a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy and made false statements about gifts he accepted while representing the people of Ohio’s 18th District.

“I accept responsibility for my actions, and I am prepared to face the consequences of what I have done,” Mr. Ney, a Republican, declared in a statement distributed to reporters after the court session.

The main consequence will be a term of up to 27 months in prison when Judge Huvelle pronounces sentence on Jan. 19, assuming that she follows the recommendation of federal prosecutors. The congressman’s crimes could have brought him a term of up to 10 years and up to $500,000 in fines if he had been convicted at trial.

Despite his disgrace, Mr. Ney is still a member of Congress, drawing his $165,000-a-year salary, although his lawyer, Mark Tuohey, told the judge that Mr. Ney will resign his seat “in the next few weeks.” Mr. Ney has said he wants to help his employees find new jobs before he quits.

No one would be surprised if House Republican leaders, who are trying to cope with another scandal involving former Representative Mark Foley’s interest in Congressional pages, try to push Mr. Ney out the door sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ney’s Web site features a sadly outdated, now poignant picture of the smiling congressman against a farm background. “It is an honor to represent you in the United States Congress,” Mr. Ney declares in his welcome message.

Mr. Ney’s formal admission that he betrayed that honor came in a courthouse not many blocks from the Capitol, where in his sixth term in office he had seemed poised to rise high in the House leadership.

Then came the Abramoff scandal and, eventually, Mr. Ney’s admission that he had accepted illegal gifts — including lavish overseas trips, thousands of dollars of gambling chips from London casinos and other enticements — in return for official actions on behalf of Mr. Abramoff and his clients.

Mr. Ney is the first member of Congress to acknowledge criminal acts so far in the investigation of Mr. Abramoff, once a leading Republican fund-raiser and a man of great wealth and power. Mr. Abramoff pleaded guilty last January to conspiring to corrupt public officials, including Mr. Ney.

The Abramoff affair is viewed on Capitol Hill as one reason that Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the former Republican majority leader who was once a good friend of Mr. Abramoff, decided to retire from politics this year.

The affair threatens to ensare other Republican lawmakers, and it has caused discomfort for the White House as well. Last June, a former White House aide, David H. Safavian, was convicted of lying to investigators about his ties to Mr. Abramoff. Mr. Safavian was on Mr. Abramoff’s staff before joining the Bush administration.

Mr. Ney, 52, has said that a dependence on alcohol was a factor in his loss of a moral compass. In response to Judge Huvelle’s questions on what problems he is being treated for, Mr. Ney replied, “Right now, alcohol, last 30 days.” He said he had not had a drink in that time.