Prosecutors reward disgraced lobbyist for cooperation with investigators
By Joel Seidman, NBC News producer
Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, currently serving a five-and-a-half-year sentence for his conviction in the SunCruz Casinos gambling boat fraud case, may get his sentenced reduced because of his continued cooperation with investigators. In a separate case, Abramoff pled guilty to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials in Washington, D.C. He has yet to be sentenced.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Schwartz, in court papers filed in Miami this week, took the first steps in seeking a reduction in Abramoff’s sentence. The prosecutor wrote in a filing to U.S. District Judge Paul Huck that the move is “based upon the defendant having provided substantial assistance to the government in the investigation and/or prosecution of others.”