Bob Ney

Former Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) on Friday became the second member of Congress to draw a prison term for his role in influence-peddling scandals that helped doom the GOP majority on Capitol Hill in November's election. Ney, 52, was sentenced by a federal judge to 30 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release -- during which he is to perform 200 hours of community service. He was also fined $6,000.

In 2003, Rep. Bob Ney was in the news for helping lead the push to rename the French fries in the House cafeterias "freedom fries" to protest France's refusal to back the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Now, the Ohio Republican is in the spotlight as "Representative #1" -- the unnamed lawmaker in federal court documents released Tuesday who allegedly received favors from lobbyist Jack Abramoff in return for supporting legislation beneficial to one of Abramoff's clients.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert is trying to force out Ohio Rep. Bob Ney as chairman of the House Administration Committee, a week after Justice Department documents linked Ney to a bribery scheme involving convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), who has been accused of accepting lavish gifts from former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, announced Sunday that he would step down temporarily from his chairmanship of a key House committee. In recent days, Republican leaders hoping to contain damage from the Abramoff scandal had begun to discuss removing Ney as chairman of the Committee on House Administration, which oversees the day-to-day operations of the House of Representatives.

Congressman Bob Ney was a long way from the cracked brick streets and ragged neighborhoods of his Rust Belt hometown when he teed off on the fabled golf course at St. Andrews, Scotland, in the summer of 2002. But there was nothing unusual about his cozy ties with the Washington lobbyist who helped arrange his tee time. The Ohio Republican has a history of close relations with lobbyists and special interests that predate golf partner Jack Abramoff.

Court documents filed Monday by federal prosecutors said Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) repeatedly took official action either for or at the request of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff in return for trips, tickets, meals and other gratuities. The allegations were detailed as part of a guilty plea to corruption charges by Neil G. Volz, a former top aide to the Ohio lawmaker.

Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), whose links to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff put him at the center of a wide-ranging federal corruption investigation, announced Monday that he was ending his campaign for reelection. "Ultimately this decision came down to my family," the six-term congressman said in a statement posted on his campaign website. "I must think of them first, and I can no longer put them through this ordeal."

The leading Republican candidate to replace Rep. Bob Ney on the November ballot may be ineligible, party officials said Tuesday, complicating GOP efforts to assure a smooth transition for the fall campaign. "As far as I know, I have a green light," state Sen. Joy Padgett said as party lawyers reviewed an Ohio law that barred politicians who lose one primary from entering another one during the same year.

Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) is expected to plead guilty as early as today to at least one criminal charge in a congressional corruption investigation, Republican officials said. Ney has consistently denied wrongdoing. He announced this summer that he would not seek reelection. The officials who described the legal developments said they did not know whether Ney intended to resign his seat in the House. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of pending legal proceedings.

In court documents, he was known only as "Representative 1," an anonymous member of the House who always seemed to have his hand out when super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff came calling for favors for his clients. On Friday, the lawmaker, Ohio Republican Bob Ney, officially emerged from the shadows and acknowledged his guilt. Ending months of denials that he had betrayed the public trust, the politician once known as "the Mayor of Capitol Hill" agreed to plead guilty to federal corruption charges.