Home > News > Headlines

Print   Subscribe

Ex-official sentenced for role in Abramoff scandal
Monday, October 30, 2006

A former Bush administration official who used to lobby for the Indian gaming industry was sentenced on Friday to 18 months in prison for his role in the Jack Abramoff scandal.

David H. Safavian wept in a Washington, D.C., courtroom as he pleaded for leniency. But the judge who handled the case said the former official expressed no remorse for lying about his ties to Abramoff, a high-powered lobbyist who billed tribes millions in exchange for access in the nation's capitol.

Safavian "came to work in an environment that has become, frankly, more and more corrupt," U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman said, according to news reports. "It's become corrupted by money."

A jury convicted Safavian on charges of lying to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, lying to the General Services Administration, and obstructing justice. He denied giving inside information to Abramoff when asked by federal investigators.

"I didn't see anything wrong in helping Jack," Safavian said in court, according to news reports.

Safavian and Abramoff were friends long before Safavian joined the Bush administration. In the 1990s, they worked at the same lobbying firm where Abramoff rose to prominence on the millions he billed to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and other tribes.

"He might be the only person in Washington who claims Jack Abramoff is a friend," Safavian's lawyer said during pre-trial arguments.

Safavian started to make a name for himself when he formed his owned firm with Grover Norquist, another Abramoff ally. Their client list include the National Indian Gaming Association and other gaming tribes whose interests were similar to Abramoff's.

But NIGA Chairman Ernie Stevens has distanced the organization from the controversy. "I have been doing this for 10 years," Stevens, a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, said earlier this year. "Never once have I seen Jack Abramoff in our camp."

Still, lobbying records put NIGA and Team Abramoff in close quarters. Before the scandal broke in February 2004, the two sides pressed Congress on nearly the same issues -- Internet gaming, taxation of tribal gaming revenues and appropriations.

As chief of staff at the GSA and, later, as head of procurement in the White House Office of Management and Budget, Safavian wasn't directly involved in those matters. But in August 2002, he went on a lavish golfing excursion to Scotland that was financed partly by a Texas tribe whose casino Abramoff was trying to get reopened.

Safavian's claims about the nature of the trip, and Abramoff's role in organizing it, led to the indictment on charges of lying and obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors tied the trip to Safavan's willingness to help Abramoff's lobbying needs. Around the same time as the junket -- which included former Congressman Bob Ney (R-Ohio), who pleaded guilty to accepting bribes as part of the Texas casino fiasco -- Abramoff hatched a scheme to "use" one of his tribal clients to land a prize piece of federal property in Washington that was controlled by the GSA.

Safavian was the only person who refused to deal with federal prosecutors. Besides Abramoff, who is awaiting sentencing, every other figure connected to the controversy pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to defraud tribes and bribe a member of Congress.

Abramoff and Michael Scanlon, his primary associate, have been ordered to pay restitution to the tribes they admitted to defrauding. Abramoff vowed to repay about $25 million while Scanlon said he would pay $19.6 million.

The scandal tainted tribal lobbying efforts in Washington. "It's tougher now," Stevens said earlier this year. "People are going to try to use Indian Country as a scapegoat."

Department of Justice Statement:
Former GSA Chief of Staff David Safavian Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison on Charges of Obstruction, Making False Statements (October 27, 2006)

Related Stories:
Abramoff associate asks judge for no jail time (10/25)
Judge agrees to put Abramoff in Maryland prison (10/20)
Rep. Ney guilty but Hill office still open for business (10/19)
Ney set to enter guilty plea on Abramoff charge (10/13)
Prison time sought for ex-White House official (10/13)
Ex-White House official granted delay in sentencing (09/29)
Judge won't throw out ex-Bush official's conviction (09/13)
Former Bush official challenges Abramoff conviction (08/25)
Former Bush official seeks new trial over Abramoff (8/18)
Media glossed over White House ties to Abramoff (06/22)
Ex-Bush official faces sentence for Abramoff conviction (6/21)
Ex-Bush offical found guilty on four felony counts (6/20)
No verdict on charges against ex-Bush official (6/16)
Jury resumes deliberations in ex-Bush official's trial (6/15)
Jury deliberations halted in ex-Bush official's case (6/14)
Jury to decide on charges against ex-Bush official (6/13)
Ex-Bush official denies wrongdoing on Abramoff (6/6)
Ex-Bush official testifies on Abramoff dealings (6/5)
Senate Indian Affairs investigator testifies (6/2)
Prosecution nears end of case against ex-official (6/1)
Column: A lot of talk about golf at ex-official's trial (6/1)
Former staffer, an Abramoff associate, testifies (5/31)
Team Abramoff member to testify at official's trial (5/30)
Sen. Reid met with two of Abramoff's tribal clients (5/30)
Ex-Bush official on trial for Abramoff connections (5/25)
Opening statements set for ex-Bush official's trial (5/24)
Ex-Bush official, an Abramoff associate, set for trial (5/22)
Ex-White House official goes to trial on Monday (5/19)
White House official offered support to Abramoff (5/11)
Latest Abramoff plea targets Republican Congressman (05/09)
Another guilty plea from Team Abramoff (5/8)
Judge won't dismiss case against ex-Bush official (05/02)
Judge to read Abramoff e-mails in ex-official's case (4/28)
Former Bush official headed to trial in Abramoff probe (03/27)
Abramoff tried to exploit tribes for Washington project (02/13)
Ex-White House official fights SCIA on Abramoff (02/07)
DOJ says ex-Bush official tipped off Abramoff (01/30)
Rep. Young intervened on behalf of Abramoff (01/25)
Abramoff not in NIGA's camp but lobbyist came close (01/19)
White House pressed on contacts with Abramoff (01/18)
Abramoff pleads guilty in Washington lobbying scandal (01/04)
McCain expects 'lots' of indictments in Abramoff case (12/05)
Abramoff probe looking into Congress, Bush (11/25)
Ex-White House official failed to cut lobbying ties (11/23)
Charges laid against Scanlon in tribal lobbying probe (11/21)
White House cites cooperation with Abramoff probe (11/16)
Ex-White House official claims 'set-up' over Abramoff (11/15)
Abramoff scandal takes toll on GOP, White House (10/14)
Former official pleads not guilty in Abramoff probe (10/10)
Indicted ex-Bush official worked for NIGA, tribes (10/07)
Former Bush official indicted in Abramoff probe (10/06)
Cannon denies ex-Abramoff lobbyist set agenda (09/29)
Ex-White House official sought to close GovWorks (09/27)
Ex-Bush official blames arrest on Abramoff probe (09/22)
Column: Abramoff scandal visits the White House (09/21)
Arrested Bush official has questionable ties (09/21)
White House official arrested in Abramoff probe (09/20)
Utah congressman hired ex-Abramoff associate (09/02)

Copyright © 2000-2006 Indianz.Com