"Team Abramoff" is the team of lobbyists assembled by Jack Abramoff when he worked at Greenberg Traurig, primarily of former aides to prominent Congressional politicians. Their work is embroiled in the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal and the monetary influence of Jack Abramoff.
On January 8, 2001, Abramoff left Preston Gates & Ellis to join the Government Relations division of the law firm of Greenberg Traurig, which once described him as "directly involved in the Republican party and conservative movement leadership structures" and "one of the leading fund raisers for the party and its congressional candidates." With the move to Greenberg Traurig Abramoff took as much as $6 million dollars worth of client "work" from his old firm, including the Marianas Islands account. When asked in an interview why he moved to Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff replied "they have a dominant presence … This move is an excellent opportunity for me and my clients with the new Administration."
At Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff assembled a "dream team" made up of lobbyists with past jobs working for congressional leaders. This team included Tony Rudy, whom Abramoff had worked extensively with during the Marianas and eLottery lobbying while Rudy was serving as Chief of Staff to Tom Delay. Abramoff had hired Rudy while he was still at Preston Gates, and brought him and six other staff lobbyists over to Greenberg Traurig. The hiring of Rudy was one of the first instances in a pattern by which Abramoff would directly hire aides of representatives he was actively lobbying.
Team Abramoff members Rudy and Neil Volz, Bob Ney's former chief of staff, were later named as unindicted coconspirators in Abramoff's guilty plea in the Indian lobbying scandal. In addition, Kevin Ring, Jon van Horne, Michael Smith and Stephanie Leger received secret side payments from Abramoff counter to Greenberg Traurig policy and were asked to resign. Van Horne received $20,000 from the Coushatta Tribe via Capitol Campaign Strategies. Smith also received a $20,000 payoff from CCS. Shana Tesler's husband Samuel Hook received $20,000 from Abramoff for serving as the titular head of Abramoff entities such as Eshkol Academy and Grassroots Interactive.
Rudy pleaded guilty to conspiracy for corruption and fraud on March 31, 2006. Volz pleaded guilty to conspiracy for corruption and fraud on May 8, 2006.
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Boldface names have pleaded guilty or are identified in the criminal indictments/plea documents.
Famous quotes containing the word team:
“I also heard the whooping of the ice in the pond, my great bed-fellow in that part of Concord, as if it were restless in its bed and would fain turn over, were troubled with flatulency and bad dreams; or I was waked by the cracking of the ground by the frost, as if some one had driven a team against my door, and in the morning would find a crack in the earth a quarter of a mile long and a third of an inch wide.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)