FBI arrests former lobbyist in growing Abramoff case (former staffer for Rep. Doolittle)

Source: NBC

The FBI today arrested Kevin Ring, a former lobbyist, for his alleged role in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, NBC News has learned. Justice Department officials said that the FBI arrested Ring this morning at his Maryland home. He is charged in a 10-count public-corruption indictment, the officials said. Ring is a former congressional staffer for Rep. John Doolittle (R-Ca.)

The indictment charges Ring with conspiring with Abramoff and others to corrupt congressional and executive-branch officials by providing things of value to several public officials "to induce or reward those who took official actions benefiting Ring and his clients."

In a statement, the Justice Department said:

"On September 5, 2008, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. returned a ten-count public-corruption indictment against Kevin A. Ring, age 37, a former lobbyist who worked with Jack A. Abramoff, announced Stuart M. Goldberg, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, and Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division. The indictment was unsealed today after Ring was arrested. Ring is scheduled to have his initial appearance at 1:45 p.m. today in federal court in the District of Columbia.

The indictment charges Ring with conspiring with Abramoff and others to corrupt congressional and executive-branch officials by providing things of value to several public officials to induce or reward those who took official actions benefiting Ring and his clients. The indictment also charges Ring with paying a gratuity to a public official and with several counts of engaging in a scheme to deprive the U.S. citizens of their right to the honest services of certain public officials. Finally, the indictment charges Ring with two counts of obstructing justice, stemming from his efforts to thwart a grand jury and congressional investigation by preventing the reporting of his criminal conduct to federal authorities.

According to the indictment, as a lobbyist for a Washington D.C. law and lobbying firm, Ring solicited and obtained business throughout the United States, including with Native American tribal governments operating and interested in operating gambling casinos. Ring allegedly sought to further his clients' interests by lobbying public officials in the legislative and executive branches of the federal government.

Read more: http://deepbackground.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/08/1362171.aspx

i wonder if denny the fixer will get a knock on the door

:thumbsup:

So, since the Abramoff scandal was a "bi-partisan" affair, does anyone know if this makes the split 6-5 for the Republicans or 5-6? Because that would make Abramoff a truly bi-partisan corrupting influence. Or is the split more along the lines of 11-0?

Maybe you could fill us in..

But since the major media talking chuckleheads were all over themselves to tell us how "bi-partisan" Abramoff was with the graft and corruption, one would assume that out of 11 arrests, there would be a pretty close split between Republicans and Democrats facing the music for their corruption. But since the "split" is 11-0 in favor of Republicans, I wonder how that "bi-partisan" meme is holding up for the media?

Not very well, I'd say. But then, it's only us dirty fucking hippies who remember stuff like that anyway.

:shrug: Bi-Partisan indeed..

and Grover Norquist's doors?

It needs to be on the front page.

Now just arrest his boss, John "crooked as they come" Doolittle and Christmas will have come early this year. In fact, just knowing Doolittle is sweating over this, is reason to celebrate.

The one that Randy Shoonamaker (sic), the McCain Advisor and Rep.of Georgia Lobbyist is now with?

Looking for a McCain tie.

Kevin A. Ring was a lobbyist and Republican Congressional staffer. After leaving Team Abramoff at Greenberg Traurig in 2005, he joined Barnes & Thornburg ...
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_A._Ring


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/8/12517/55971

The Palin Pipeline is a deal conceived and nurtured in the corrupt intersection of Alaskan politics, Republican politics and the Oil & Gas Industry.

President Carter’s Administration approved the concept of a natural gas pipeline to bring Alaskan natural gas to market. Since then, it has been a constant fight between competing groups of grifters to get a pipeline built that maximizes profits while passing on the risks to others. In 2006 Palin became Governor during the that year’s battle over the pipeline.

The Palin Pipeline finally hits the sweet spot—it will maximize profits and dump the risks. Under the Palin Pipeline plan, American taxpayers are the "easy marks" of the scam. At the heart of the Palin Pipeline is the concept that the US Federal Government should shoulder all the financial risks—in fact, without massive Federal aid and loan guarantees, the pipeline will never be built. Perhaps, this is why Palin is on the ticket.

Not surprisingly, the law firm that Palin hired to put the deal together, review the applications and defend the TransCanada proposal is Greenberg Traurig (GT). Not only were they Jack Abramoff’s employer at the height of his corruption, they are also tied to many, many other scandals and questionable deals. While Jack was a lobbyist for GT he hired an Alaskan lobbyist, Steven Silver, to work on "Issues Relating to Indian/Native American Policy" and "Exploration for Oil and Gas". It turns out that Silver was also Palin’s lobbyist and that Jack hired him at the same time that GT moved into the "Oil & Gas" business by opening offices in Texas. Another aspect of the corrupt nature of this deal is that the Palin Pipeline will continue the long tradition of stealing resources from the indigenous peoples of North America while destroying their land and cultures.

Greenberg Traurig’s entry into the international Oil & Gas business began after they hired Jack Abramoff and his scandal became a major problem for the firm. The firm’s involvement with Abramoff’s work for his clients and the Republican Party threatened Greenberg Traurig with a corporate death sentence similar to the one that Authur Andersen got in the wake of Enron. The firm was saved from this fate when they hired McCain’s advisor Randy Scheunermann to "advise" GT on how to "work" with John McCain. It was a good investment. McCain’s investigation cover-up of the Abramoff scandal gave Greenberg Traurig a "clean" bill of health and placed 750,000 pages of Abramoff documents that might prove otherwise into cold storage for 50 years. Since then the firm has given McCain over $160,000 and now John McCain has chosen their pipeline deal employer, Sarah Palin, as his running mate.