Italia Federici, an associate of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, won't have to report to a halfway house as part of her sentence.

Federici was supposed to spend 60 days in a halfway house for pleading guilty to tax evasion and obstructing the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. But Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle granted a special abeyance, The Washington Post reported.

Federici ran the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, a nonprofit group founded by former Interior secretary Gale Norton. Federici used the group as a conduit between Abramoff and J. Steven Griles, the former Interior deputy secretary who recently completed a 10-month prison sentence for his role in the scandal.

Through CREA, Federici accepted over $500,000 from Abramoff's tribal clients. She was dating Griles at the time.

Get the Story:
Abramoff Associate Avoids Halfway House (The Washington Post 8/5)
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