Heaton faces sentencing in Abramoff scandal

WASHINGTON - He was a secret undercover informant in the heart of the Capitol, and an unlikely linchpin in the government's Washington influence peddling investigation that netted a powerful six-term congressman.

Prosecutors, for the first time, say it was only with the assistance of a young, twenty-something, congressional staffer named Will Heaton, and weeks of secretly taped conversations with his boss, which enabled them to finally bring down Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Ney, compelling Ney to plead guilty in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

Now, after pleading guilty to a single felony count himself in the lobbying conspiracy - and facing a stiff prison sentence, Heaton wants a federal judge to grant him leniency.

Heaton admitted 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.

But as a reward for his help, the Justice Department is also urging U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle to consider lowering the sentencing guidelines and granting the former House aide home detention.

Bill Haber / AP file Former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, was the first congressman to plead guilty in the Abramoff lobbying scandal probe.

Heaton will learn his fate next week when he is scheduled to be sentenced by Huvelle. In a letter to the judge Heaton says, "I fully accept responsibility for my actions ...there is no excuse for what I did."

Prosecutors argue, in newly released court documents, that without his "exceptionally important" cooperation the congressman would never have been brought to justice. The aide's lawyers write, "It’s quite was possible that the congressman would have contested the prosecution at trial, bringing uncertainty as to whether he ever would have been held accountable for his grave abuse of Congressional office."

Bob Ney, is currently serving a 30-month sentence at the Federal Correctional Institute in Morgantown, West Virginia.

The tapes
Heaton agreed to cooperate in the investigation of Ney, and at the government's request and direction, recorded telephone calls and a two-and-a-half hour meeting with Ney.

A Justice Department official said Friday that Heaton wore a wire to record a luncheon meeting he had with Ney, but that meeting did not take place at the Capitol or in a congressional office.  And the DOJ said that the telephone that Heaton used to record conversations with Ney was not located in the Congressman's office.

Interactive: Abramoff investigation Click here for a look at who's been linked to an investigation revolving around former high-powered Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Reuters file

Heaton then participated in hours of debriefings, often on weekends and late at night so that he could continue working for Ney without arousing suspicion that he was cooperating with the government.  He also turned over documents from Ney's office that the government had been unable to obtain from any other source, even from its subpoena of Congressman's office.

The Justice Department said, "Mr. Heaton's cooperation with the government was difficult, extensive, and crucial in the prosecution of the Congressman." 

Prosecutors further said that Heaton "conscientiously followed the instructions given him by the FBI, notwithstanding that he was cooperating in an investigation of his one-time friend and mentor Bob Ney."  Officials said the tapes made by Heaton, "captured important circumstantial evidence that statements Ney had made to others about matters material to the investigation were false or intentionally misleading."

Prosecutors said through many hours of debriefing, "Heaton also provided valuable insight into Ney's corrupt activities, recounting conversations with Ney wherein Ney had made damaging admissions."

For example, Heaton described a conversation with Ney that took place after newspapers began printing negative stories about Abramoff in February 2004. In light of the scrutiny of Abramoff, Ney told Heaton that he would begin paying for his own meals and drinks with a credit card at Abramoff's Signatures restaurant,  in an attempt to establish a paper trail that Ney paid for his bills there.

The prosecutors further wrote that because Ney knew he had confided in Heaton and that Heaton had observed and participated in certain aspects of Ney's corrupt relationships, "Heaton's decision to cooperate in the case was likely an important factor in Ney's decision to resolve his liability with the government by pleading guilty."

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