DAVID ESPO, AP Special Corresponden
Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, pleaded guilty
Friday to making false statements and conspiracy to commit fraud and
violating post-employment restrictions for former congressional aides.
Ney abandonded months of defiant denials to admit guilt in the
congressional corruption probe spawned by disgraced lobbyist Jack
Abramoff.
Ney becomes the first lawmaker to admit wrongdoing in the election-year investigation.
Ney had consistently denied any wrongdoing in the investigation, an
insistence that he maintained even after his former chief of staff
pleaded guilty in May. The aide, Neil Volz, confessed to conspiring to
corrupt the congressman and others with trips and other aid. Volz
became a business partner of Abramoff after leaving the congressional
payroll.
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