Another member of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s inner circle has been charged with conspiring to bribe congressional and executive branch officials to win favors for his clients, according to an indictment unsealed Monday.
Kevin A. Ring, 37, a former congressional aide for Rep. John T. Doolittle, R-Calif., is now the center of a 10-count indictment.
In a statement, Ring’s attorney, Richard A. Hibey, stood by his client’s innocence and described Ring’s Monday morning arrest at his Kensington home in front of his wife and children as a “harbinger of the overreaching that will characterize the government’s prosecution.”
According to the indictment, Ring and his co-conspirators, including Abramoff, “groomed” public officials with all-expenses-paid trips, fundraising assistance, meals, drinks, golf and sporting events tickets in order to gain favors for their clients. He also is charged with obstructing justice.
Ring allegedly targeted his gifts toward staff members and lawmakers, including former Rep. Robert Ney, R-Ohio, who pleaded guilty to receiving bribes and other charges in 2006, as well as officials at the Interior and Justice departments, the costs of which were covered by his and Abramoff’s clients, the indictment said.
Other U.S. representatives are included in the indictment, but they’re labeled only as “Representative 4” and employees of “Representative 5.”
According to the indictment, Ring misled investigators hired by his former law firm about a $135,000 kickback he received, as well as his knowledge about Abramoff obtaining a job for the wife of “Representative 5.” Media reports have described Abramoff’s contacts with Julie Doolittle.
In federal court Monday afternoon, Ring pleaded not guilty. The widespread investigation into corruption surrounding Abramoff, his inner circle and the officials they bribed has prompted 12 guilty pleas.
Hibey said in a statement that his client spent more than 100 hours meeting with federal investigators, but refused to plead guilty “to various fraud and corruption-related offenses and to implicate others as the price of leniency.”
John Doolittle’s attorneys, David Barger and Michael Sklaire, said in a statement that the indictment was written to make “gratuitous” references to Doolittle and his wife. “This appears to have been done to titillate the public. … The Department of Justice [does not] allege any sort of illegal agreement between Congressman Doolittle, on the one hand, and Kevin Ring or Jack Abramoff, on the other.”
