Miami – Jack Abramoff, the once-powerful Washington lobbyist whose downfall has propelled a far-reaching congressional corruption investigation, was sentenced Wednesday to five years and 10 months in prison for his role in the fraudulent purchase of a fleet of casino cruise boats.
U.S. District Judge Paul Huck sentenced Abramoff, 47, and his former partner, Adam Kidan, 41, to the shortest possible prison terms under sentencing guidelines after prosecutors affirmed that both men have been aiding law-enforcement probes.
Abramoff’s attorneys said he has reviewed “thousands of documents” in the effort, which could reach members of Congress, their staff and employees of federal agencies including the Interior Department.
“They’re both trying to atone by cooperating,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence LaVecchio said in court.
Abramoff, dressed in a gray double-breasted suit, appeared somber and detached during the proceedings.
He told the judge that the day was “incredibly painful” for himself, as well as his family and friends. “I am much chastened and profoundly remorseful over the reckless and hurtful things I have done in my life, especially those which have brought me before you today,” he said. “I can only hope that the Almighty and those whom I have wronged will forgive me my trespasses and that God grants me the time on this earth to make amends.”
Abramoff also faces sentencing in Washington following his guilty plea in January to charges of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials. He could receive more than nine years on those charges, but prosecutors have agreed to recommend that the sentences from that case and the Miami case be served concurrently.
In pleading for the minimum sentence on the Florida charges, lawyers for each defendant laid most of the blame on the other for the gambling boat scam, in which Abramoff and Kidan faked a $23 million wire transfer in order to fraudulently obtain a $60 million loan for the 2000 purchase of SunCruz Casinos.
