Abramoff ex-partner pleads guilty to fraud charge (turns gov't witness)

Abramoff ex-partner pleads guilty to fraud charge By Jim Loney
1 hour, 1 minute ago

MIAMI (Reuters) - A New York businessman charged with fraud alongside prominent Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff in the purchase of a Florida casino cruise line pleaded guilty on Thursday to fraud and conspiracy charges.


The case against Abramoff and former business partner Adam Kidan has gained wide attention in Washington because Abramoff, a Republican fund-raiser, has close ties to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas and is a central figure in influence-buying investigations.

Kidan, 41, entered the guilty plea in a Miami federal court to one count of conspiracy and one of wire fraud, each of which carries a possible sentence of five years in prison. U.S. District Judge Paul Huck accepted the plea and set sentencing for March 1.

Outside the courthouse after the hearing, Kidan's lawyer, Joseph Conway, said his client conspired with Abramoff in the fraud and was willing to testify in Abramoff's trial next month.

"If the government is prepared to call him as a witness, he is prepared to testify," Conway said. He did not allow Kidan to talk to reporters.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051215/us_nm/crime_abramoff_dc

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/19/AR2005111900937.html
Witness May Have Pivotal Role in Probe of Alleged Corruption

By Susan Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, November 20, 2005; Page A08

Before he hit his mid-thirties, Michael Scanlon played enough roles to fill a lifetime: lifeguard, press aide to a powerful congressman, multimillionaire public relations entrepreneur.

Now the sandy-haired, buttoned-down Republican -- author of e-mails detailing wildly brash schemes to make money in politics -- is likely to take a turn as a star witness for the prosecution in the Justice Department's investigation of lawmakers, lobbyists, Capitol Hill staffers and executive branch officials.

SNIP

yet.