Wasn't Me!

Poor little guy. Disgraced US Representative Bob Ney R-OH, is going to jail. Just like disgraced US Representative Duke Cunningham R-CA before him, he will soon be enjoying one of finer prisons. Ney is really, really sorry. He wasn't responsible – don't you see? The Devil made him do it. Nope, it wasn't him. It was the evil liquor of the Devil that did it – that damned witches brew!

People with detailed knowledge of the investigation said Mr. Ney had entered an in-patient rehabilitation center in recent days for treatment of alcoholism. “Congressman Ney has come to realize that alcohol dependency has affected his judgment, but he is not running away from his conduct or offering excuses,” his lawyers, Mark H. Tuohey 3d and William E. Lawler 3d, said.

“I have reached an agreement to bring the government’s investigation of me to an end,” Mr. Ney said in a statement as the plea deal was announced. “The agreement will enable me to accept responsibility for what I have done, to start repairing the damage I have caused and to start healing my family.”

So it's the alcohol that did it, huh? Sorry Bob – you are a crook.

Mr. Ney agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit multiple offenses and to making false statements to the House of Representatives, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher said. “Congressman Ney and his co-conspirators engaged in a long-term pattern of defrauding the public of his unbiased, honest services as an elected official,” Ms. Fisher said.

There truly is a tragedy in this sad affair – Ney's plea deal with the government only calls for 27 months in jail. He should have gotten the maximum possible – 10 years.
Posted on The Human Stain