Jack Abramoff

Not to be confused with Jack Antonoff.

Jack Abramoff
Abramoff testifying before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on September 29, 2004
Chair of the College Republican National Committee
In office
1981–1985
Preceded bySteve Gibble
Succeeded byTed Higgins
Personal details
Born
Jack Allan Abramoff

(1959-02-28) February 28, 1959 (age 65)
Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Pamela Clarke Alexander
​
​
(m. 1986)​
Children5
EducationBrandeis University (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)
Occupation
  • Lobbyist
  • businessman
  • film producer
  • writer
Known forJack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal
WebsiteOfficial website
Criminal statusReleased December 3, 2010
Criminal chargeFraud, conspiracy, tax evasion
Penalty5 years and 10 months imprisonment

Jack Allan Abramoff (/ˈeɪbrəmɒf/; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, and writer.[1][2] He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney[3] that resulted in his conviction and 21 other people either pleading guilty or being found guilty,[4] including White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and congressional aides.

Abramoff was College Republican National Committee National Chairman from 1981 to 1985, a founding member of the International Freedom Foundation, allegedly financed by apartheid South Africa,[5][6] and served on the board of directors of the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank. From 1994 to 2001 he was a top lobbyist for the firm of Preston Gates & Ellis, and then for Greenberg Traurig until March 2004.

After a guilty plea in the Jack Abramoff Native American lobbying scandal and his dealings with SunCruz Casinos in January 2006, he was sentenced to six years in federal prison for mail fraud, conspiracy to bribe public officials, and tax evasion. He served 43 months before being released on December 3, 2010.[7] After his release from prison, he wrote the autobiographical book Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist which was published in November 2011.

Abramoff's lobbying and the surrounding scandals and investigation are the subject of two 2010 films: the documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money, released in May 2010,[8] and the feature film Casino Jack, released on December 17, 2010, starring Kevin Spacey as Abramoff.[9][10]

  1. ^ James, Frank (November 18, 2011). "Jack Abramoff: From Corrupt Lobbyist To Washington Reformer". NPR. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  2. ^ "Red Scorpion (1988)". IMDb. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  3. ^ Prokop, Andrew (May 22, 2014). "Beating the odds". Vox Media. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference HuffP1064602 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Dele Olojede; Timothy M. Phelps (July 16, 1995). "Front for Apartheid". Newsday.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference FastRise was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Inmate Locator". Archived from the original on August 27, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  8. ^ Stephen Holden, "The Eye in a Hurricane of Corruption", New York Times, May 7, 2010.
  9. ^ "Casino Jack". January 7, 2011. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via IMDb.
  10. ^ "Bagman Trailer: The Other Jack Abramoff Movie", Vulture at New York, June 15, 2010.