Washington, DC
A major influence-peddling investigation is drawing closer to a prominent Ohio congressman. Neil Volz, a lobbyist who served as chief of staff to Rep. Robert Ney, admitted this week that he acted to “corruptly influence” his former boss. Volz left Ney’s staff in 2002 to work for lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has admitted that he defrauded clients and provided kickbacks to several members of Congress. While working for Abramoff, Volz said, he treated Ney to golf junkets in Scotland, tickets to the Fiesta Bowl, and resort vacations. In return, Volz said, Ney sponsored legislation favorable to Abramoff’s clients, including Indian tribes looking to expand gambling operations. Ney’s lawyer said Volz and others claiming that Ney was bribed are “flat making it up” to win favor with prosecutors.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Exploring Georgia's southern highlandsThe Week Recommends Visit Javakheti, Georgia's 'lake district', and meet the last-remaining 'spirit wrestlers' in the region
-
Delivery drivers face continuing heat danger with Trump's OSHA pickThe Explainer David Keeling is the former head of UPS and also worked at Amazon
-
Is that the buzzing sound of climate change worsening sleep apnea?Under the radar Catching diseases, not those ever-essential Zzs
