A former staffer for Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), a player in a $4.2 million scheme to help the Tigua Tribe of Texas reopen its casino, worked with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, The Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports.
Ney claims he was misled by Abramoff but the paper said his former chief of staff and former press secretary, Neil Volz, is a lobbyist at Greenberg Traurig and worked with Abramoff's tribal clients. Volz [pictured at right] is still employed by the firm, which fired Abramoff in the wake of the lobbying scandal.
At Abramoff's insistence, Ney agreed to insert language in the 2002 Help America Vote Act to help the Tigua Tribe. But the deal fell through when Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut), the Senate sponsor of the bill, balked at the provision. Dodd said this week he was never part of the deal.
The tribe paid public relations consultant Michael Scanlon, a close associate of Abramoff, $4.2 million to get the language in the bill. Ney hasn't spoken to Scanlon in six years, a spokesperson said.
But The Hill reported that Ney had some form of contact with Scanlon in October 2000. At Scanlon's request, Ney praised a businessman on the House floor, the paper said, only to learn later that the person was close to being disbarred in New York state and was linked to organized crime.
Get the Story:Congressman Ney is at center of influence peddling scandal (The Cleveland Plain-Dealer 11/19)
Ney denies role in ripping off Indian tribes (Gannett News Service 11/18)
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