Neil Volz
Neil Volz was Chief of Staff to Representative Bob Ney (R-Ohio), staff director of the House Administration Committee, and later part of lobbyist Jack Abramoff's Team Abramoff, when he left Capitol Hill in February 2002 to work for Abramoff at Greenberg Traurig LLP. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, including wire fraud and violating House rules, charges stemming from his work both for Ney and for Greenberg Traurig.[1] In 2007 he was sentenced to two years probation, 100 hours community service, and a fine of $2,000. Volz cooperated with prosecutors and provided evidence against Ney and William Heaton and testified against David Safavian.
Involvement with Jack Abramoff[edit]
Abramoff's plea agreement details his practice of hiring former congressional staffers, including Volz (who is identified as "Staffer B").[2] Abramoff used these persons' influence to lobby their former Congressional employers, in violation of a one-year federal ban on such lobbying.[3] Three days after Abramoff's plea, Volz resigned from another lobbying firm, Barnes & Thornburg.
While Volz was Ney's chief of staff, "Abramoff had Ney insert a provision into an unrelated bill that would re-open the Tigua Indian Tribe's casino. Volz was Abramoff's chief point of contact during this effort, and soon thereafter Volz left Ney's office and went to work [early in 2002] for Jack Abramoff, where he immediately began to work as a lobbyist in violation of the one-year ban on lobbying after leaving the House of Representatives."[4]
Testimony against Congressman Bob Ney[edit]
Bloomberg News described Volz's plea agreement:
In court documents filed as part of Volz's plea agreement, prosecutors said that he and others at Greenberg Traurig offered trips, tickets to sporting events and numerous meals at Abramoff's restaurants to Ney. In 2003, Volz paid for part of a two-night trip to the Sagamore Resort in Lake George, New York, for Ney and members of his staff, prosecutors said.
Ney, for his part, agreed to help Abramoff clients with acts such as inserting language into legislation that would lift a gaming ban hurting one of the tribes, prosecutors said. The court documents also describe conversations in which Volz told Ney what Abramoff wanted him to say in meetings with the tribal client.[5]
Volz is currently the Vice Chair of the Lee County (FL) Homeless Coalition[6] and the Outreach Director for Next Level Church in Ft. Myers, FL. [7]
| Pled guilty | Sentenced | Sentence | Started serving | Current location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 2006 | September 12, 2007 | 24 months probation, 100 hours community service, $2,000 | N/A |
References[edit]
- ↑ Yost, Pete (May 8, 2006). "Former Aide to Rep. Ney Pleads Guilty". Associated Press.
- ↑ http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/010406/news1.html
- ↑ The Washington Post (PDF) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/abramoff_info_010306.pdf. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Schmidt, Susan; Birnbaum, Jeffrey H. (December 26, 2004). "Tribal Money Linked to GOP Fundraising". The Washington Post.
- ↑ "Ney's Former Aide Volz Pleads Guilty in Abramoff Case (Update5)". Bloomberg. May 8, 2006.
- ↑ "Board of Directors". Lee County Homeless Coalition. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ↑ "Neil Volz". Next Level Church. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
External links[edit]
- Susan Schmidt and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, "Tribal Money Linked to GOP Fundraising. Skybox Events Were Not Always Reported to FEC," Washington Post, December 26, 2004.
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