JACK ABRAMOFF INDICTED FOR BANK FRAUD IN CONNECTION WITH PURCHASE OF SUNCRUZ GAMBLING SHIPS

11 Aug 2005 // STAFFERS FOR REP. DELAY AND SEN. BURNS TOOK JUNKET ON SUNCRUZ

Washington, DC – Earlier today, lobbyist Jack Abramoff was indicted for bank fraud in connection with his 2000 purchase of the SunCruz gambling ships from Greek millionaire Gus Boulis. To finance the purchase, Abramoff and his partner Adam Kidan were required by Foothill Capitol to put up $23 million in cash to secure the loan. Abramoff and Kidan signed sworn documents, provided to Foothill Capitol at closing, attesting that they had paid Boulis the $23 million. In fact, Abramoff and Kidan never paid Boulis and by October 2000, Boulis was threatening to sue. In January 2001, Boulis did file suit, but in February 2001, he was murdered in an unsolved gang-land style homicide.

Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) also played a role in the deal. On March 30, 2000, Ney inserted a statement into the Congressional Record, criticizing Boulis and his management of SunCruz. On June 30, 2000, Kidan, Abramoff, Abramoff’s wife and Michael Scanlon, a former DeLay aide, each made $1,000 contributions to Ney’s re-election campaign. On October 26, 2000, Ney again inserted remarks about SunCruz into the Congressional record. This time he praised the leadership of the new owners claiming that Kidan had a “renown reputation for honesty and integrity.” In fact, Kidan had been disbarred in New York after misappropriating money in a business deal and he had ties to organized crime figures.

In addition, shortly after Kidan and Abramoff purchased the ships, Abramoff leased a corporate jet to ferry congressional staffers down to Tampa for the Superbowl and to gamble aboard a SunCruz ship. Among those on the trip were Tim Berry, then Rep. Tom DeLay’s chief of staff, DeLay’s former deputy chief of staff, Tony Rudy, and two staffers for Senator Conrad Burns.

Melanie Sloan, Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington stated, “An indictment is just the first step in the ever-evolving scandal involving Abramoff and the GOP Leadership. Now, Rep. Ney has some explaining to do. Given that Rep. Ney knew enough about SunCruz, Adam Kidan and Gus Boulis to insert comments about them in the Congressional Record, the House ethics committee should find out what else Rep. Ney knew about Abramoff’s illegal activities.”

CREW has details on Members of Congress dealings with Abramoff on www.jackinthehouse.org.

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Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit, progressive legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. CREW drafted the complaint against Tom DeLay, filed by former Congressman Chris Bell, for which DeLay was admonished last year.

For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Naomi Seligman at 202.588.5565/press@citizensforethics.org.