Back in Washington, Abramoff was moving his lobby business and many of his clients, including his tribal accounts, from Preston Gates to Greenberg Traurig LLP. He also took at least 10 employees with him from Preston Gates. At Greenberg, Abramoff made Tony Rudy his first hire from Capitol Hill.

Abramoff's departure had been coming for months. His style had clashed with others at Preston Gates, who believed he was moving too fast and being careless. Earlier in the year, Manuel Rouvelas, the firm's founding partner in Washington, had warned Abramoff, according to people familiar with the exchange.

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"If you're not careful," Rouvelas told Abramoff, "you will end up dead, disgraced or in jail."

In February 2001, less than two months after Abramoff had settled in at Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff and Kidan were abroad prospecting for new business. They were in England preparing to fly to Hong Kong, when Kidan's bodyguard got a call. Boulis was dead.

Kidan rushed home. He told police he knew nothing about the slaying.

Fort Lauderdale police detectives say they know who committed the crime. All they need, they say, is one cooperating witness.

After Boulis's slaying, Kidan and Abramoff conducted business as usual at SunCruz. They asked Foothill Capital for another loan to clear up their debts. They stepped up plans to expand casino operations to the Northern Mariana Islands, where the government had been a client of Abramoff's. They also hired Greenberg Traurig as their lobbyists in Washington.

In March 2001, SunCruz executives, including Abramoff and Kidan, attended a fundraiser in Abramoff's box at MCI Center for Ney. The next month Kidan hosted a fundraiser in his apartment in Fort Lauderdale for his local congressman, Rep. Peter Deutsch (D-Fla.).

But the relationship between DeLay and Abramoff changed. DeLay told a group of conservatives last month "that he had no idea that Abramoff was involved in this and was absolutely shocked when he found out about it," said Paul M. Weyrich, a conservative activist and longtime friend of DeLay's. "Immediately he had Abramoff called in and told him, 'I want no more dealings with you,' and I think he felt blind-sided by Abramoff, that Abramoff was aware of Tom's views on the subject and never bothered to tell him" about his stake in SunCruz.

DeLay, whose campaign committee had been one of the largest recipients of gambling money, has since stopped accepting contributions from Indian tribes that operate casinos.

In late spring, stories began appearing in the Florida media about Kidan's links to the Moscatiellos. In June, Abramoff, Kidan and the Boulis estate abruptly settled their differences by placing the company into bankruptcy. As part of the settlement, Abramoff and Kidan relinquished most of their interest in the company to the Boulis estate, in exchange for an agreement releasing Abramoff and Kidan from their debts and liabilities.

Foothill Capital would later contend that the settlement was intended to cover up the fraud at the closing.

In April 2003, the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit threw out the settlement, saying it was marred by conflicts of interest and should not have been approved by the bankruptcy judge. The court said the Kidan management was "riddled with fraudulent and dishonest transactions," including the charges the Boulis side made about Kidan's misuse of funds.

Today, the SunCruz casino boats are sailing under new ownership after a bankruptcy auction. Abramoff and Kidan remain embroiled in litigation with Foothill over the $60 million they were lent.

Neal Sonnett, a prominent Miami criminal defense lawyer hired by Abramoff, said in a court pleading last August that federal prosecutors have told him Abramoff is a "target" of a federal grand jury investigation.

Sonnett told The Post he is confident Abramoff will be cleared, calling him a "victim" in the SunCruz case. Sonnett said he could not discuss specifics, including the wire transfer, because of the ongoing investigation.

Abramoff has had little to say publicly about SunCruz. In 2002, he did talk to the Washington Business Forward.

"I was fortunate to get out of that financially better off than when I entered it," he said. "I was lucky it did not damage me. But it's not something I would repeat."

By then, Abramoff had already embarked on another enterprise -- one that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) would later brand a "truly extraordinary" example of "exploitation and deceit." During a three-year period, Abramoff and Scanlon took in $82 million in lobbying and public relations fees from six Indian tribes.

"We need that moolah," Abramoff e-mailed Scanlon on Jan. 16, 2002. "We have to hit $50M this year (our cut!)."

Researcher Alice Crites and database editor Derek Willis contributed to this report.

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