Woo vs. Harmon - Witness Bob Ney

David C. Farmer, Successor-Trustee vs. Harmon

(Formerly Woo vs. Harmon & Nicholson vs. Harmon)

CV05-00030 DAE KSC

U.S. District Court For the District of Hawaii

Judges: David A. Ezra; Kevin S. Chang

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DEFENDANT’S WITNESS

BOB NEY

Address to be determined.

Bob Ney is the former Ohio Representative (Republican) to the Congress of the United States.

January 21, 2007

Abramoff scandal nets Ney jail time

BY MATT APUZZO, Chicago Sun-Times

WASHINGTON -- Former Republican Rep. Bob Ney was sentenced to 2½ years in prison Friday for trading political favors for golf trips, campaign donations and other gifts in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

Ney, the first congressman convicted in the federal bribery investigation involving lawmakers, their aides and Bush administration officials, pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy and making false statements.

The six-term lawmaker from Heath, Ohio, who once chaired the House Administration Committee, accepted golf and gambling trips, tickets to sporting events, free meals and campaign donations arranged by Abramoff and his associates.

''You violated a host of laws that you as a congressman are sworn to enforce and uphold,'' said U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle, who recommended that Ney serve his time at a federal prison in Morgantown, W.Va. Ney will also serve two years probation and must pay a $6,000 fine. (Compare that with the half-million dollar fine in this case!)

Huvelle recommended he enter a prison alcohol rehabilitation program for treatment of a drinking problem Ney has spoken of recently. Completing the program could knock about a year off his sentence.

Huvelle did not set a date for Ney to report to prison. He resigned from Congress in November, just before the elections. AP

www.suntimes.com/news/nation/221544,CST-NWS-jail21.article

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December 4, 2006

Nonprofit accountability needed

Public should demand better regulation of nonprofits

By Mary M. Lassen and Anna Kristina C. Moore, Philanthropy Journal

One can hope that recent news about U.S. Rep. Bob Ney and five nonprofit organizations allegedly linked to Jack Abramoff's illegal lobbying activities would scare others from committing the same mistakes.

But experience shows neither conscience nor self-regulation is enough to ensure that people in positions of authority will uphold principles like accountability and transparency in their dealings.

There are always people willing to take the risk when the prize is influence, money and power.

In a 2003 study, Marion Fremont-Smith and Andras Kosaras noted media reports of over 150 incidents involving criminal and civil misconduct by leaders of charitable organizations in 1995 to 2002.

And this does not even include disputes settled in and out of court or investigations that are not publicly disclosed. This weakens trust in and support of the charitable sector.

A recent CNN poll shows that 50 percent of Americans think Congress is corrupt.

The tentacles of political corruption regrettably have some nonprofit and charitable organizations in their grasp.

Ironically, we depend on these same elected officials to provide the IRS and other regulators with the resources needed to oversee tax-exempt organizations to the full extent of their mandates, irrespective of who controls Congress.

The good news is that we – the voting, tax-paying public – have the power to demand that our elected officials stop squandering the numerous opportunities to address weaknesses in our legislation.

Members of Congress should join Republican Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa in his efforts to pass laws to eliminate exploitation of the nonprofit sector.

They can begin by mandating better disclosure for donor-advised funds and minimum payments for supporting organizations, and by cracking down on abuses by members of Congress, their families and associates.

The nonprofit and philanthropic communities will need to reinvigorate self-regulatory initiatives such as codes of standards similar to efforts by the Maryland Nonprofit Association and the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

There are signs that public confidence in charities is improving, but with scandals marring the philanthropic sector – such as those involving United Way, the Nature Conservancy, the Katrina and 9/11 funds, and Abramoff -- it's still on shaky ground.

A drop in confidence that translates into a drop in donations will severely affect groups that depend on charitable dollars to provide assistance to disenfranchised populations.

Misuse and abuse of nonprofits and foundations violate the spirit of community, generosity and social responsibility that sustain philanthropy in the U.S.

Mary M. Lassen is interim executive director and Anna Kristina C. Moore is a communications associate at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy in Washington, D.C.

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Bob Ney is expected to testify regarding his business, professional and personal relationships with Jack Abramoff, Mark Foley; Leonard Millman; Ken Mehlman; Dan Inouye; Bill Frist; Tom DeLay; Dee Jay Mailer; Dirk Kempthorne; Norm Brownstein; Henry Paulson; Gale Norton; The Bureau of Indian Affairs; Daniel Akaka; The Nature Conservancy; Faye Kurren; Peter Savio; Neil Abercrombie; Ed Case; Nainoa Thompson; Mark Souder; Rowena Akana; John Waihee III; John Waihee IV; Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Tom Cole; The Council For National Policy; The Carlyle Group; American Insurance Group (AIG); James Baker; Goldman Sachs; Richard Rainwater; Linda Lingle; Condoleezza Rice; Dick Cheney; Donald Rumsfeld; Henry Kissinger; Robert Dole; Elizabeth Hanford Dole; James Ahloy; Aloha Petroleum; Enron; Chevron-Texaco; Robert F. Miller; Tesoro Petroleum; Faye Kurren; Judge Barry Kurren; Judge Rey Graulty; Mark McConaghy; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Noble Drilling Co.; McKenzie Methane; Earl Anzai; Lyn Anzai; Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate; Robert K.U. Kihune; Henry Peters; Gilbert Tam; Paul Alston; Donna Tanoue; Colbert Matsumoto; Catherine Austin Fitts; Tyco International; Kazu Hayashida, Jack Borja, Ted Stevens, V.K. Durham, David Farmer, James Cribley, John Garibaldi, Suzanne Case, Dan Case, Steve Case, and others to be named upon discovery.