Jack Abramoff | |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Jack Allan Abramoff February 28, 1959 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
Spouse(s) | Pamela Clarke (Alexander) Abramoff (m. 1986; 5 children) |
Alma mater |
Brandeis University (B.A.) Georgetown University (J.D.) |
Occupation | Businessman and lobbyist |
Religion | Orthodox Judaism |
Jack Allan Abramoff (/ˈeɪbrəmɒf/; born February 28, 1959) is a former American lobbyist, businessman, movie producer and writer. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation that led to his conviction and to 21 people either pleading guilty or being found guilty, 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, 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. 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.