Abramoff Associates Write Pleas to Judge:

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Friends and associates of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff sent more than 250 pleas for leniency to the Florida judge set to sentence Abramoff tomorrow. The Los Angeles Times reports that only one congressman, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), wrote to ask the judge to spare Abramoff: “Jack was a selfless patriot for most of the time I knew him.” Rohrabacher, in an interview, said, “I think when he is being punished for the things he did that were wrong, some of the things that he did that were right and admirable in the past should be taken into consideration.” The letters included stories of Abramoff throwing “a wedding party for a friend’s daughter who was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis” and his giving away free meals as “personal, rather than political, favors.” Abramoff is facing 70 to 87 months in prison as a result of his use of fraudulent loans to purchase the Sun Cruz Casino boat line.