No longer "breaking" -- now that I've made the recommends! Anyway, so reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer
blog:
Washington -- Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Ney has agreed with the Justice Department to plead guilty to at least one criminal charge in a deal that could be announced as early as Friday, Capitol Hill sources said Thursday.
This was brought to our attention by Paul Kiel at TPMuckraker. This is a big story, and brings back the Abramoff mess in a big way. I was worried, like many, that the corruption wasn't going to stink enough to stick. But a guilty plea, even if it's only just one charge, is the latest in the line of dominos.
I also just noticed this final paragraph in the story that lends credibility and a bit of humor.
House of Representatives records show that Ney missed all votes on Wednesday and Thursday, including one on a bill to restrict off-reservation gambling at Indian casinos. The gaming measure failed to gain the majority needed for passage.
Indian gaming. Heh heh heh.
UPDATES:
1. The story's been picked up by The Grey Lady. A comment below notes that this story follows the money trail. Other stuff is mostly the same as we already knew plus some background, but I can't resist noting that he's apparently building a dependency defense:
People with detailed knowledge of the investigation said Mr. Ney had entered an in-patient rehabilitation center in recent days for treatment of alcoholism, making it uncertain whether he would appear at a court hearing to announce the plea. Lawyers and others would speak only anonymously because of concern they would anger prosecutors.
2. Joy Padgett won the special primary to replace Ney on the November ballot:
The winner Thursday will face Democrat Zack Space, the Dover law director who has made his campaign a response to the ethics scandal. He's promised to take no trips, gifts or meals from lobbyists.
She's an interesting person: in the same story, one of her competitors in the primary "has attacked Padgett over her default on a Small Business Administration loan and a $1.1 million bankruptcy filing, accusing her of having a record of financial mismanagement."