Heaton became the youngest chief of staff on Capitol Hill.
But it was precisely his youth and inexperience that convinced Ney
that Heaton was the perfect person to replace Volz who left to work
for Abramoff's expanding lobbying empire.
According to court documents, in selecting Heaton for this position,
Ney confided to Volz, that he valued Heaton's inexperience and
deferential attitude, especially where other, more seasoned candidates
might "get up and walk out of dinner because it was too expensive" and
violated the $50 per occasion maximum gift value.
Heaton's lawyers write, "Ney intentionally hired and quickly promoted
young, inexperienced staffers - who did not receive any formal ethics
training from Congress - so that the staffers would have neither the
knowledge nor the maturity to question Ney's conduct."
What Heaton didn't know was that the conspiracy with Abramoff was in
full swing while Volz was still working for Ney, before Heaton had
even joined Ney's staff.
Volz has also pleaded guilty in the Abramoff conspiracy and has yet to
be sentenced.
Heaton did not begin to knowingly participate in the Abramoff-Ney
conspiracy until August 2002.
His attorneys say he did so reluctantly, "Dreading the role of
'tattletale on the playground,' Mr. Heaton tacitly joined the ongoing
conspiracy."
Ney and Heaton both admitted to accepting three trips from Abramoff -
to play golf in Scotland, to gamble in New Orleans, and to vacation in
Lake George, New York.
In each case, Heaton was the person Abramoff's lobbyists Tony Rudy or
Neil Volz first called to talk about the congressman's participating
in the trips.
When Abramoff wanted favors from Ney, it was Heaton that his team
called first.
Similarly, when Abramoff requested official action from Ney, he often
used his lobbyists to contact Heaton first.
According to court papers, when Abramoff sought Ney's assistance on
behalf of a client seeking a visa to travel to the United States, it
was Heaton who was first contacted by the Abramoff lobbying team.
Then, Heaton consulted with Ney about how to solve the visa issue and
Heaton and Ney took steps to obtain this assistance for Abramoff's
client.
In the court filing, officials say Heaton was an active participant in
the conspiracy, soliciting and accepting free or reduced price trips
courtesy of Abramoff and Volz, free food and drink at Abramoff's
restaurant Signatures, and free entertainment tickets.
They also say, on a trip to London in August 2003, Heaton received and
witnessed Ney receiving thousands of dollars worth of gambling chips
from a foreign businessman, adding Ney brought back $47,000 in British
Pounds and Heaton $5,000.
Heaton placed them in the safe of the Capitol Hill office, opening the
safe to withdraw cash at Ney's request.
Heaton lost his job on Capitol Hill because of the prosecution and now
does landscaping work to make ends meet, living on a wage of $800 a
month.
From NBC News, 8/10/07:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20215759/
Heaton faces sentencing in Abramoff scandal
Feds go to bat for man who helped bring down Congressman Ney
By Joel Seidman
Producer
NBC News
WASHINGTON -
He was a secret undercover informant in the heart of the Capitol, and
an unlikely linchpin in the government's Washington influence peddling
investigation that netted a powerful six-term congressman.
Prosecutors, for the first time, say it was only with the assistance
of a young, twenty-something, congressional staffer named Will Heaton,
and weeks of secretly taped conversations with his boss, which enabled
them to finally bring down Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Ney, compelling
Ney to plead guilty in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.
Now, after pleading guilty to a single felony count himself in the
lobbying conspiracy - and facing a stiff prison sentence, Heaton wants
a federal judge to grant him leniency.
Heaton admitted to conspiring with Ney, Abramoff and others to accept
pricey vacations, meals, drinks, golf outings, tickets to
entertainment events and contributions to Ney's campaign in exchange
for actions by the congressman that benefited Abramoff's clients.
But as a reward for his help, the Justice Department is also urging
U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle to consider lowering the sentencing
guidelines and granting the former House aide home detention.
Heaton will learn his fate next week when he is scheduled to be
sentenced by Huvelle.
In a letter to the judge Heaton says, "I fully accept responsibility
for my actions ...there is no excuse for what I did."
Prosecutors argue, in newly released court documents, that without his
"exceptionally important" cooperation the congressman would never have
been brought to justice.
The aide's lawyers write, "It’s quite was possible that the
congressman would have contested the prosecution at trial, bringing
uncertainty as to whether he ever would have been held accountable for
his grave abuse of Congressional office."
Bob Ney, is currently serving a 30-month sentence at the Federal
Correctional Institute in Morgantown, West Virginia.
_______________________________________________________
Harry
The tapes
Heaton agreed to cooperate in the investigation of Ney, and at the
government's request and direction, recorded telephone calls and a
two-and-a-half hour meeting with Ney.
A Justice Department official said Friday that Heaton wore a wire to
record a luncheon meeting he had with Ney, but that meeting did not
take place at the Capitol or in a congressional office.
And the DOJ said that the telephone that Heaton used to record
conversations with Ney was not located in the Congressman's office.
Heaton then participated in hours of debriefings, often on weekends
and late at night so that he could continue working for Ney without
arousing suspicion that he was cooperating with the government.
He also turned over documents from Ney's office that the government
had been unable to obtain from any other source, even from its
subpoena of Congressman's office.
The Justice Department said, "Mr. Heaton's cooperation with the
government was difficult, extensive, and crucial in the prosecution of
the Congressman."
Prosecutors further said that Heaton "conscientiously followed the
instructions given him by the FBI, notwithstanding that he was
cooperating in an investigation of his one-time friend and mentor Bob
Ney."
Officials said the tapes made by Heaton, "captured important
circumstantial evidence that statements Ney had made to others about
matters material to the investigation were false or intentionally
misleading."
Prosecutors said through many hours of debriefing, "Heaton also
provided valuable insight into Ney's corrupt activities, recounting
conversations with Ney wherein Ney had made damaging admissions."
For example, Heaton described a conversation with Ney that took place
after newspapers began printing negative stories about Abramoff in
February 2004.
In light of the scrutiny of Abramoff, Ney told Heaton that he would
begin paying for his own meals and drinks with a credit card at
Abramoff's Signatures restaurant, in an attempt to establish a paper
trail that Ney paid for his bills there.
The prosecutors further wrote that because Ney knew he had confided in
Heaton and that Heaton had observed and participated in certain
aspects of Ney's corrupt relationships, "Heaton's decision to
cooperate in the case was likely an important factor in Ney's decision
to resolve his liability with the government by pleading guilty."
Inexperienced staffers
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