Tony Rudy, Former Tom DeLay Aide, Last To Be Sentenced In Abramoff Probe

By MARK SHERMAN, Huffington Post WASHINGTON -- Tony Rudy was among the first people to plead guilty in the long-running probe of influence peddling tied to Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff. On Friday, the former aide to Rep. Tom DeLay was the last person sentenced in an investigation that focused on Congress, racked up 21 convictions, yet netted only one lawmaker.

Rudy's cooperation over the past six years helped win convictions of 18 people, but U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle still gave Rudy a sentence of five months in a halfway house and three years of probation for his role in conspiring with Abramoff and others to accept a stream of gifts when Rudy was a staffer and to offer gifts to public officials when he became a lobbyist – all in exchange for legislative favors.

Team Abramoff's brazen behavior included lavish foreign trips for public officials, as well as frequent meals and tickets to sporting events. All the while, Abramoff and his coterie of former congressional aides were grossly overbilling their Indian tribe clients and secretly lobbying against them in order to create more need for lobbying services. Abramoff spent 3 1/2 years in federal prison for his crimes. His crimes have long since been depicted in a documentary movie and a Hollywood release, with actor Kevin Spacey playing Abramoff. In recent months, Abramoff has been promoting his memoir recounting his time of influence. He says the reforms generated by the scandal that bears his name didn't go nearly far enough to eliminate the corruption.

Former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, was the only member of Congress charged in the investigation. He served a year in prison and six months in a halfway house for granting political favors to Abramoff and his lobbying associates in exchange for golf trips, including a pricey one to Scotland, other gifts and campaign donations. Ney briefly hosted a radio program in Ohio and now does occasional commentary for the Talk Radio News Service in Washington. DeLay, a Texas Republican who rose to House majority leader, was one of several members of Congress who were investigated by the Justice Department but never charged. He was tried and convicted on state charges not related to the Abramoff investigation.

Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist for the Washington-based Public Citizen watchdog group, said the absence of charges against more members of Congress has bothered him. "They caught a lot of little fish, and they deserved to be caught, but not many bigger ones," Holman said. The government acknowledged in a written report that Rudy "provided detailed information about his knowledge and interactions with several public officials and lobbyists who were significant parts of the Abramoff investigation," although the information did not lead to criminal charges.