"Jack Abramoff is not a tall man, but these days he casts a very long shadow that stretches from Washington, D.C., all the way to Georgia, where his longtime friend and ally, Ralph Reed, is preparing a run for lieutenant governor.

Abramoff, a high-powered Washington lawyer and lobbyist, is the central figure in a series of scandals that have made him the target of FBI, grand jury and congressional investigations. Among other things, Abramoff is suspected of cheating and defrauding Indian casinos that paid him more than $80 million � a truly outrageous sum even in the context of Washington influence peddling � to lobby on their behalf.

Much of the scandal involves a case in Texas in which Abramoff worked closely with Reed, although Reed himself is not suspected of lawbreaking.

But there's still something troubling about Reed pretending to be doing the work of the Lord, while in reality doing the bidding of gambling interests."

Get the Story:
ay Bookman: Reed can't escape bad gamble (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 3/21)
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