Ex-DeLay Aide Pleads Guilty in Lobby Case
Washington Post, April 1, 2006:
Tony C. Rudy, a former deputy chief of staff to Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), pleaded guilty yesterday to charges that he conspired with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to corrupt public officials and defraud his clients, as a burgeoning corruption probe took one step closer to members of Congress.Source
Rudy admitted taking favors including money, meals, trips and tickets to sporting events from Abramoff in exchange for official acts that included influencing legislation to help the lobbyist's clients.
Rudy's plea follows guilty pleas from DeLay's former press secretary, Michael Scanlon, and from Abramoff himself. But, for the first time, an actor in the scandal has admitted to committing illegal acts while working in the Republican leadership suites of the House.
[...]
Like Abramoff's plea, Rudy's statement to the court levels some of its toughest charges on a "Representative #1," identified elsewhere as Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio). Abramoff and Rudy lavished golf trips, tickets to sporting events and concerts, and food and drink on Ney. In turn, Ney "agreed to take favorable official action and render other assistance on behalf of the clients of Abramoff and Rudy," court papers say. Ney has denied wrongdoing.
