Another Republican Lobbyist Indicted In Abramoff Corruption Probe

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - A former Republican lobbyist and congressman's aide pleade not guilty on Monday to a 10-count indictment accusing him of conspiring with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff of corrupting federal officials.

Kevin Ring, a former aide to Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA), was arrested at his Maryland home by the FBI and later charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, honest services wire fraud and payment of gratuity charges.

The 46-page indictment accuses Ring of conspiring with Abramoff to give "things of value" to public officials in return for favorable official actions on behalf of Ring and his clients - Indian tribes looking to operate gambling casinos. One of the officials who received gifts was referred to as "Representative 5."

Doolittle was forced to step down from the House Appropriations Committee in April 2007 after the FBI raided his Virginia home. The nine-term congressman has not been charged but is being investigated for allegedly accepting donations from Abramoff. Federal prosecutors have also said Doolittle's wife worked for Abramoff while raising funds for her husband's campaigns.

Ring's lawyer, Richard Hibey, said in a statement to ABC, "While Mr. Ring had been cooperating with officials for over two years, he simply could not plead guilty to crimes he did not commit. From that point, he was deemed uncooperative."

Doolittle's attorney also accused prosecutors of making "gratuitous references" to the congressman "titillate the public" and pressure Doolittle, according to MSNBC.

Abramoff is currently serving a six-year sentence for sending a fake wire transfer worth more than $20 million to buy the SunCruz Casino in 2000. Last week, he was sentenced to four years in prison in the Washington public corruption charges. His sentence was reduced from 11 years after prosecutors asked the judge to consider the former lobbyist's cooperation in the a wide-ranging federal probe that has led to the convictions of officials, including former Justice Department Division Deputy Chief of Staff Robert Coughlin, former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles and former Ohio Rep. Bob Ney.