William Heaton
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William Heaton is the former chief of staff for Rep. Bob Ney, who resigned in 2006 following Ney's guilty plea for corruption related to Jack Abramoff. From September 2001 to February 2002, Heaton worked as Ney's executive assistant on the House Administration Committee In February 2002, he succeeded Neil Volz as Ney's chief of staff. At the age of 23, he was the youngest chief of staff on Capitol Hill. He left in July 2006. Heaton was named as "Staffer C" in Ney's plea deal of September 15, 2006.[1][2][3][4] On February 26, 2007, Heaton pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud.[5] admitting 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," none of whom lived in Ohio, the congressman's state.[6]
[edit] Trips with Ney
The picture at left is from the much publicized trip to St. Andrews, the famed Scottish golf course. This trip was paid for by Abramoff at a cost of $160,000. Heaton admitted "falsifying his and Ney's financial disclosure forms in 2002 and 2003 to keep gifts secret. For example, Ney's forms said the Scotland trip was paid for by the National Center for Public Policy Research so he could meet with Scottish parliamentarians, though the Scottish Parliament was not in session...." [6]
On August 29, 2003, Heaton joined Ney and another Ney staffer for a one-night stopover in London where they were furnished with thousands of dollars worth of gambling chips for use at private casinos, "from a foreign businessman who has been identified by Ney's attorney as Fouad al-Zayat, a high-rolling London gambler who sought Ney's help in circumventing a law barring the sale of U.S.-made airplanes and airplane parts to other countries."[6] Ney lied to customs to smuggle in thousands of dollars received during the trip.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ The Factual Basis for Bob Ney's Plea Agreement
- ^ Patrick O'Connor, Jonathan E. Kaplan. "Rep. Ney faces more than 2 years in prison", The Hill, September 15, 2006.
- ^ James V. Grimaldi, Susan Schmidt. "Rep. Ney Admits Selling Influence", Washington Post, September 16, 2006, p. A01.
- ^ "Assistant to Rep. Ney Subpoenaed in Probe: 3 Aides to Leave Republican's Staff", Washington Post, June 30, 2006, p. A19.
- ^ Jackie Kucinich, Susan Crabtree. "Ney’s former chief of staff agrees to plead guilty", February 27, 2007.
- ^ a b c James V. Grimaldi, Carol D. Leonnig. "Former Aide to Ex-Congressman Ney Pleads Guilty in Abramoff Case", Washington Post, February 27, 2007, p. A06.
- ^ The Factual Basis for Bob Ney's Plea Agreement p. 8
