Abramoff clients donated to local politicians

By: WILLIAM FINN BENNETT - Staff Writer | Wednesday, January 4, 2006 11:50 PM PST ∞

As the tale of corrupt Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff unfolds, the ripples are reaching San Diego and Southwest Riverside counties.

Campaign finance records show that four local members of Congress received campaign donations from some of the nine Indian tribes Abramoff represented ---- U.S. Reps. Mary Bono, R-Palm Springs; Susan Davis, D-San Diego; Ken Calvert, R-Riverside; and former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Escondido.

Abramoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraud, corruption and tax evasion charges in a Washington federal courtroom.

Abramoff had worked as a Washington lobbyist representing several American Indian tribes and has admitted to defrauding several tribes and other clients, taking millions in kickbacks from a one-time business partner, misusing a charity he had established and failing to pay income taxes on millions in ill-gotten gains.

Abramoff, a political operative who made some of his largest donations to GOP leaders, hosted lavish parties and provided luxury golf vacations to both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, in addition to providing free meals to many of them in his high-priced Washington restaurant.

Abramoff's lobbying firm and the tribes he represented, one of which is Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Palm Springs, made nearly $4.5 million in campaign donations to dozens of Republican and Democratic members of Congress between 1999 and 2004.

On Wednesday, he appeared before yet another federal judge in Miami to offer additional guilty pleas to conspiracy and wire fraud, in concocting a false $23 million wire transfer that made it appear as if he and a former business partner contributed a sizable chunk of their own cash in the $147 million purchase of a fleet of gambling ships in 2000.

Of the four local members of Congress who received campaign donations, Bono received the most. She or her political action committee received a total of $21,500 from five of the tribes Abramoff represented ---- four of them from out of state ---- though Bono did not receive any campaign contributions directly from Abramoff.

Reached by phone in Washington on Wednesday, a spokesman for Bono stressed that she has never received a contribution from Abramoff himself.

"In fact, she met him briefly only once and he has never lobbied her," Bono's Chief of Staff Frank Cullen said.

In his plea agreement, and in exchange for a significant reduction in his upcoming sentence, Abramoff agreed to tell the FBI about alleged bribes to lawmakers and their aides. Justice Department officials have said they intend to use material supplied to them by Abramoff to probe his connections to other lawmakers and their staffs in an investigation that is believed to be focusing on as many as 20 members of Congress.

After Bono, next on the local list came disgraced former Congressman Cunningham. He and two of his political action committees received a total of $12,500 from three of the tribes represented by Abramoff. Cunningham resigned from office in late November after pleading guilty in federal court to taking more than $2.4 million in bribes that were unrelated to the Abramoff investigation.

Cunningham's Washington attorney K. Lee Blalack could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Calvert received a $1,000 donation from one of those tribes ---- the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. Davis received a $1,000 donation from the same tribe, which has a casino in Palm Springs and another in Rancho Mirage.

Of the donations received by Bono and Cunningham, most of the money came from the Agua Caliente Band. Bono or her political action committee took in $15,000, while Cunningham or his political action committees received $8,000 from the same band.

Besides the $15,000 Bono or her political action committee received from the Agua Caliente Band, she also received contributions from the following out-of-state tribes:

n Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, $2,000

n Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, $3,000

n Mississippi Band of Choctaw, $1,000

n Pueblo of Sandia, $500

Cunningham also received a total of $3,500 in campaign contributions from out-of-state tribes.

Bono's 45th Congressional District, which includes portions of Murrieta and areas at the eastern edge of Temecula, stretches east from the Interstate 215 to the Arizona border. The Indian tribes in her district include the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians; the Morongo Band of Mission Indians; the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians and the Torres-Martinez Band of Cahuilla Indians.

Bono spokesman Cullen said the congresswoman was receiving campaign donations from the Agua Caliente Band before Abramoff came on the scene and will continue to do so.

And there is nothing improper about her receiving campaign donations from out-of-state tribes, either, Cullen added.

He said that she has one of the largest constituencies of American Indian tribes in any congressional district in the state or nation.

"She is familiar with issues that involve Native American tribes," Cullen said. "She has (long) been viewed as a strong friend of Native American people ---- I think that speaks for itself."

As the fallout from the Abramoff pleadings hits inside the Beltway, several congressional leaders and Republican members who received campaign contributions from Abramoff are rushing to distance themselves from the man.

Cullen said Wednesday that since Bono did not receive her campaign donations directly from Abramoff or his lobbying firm she currently has no plans to give back the campaign donations or return them.

However, "she would certainly return or donate to charity any contribution from someone who is convicted of wrongdoing," Cullen added.

Contact staff writer William Finn Bennett at (760) 740-5426 or wbennett@nctimes.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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