Plea deal believed near for Abramoff
WASHINGTON – Lawyers met with a federal judge Friday to discuss a wire fraud case against Jack Abramoff, amid indications a plea agreement could be reached next week in two federal probes of the once-powerful lobbyist.
Under such an agreement, Abramoff presumably would offer evidence about favors he provided some members of Congress and their aides.
Federal prosecutors and attorneys for Abramoff discussed the status of the wire fraud case with U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck in Miami, according to a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta. Another meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, said the spokeswoman, Yovanny Lopez.
The trial in the case is set to begin Jan. 9, and according to sources familiar with the case, the judge has set Tuesday as the deadline for completing any plea deal. The sources requested anonymity when discussing the legal negotiations.
Abramoff, who wielded widespread influence in Congress, also is under investigation by a federal grand jury in Washington on charges he and his associates bilked Indian tribes and other clients of millions of dollars in fees. The plea-bargaining talks are believed to encompass both cases.
The lobbyist had close ties to Republican congressional leaders and forged strong alliances with conservative causes. The probe of Abramoff’s lobbying efforts in Washington has stirred national attention, and his potential testimony as a cooperating federal witness in a plea deal has caused growing concern among some political leaders about potential legal problems for members of Congress in the investigation.
A spokesman for Abramoff’s Washington lawyer, Abbe Lowell, declined to comment after Friday’s conference in Miami. Neal R. Sonnett, Abramoff’s Florida lawyer, confirmed the meeting took place but refused to comment on the status of plea negotiations.
Strong signals that Abramoff was about to cut a deal with prosecutors came after a series of recent developments in probes that have stretched from Washington to the Northern Marianna islands in the Pacific Ocean.
On Nov. 21, under an agreement with prosecutors, Michael Scanlon, Abramoff’s former lobbying partner, entered a guilty plea to a count of conspiracy to commit bribery and mail and wire fraud. His sentencing has been delayed pending his cooperation in the ongoing investigation.
In details disclosed at the time of his guilty plea, Scanlon said he and Abramoff had a secret agreement, under which they split the millions of dollars in profits Scanlon collected from Indian tribes seeking favorable federal action on casino gambling operations. As part of his plea agreement, Scanlon agreed to make restitution of $19.6 million.
Earlier this month, Adam R. Kidan, a former Abramoff partner in a Florida casino deal, entered a guilty plea to fraud and conspiracy charges. Abramoff was charged in the same case with defrauding lenders of $60 million by faking a $23 million wire transfer in order to get financing to buy a fleet of floating casinos. He has entered a not guilty plea. It is that case that is scheduled to go to trial in early January.
Like Scanlon, Kidan said he had reached an agreement with federal prosecutors to cooperate in the probe.