Word: rostenkowskis
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...deal Rostenkowski could not see brokered to his satisfaction was the plea bargain that his lawyer Robert Bennett struck with the prosecution team headed by U.S. Attorney Eric Holder Jr. Rostenkowski would have got off with a fine and a six-month prison term in exchange for resigning from the House and pleading guilty to a single felony count. After two days of discussion with family and close associates, Rostenkowski decided to turn down the plea. Says former Illinois Representative Marty Russo, a close friend: "He just sat down one night and said, 'Wait a minute. I didn...
...While Rostenkowski may have known the extent of the potential indictment against him, for most other people it came as a shock when Holder finally unveiled it last week. In addition to a charge that was already familiar -- that from 1978 to 1991 Rostenkowski took at least $50,000 in cash disguised as office purchases of stamps from the House post office -- the 17-count indictment outlined a collection of schemes that allegedly cost taxpayers more than $500,000. In the most damning part, it accused Rostenkowski of a kickback scam in which he put 14 people on his payroll...
Holder also accused Rostenkowski of having used office funds to buy from the House stationery store about $40,000 in gifts for family and friends, including hand-painted chairs and crystal models of the Capitol, and of spending $100,000 in House funds and $73,500 in political-campaign funds to lease cars for his personal use. In the most serious charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, he was accused of witness tampering for allegedly asking an engraver to say nothing to a federal grand jury about 50 brass plates he had engraved...
After the indictment was issued, Rostenkowski ignored his lawyer's advice to stay quiet. "I strongly believe that I am not guilty of these charges," he insisted, "and will fight to regain my reputation." Soon after, lawyer and client parted ways. Whomever he chooses as a replacement, Rostenkowski may benefit from the testimony of several of the "ghost employees," who reportedly will challenge the prosecution's version of events...
...Congress, as in most other places, the real secret to enforcing the rules is not so much a matter of policing as self-policing. "I really always had the feeling that there was no one there ((on Rostenkowski's staff)) who really had a good moral compass," says a former House staff member. "Or maybe, to be fair, he never had anyone courageous enough working for him who'd come up to him and say, 'Boss, you can't do that anymore.' " Former Oklahoma Congressman Wes Watkins, who retired four years ago, says a friend once offered him a useful...