DAVID ESPO, AP Special Corresponden
Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, pleaded guilty Friday to making false statements and conspiracy to commit fraud and violating post-employment restrictions for former congressional aides.
Ney abandonded months of defiant denials to admit guilt in the congressional corruption probe spawned by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Ney becomes the first lawmaker to admit wrongdoing in the election-year investigation.
Ney had consistently denied any wrongdoing in the investigation, an insistence that he maintained even after his former chief of staff pleaded guilty in May. The aide, Neil Volz, confessed to conspiring to corrupt the congressman and others with trips and other aid. Volz became a business partner of Abramoff after leaving the congressional payroll.
more
