Former Republican lobbyist Jack A. Abramoff, 49, was sentenced to four more years in prison on charges of conspiracy, honest services fraud and tax evasion charges on Thursday in Washington, D.C.
Also ordered to pay $23,134,695 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, Abramoff also was sentenced to three years of supervised release following his release from prison following his guilty plea.
Abramoff worked in Washington for a pair of law firms from 1994 to 2004 and spent much of that time lobbying public officials in the federal government. He also sought to further his client's interests through grassroots work, public relations services and election campaign support. He also admitted to conspiring to defraud four Native American Indian tribes that either operated or were interested in operating gaming casinos.
Abramoff steered clients towards colleague's consultancies which overcharged them and then split their profits with him - making him millions of dollars. When those charges were revealed, the scandal shook the Republican party and probably cost them control of Congress in the 2006 elections.
Abramoff apologized at his sentencing, calling himself a changed man.
"I'm not the same man who happily and arrogantly engaged in a lifestyle of political and business corruption," he said.
Prosecutors were seeking a sentence of 10 to 12 years, but Abramoff had cooperated with authorities in a corruption probe that saw 12 public officials pleading guilty of accepting gifts from the lobbyist in exchange for official favors.
With Abramoff's assistance, the Justice Department has already won corruption convictions against former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles and several top Capitol Hill aides. Still under scrutiny are former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and retiring Rep. John Doolittle, R-Granite Bay.
Abramoff has already been serving a six-year sentence in a Florida prison since November 2006 on separate charges of fraud and conspiracy related to the purchase of casino boats.
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