WASHINGTON (AP) - Rep. Bob Ney pleaded guilty Friday to bribery charges stemming from the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling investigation. The Ohio Republican was the first member of Congress convicted in the scandal that has tainted the White House as well as Capitol Hill. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
Ney confessed his wrongdoing before U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle in a federal courthouse a few blocks distant from the Capitol, where until recently he wielded a chairman's gavel.
The Ohio Republican did not speak to reporters as he made his way into the courthouse. It was his first public appearance since entering an alcohol treatment program last month.
Inside the courtroom, Huvelle spent nearly a half-hour asking the sandy-haired, red-faced congressman a series of questions about whether he understood the charges and agreed that he had taken money, gifts and favors in return for official actions on behalf of Abramoff and his clients.
At the end she asked him how he pleaded to the conspiracy count, he replied, "I plead guilty your honor."
Asked how he pleaded to the count of false statements, he replied, "I plead guilty, your honor."
Mark Touhey, Ney's lawyer, told the judge the congressman would resign from office before sentencing on Jan. 19. His term in Congress expires before then, though, at noon on Jan 3.
Huvelle said that while the maximum penalty is 10 years in prison and $500,000 in fines, the government had agreed to recommend a penalty of 27 months in prison.
She added that federal guidelines suggest a fine between $5,000 and $60,000.
