03.30.06 -
Abramoff Gets 70 Months in
Prison
QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'I can only hope that the Almighty and those I have wronged
will forgive my trespasses.' - Jack Abramoff, before he was sentenced for
conspiracy and fraud in the 2000 takeover of a Florida fleet of gambling
boats.
Once-prominent lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his former partner, Adam Kidan of
Glen Cove, were each sentenced yesterday in Miami to 70 months in prison for
their fraudulent takeover of a Florida fleet of gambling boats.
But because of their extensive cooperation with federal prosecutors in ongoing
investigations into possible corruption in Washington, they are unlikely to
have to serve that much time, according to their attorneys.
The nature of their cooperation was not revealed during the sentencing
proceedings, but previous reports have said the two are aiding investigations
of members of Congress and staffers.
"I am much chastened and profoundly remorseful," Abramoff said before
he was sentenced along with Kidan for conspiracy and fraud in the 2000 takeover
of the SunCruz line. "I can only hope that the Almighty and those I have
wronged will forgive my trespasses."
In a letter to the court before he was sentenced, Kidan, a former bagel store
owner and disbarred attorney, wrote he was "caught up in the fast-paced
world of my partner and the high profile that came along with it."
Newsday has reported the two planned to use SunCruz as the base of a gambling
empire.
But their plans evaporated. The line went bankrupt and the person who sold them
SunCruz, Konstantin "Gus" Boulis, was murdered. Both Abramoff and
Kidan have denied involvement in the murder and are expected to cooperate with
state prosecutors in that case. Three suspected hit men are charged in the
case.
Abramoff, in addition, also has pleaded guilty in a separate federal case in
Washington to defrauding Indian tribes.
Kidan's attorney, Joseph Conway of Mineola, and one of Abramoff's attorneys,
Neal Sonnett of Miami, said they would ask for lesser sentences after their
clients have finished cooperating with prosecutors.
Cooperators are usually sentenced by federal judges after they have finished
providing information or testifying, and often get markedly lesser sentences
than suggested by sentencing guidelines.
The U.S. district judge in the case, Paul Huck, has a practice of first
sentencing cooperators using the guidelines and later hearing motions for
sentence reductions.
- Robert E. Kessler: Newsday Staff
Writer
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