Jack Abramoff Criticizes Reforms Implemented After Lobbying Scandal In New Autobiography
By NEDRA PICKLER
11/05/11
WASHINGTON -- Jack Abramoff can't say he wasn't warned.
When the now-notorious lobbyist was a rising star as Republicans expanded their power in Washington, a concerned senior partner in his firm warned against his win-at-all-costs approach to business. "At the rate you're going," the boss said, "you're either going to be dead, disgraced or in jail in five years."
Abramoff writes in his autobiography, out Monday, that the line rang in his ears for the next decade, including the 3 1/2 years he spent in a federal penitentiary paying for his bribery of public officials and other crimes before his release last year.
The 52-year-old's name has become a synonym for Washington corruption. The influence-peddling schemes he masterminded ultimately resulted in conviction of 20 people and changed federal lobbying laws.
But Abramoff says the reforms aren't tough enough to keep special-interest power in check and, from his insider perspective, he lays out what more needs to be done.
He writes in "Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption from America's Most Notorious Lobbyist" that there still are plenty of corrupt lobbying practices that are perfectly legal...
For the full article, go to:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/05/jack-abramoff-autobiography_n_1077686.html?ref=politics
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