Panel Says Law Sufficient in Gambling Lobbyist Probe
Rep. Bob Ney told Senate investigators he made no effort to help a client of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, despite extensive evidence to the contrary, a congressional report said Thursday.
Ney said he was not even familiar with the Tigua tribe of El Paso, Texas, which was seeking legislation that would allow it to reopen its shuttered casino, according to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee report on the massive lobbying fraud perpetrated on Indian tribes by Abramoff and others. Yet the report says Ney assured tribal leaders of his support for the legislation on two occasions in 2002, once in person and once via telephone.
The section of the 373-page report that focuses on Ney is a fresh sign of potential legal trouble for the Ohio Republican who has become ensnared in a wide-ranging criminal probe of influence peddling in Washington. The report also highlighted the work of former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed on behalf of Indian gambling interests.
Reed, seeking the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor in Georgia, was paid more than $4 million by two tribes between March 2001 and February 2002, the report said. The money was sent through intermediaries to satisfy Reed's concern that he not be linked to Indian casinos, the report said.
June 23, 2006
Posted By Bob Hartman
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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