Ohio Rep. Bob Ney admitted improperly accepting tens of thousands of dollars worth of trips, meals, sports tickets and casino chips while trying to win favors for a disgraced Washington lobbyist and a foreign aviation company run by a gambler known as "the Fat Man."
Ney, a six-term Republican, had defiantly denied any wrongdoing for months, but he reversed course and agreed to plead guilty in court papers filed Friday. Prosecutors will recommend he serve 27 months in prison. Ney was expected to formally plead guilty in court Oct. 13.
"I have made serious mistakes and am sorry for them," Ney, 52, said in a statement. "I am very sorry for the pain I have caused to my family, my constituents in Ohio and my colleagues." His lawyer said he had begun treatment for alcohol dependency.
Ney became the first lawmaker to admit wrongdoing in the election-year congressional corruption probe spawned by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Ney said he was hopeful "that someday the good I have tried to do will be measured alongside the mistakes I have made." Read on...
Another member of the "Culture of Corruption" bites the dust. Darn.
