MIAMI-
Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a former business partner sought a second delay in starting their federal prison sentences for fraud involving the purchase of a gambling fleet.
The request, filed jointly by prosecutors and defense attorneys, said that Abramoff is continuing to cooperate in a Washington corruption investigation, and Adam Kidan is providing information about the murder of former SunCruz Casinos owner Konstantinos Boulis.
U.S. District Judge Paul Huck was to consider the request, which seeks a 90-day delay, on Thursday afternoon. Abramoff and Kidan are currently scheduled to surrender Oct. 2 to serve prison sentences of nearly six years. They pleaded guilty to charges of concocting a fake wire transfer to close the SunCruz deal.
Abramoff continues to meet in lengthy sessions with investigators and prosecutors in the corruption probe, including grand jury sessions, according to the motion for the delay.
“The government anticipates that Mr. Abramoff’s cooperation will continue for some time,” the legal papers said. “Incarceration of Mr. Abramoff at this time would significantly impede ongoing investigations in which his participation is critical.”
He and Kidan were first granted delays in June on the same grounds.
No details were provided about what Abramoff is saying. Earlier this month, GOP Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio became the first congressman charged in the case and agreed to plead guilty to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in trips and other perks from Abramoff and an international businessman.
Ney’s former chief of staff and two one-time aides to ex-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas have also pleaded guilty in the case. A former White House aide was convicted in June of covering up dealings with Abramoff.
Kidan, meanwhile, is assisting prosecutors in Broward County in the 2001 murder of Boulis, who was gunned down amid a dispute over SunCruz’s future. Kidan has said he believes the murder was committed by a former associate of New York crime boss John Gotti.
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