Word: safavian
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...Volz weren't the only trip members who were doing favors for Abramoff around the time of the Scotland trip. Two days before Abramoff sent Safavian the schedule for the junket, he asked him for some help in finding a location for a Jewish orthodox school he was looking to build in Maryland for his children to attend. Abramoff wanted to get land from the government, and Safavian, as chief of staff for the General Services Administration, the agency that controls government property, advised him that he should get Congress to order GSA to sell or lease the land...
...while the free meals, luxury sky box tickets and other gifts Abramoff spread around Washington have gotten a lot of powerful people in trouble over the last year, one junket that he arranged is proving particularly damaging. In August 2002, Abramoff flew Reed, Safavian, Congressman Bob Ney of Ohio, and Ney's former chief of staff, Neil Volz, on a rented Gulfstream II jet to St. Andrews, Scotland, for five days of golf, food and merriment. In the last few weeks, court action and new e-mails have tainted all four guests on the trip...
...good reason. The itinerary for the trip, provided by Abramoff to Safavian a month before departure, was lavish. The private jet to Europe was followed by a stay at the Old Course Hotel (current rates begin at $450 per night), afternoon teeing off at the Kingsbarns links golf course and a late dinner. Golf the following day at a different course was to be followed by dinner in Edinburgh and the famous "Military Tattoo" parade at Edinburgh Castle. Three more days of golf at five different courses were to be followed by a stopover in London at the Mandarin Oriental...
...Abramoff turned to Volz. "[Safavian] said the quickest way to get this done is to slip it into a moving bill which directs GSA to transfer the property to the school," Abramoff wrote on July 21, 2002 to Volz. "Any chance of slipping into the election reform bill?" Volz replied, "The election reform negotiators have been meeting all weekend and may be close to agreement. This means we would have to move asap." "You are wonderful," Abramoff responded...
...with the attempt to lift the Tigua casino ban, the effort to get explicit Congressional action on Abramoff's behalf failed. But as far as Safavian is concerned the damage was done. Four days later he wrote a letter to an ethics officer at GSA asking permission to go on the Scotland trip and said airfare would be paid for by a "lobbyist" who "has no business before GSA." The Justice department cited this as evidence of obstruction and making false statements on Safavian's part when it indicted him last year. Safavian goes on trial May 22. Safavian...