FURTHER UPDATE (10:48 a.m. CDT): Van Scoyoc Associates has put the profile page for Mr. Evich back out.
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When the ACR Blog ran its series of posts examining the Kevin Ring Indictment this spring, we noticed that the Legislative Director (LD) of former Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) earned a lot of ink. While we were comfortable enough to name David Lopez as the Doolittle Chief of Staff mentioned in the indictment, we just couldn't identify the Doolittle LD to our satisfaction.
Since we've been able to examine the Kevin Ring Exhibit List, though, the mystery of the Doolittle LD became a little bit clearer. Two individuals, Peter Evich and Greg Orlando, held the position of Legislative Director during the period of time covered by the indictment. We are now confident enough to describe what the evidences shows these two men did.
First, we'll look at the exhibits related to Peter Evich. According to Legistorm, Mr. Evich served as Mr. Doolittle's LD until January 5, 2003. Today, Mr. Evich is a lobbyist at Van Scoyoc Associates Inc.
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EXHIBIT 305: 02/02/2000 Email from Abramoff to Ring, "RE: letter re: Carmencita"
Mr. Ring reported to Mr. Abramoff that Mr. Evich had been calling the INS seeking a response to a letter Mr. Doolittle had sent to the INS. Mr. Doolittle's letter called for an investigation into the immigration status of Carmencita Abad, a woman who advocated for a minimum wage and other labor reforms in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). To learn more about Carmencita Abad, read this post at Unheard No More! The defense did not object to this exhibit. RESULT: Admissible
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EXHIBIT 309: 04/05/2000 Email from Abramoff to Ring, "RE: Reconnaissance Studies request"
In this email chain, the ACR Blog believes that Mr. Evich told Mr. Ring that Mr. Doolittle had asked another U.S. Representative to write a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers in support of several appropriations requests for the CNMI. The defense did not object to this exhibit. RESULT: Admissible
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EXHIBIT 310: 04/24/2000 Email from Abramoff to Ralston, "RE: Sun, June 11"
The ACR Blog believes that this email chain shows that Mr. Ring gave Mr. Evich four club-level seats to a June 11, 2000 Baltimore Orioles baseball game. The defense did not object to this exhibit. RESULT: Admissible
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EXHIBIT 325: 07/13/2000 Email from Ring to Abramoff, "FW: HELP" and attachment
We believe that in this email chain, Mr. Ring sent a draft of a "Dear Colleague" letter to Mr. Evich and David Lopez, Mr. Doolittle's Chief of Staff. The "Dear Colleague" letter opposed an anti-gambling bill that adversely affected an internet gambling client of Mr. Ring's. Mr. Ring wanted one more congressman to sign the letter. Mr. Ring wrote, "DO YOU THINK [JOHN DOOLITTLE] COULD DO THIS LAST FAVOR (WE HOPE)". The defense did not object to this exhibit. RESULT: Admissible
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EXHIBIT 330: 09/12/2000 Email from Abramoff to Ring, "RE: Doolittle/HR 1814"
The ACR Blog believes that in this email chain, Mr. Ring justified to Mr. Abramoff why Mr. Evich deserved tickets to an October 30, 2000 Washington Redskins game. Mr. Ring wrote, "As he is an enormous help, I hope we can accommodate him." Mr. Evich got two suite tickets. The defense did not object to this exhibit. RESULT: Admissible
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EXHIBIT 352: 06/22/2001 Ring calendar entry re: lunch with Pete and Greg at the Capital Grille
The ACR Blog believes that the "Greg" mentioned in this exhibit is Greg Orlando. Mr. Orlando was a Legislative Assistant at the time of this lunch. He became Mr. Doolittle's LD after Mr. Evich left Doolittle's office in January 2003. The defense did not object to this exhibit. RESULT: Admissible
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EXHIBIT 357: 08/30/2001 Email from Ring to Evich, "port funding"
Mr. Ring asked Mr. Evich to encourage a committee staffer to put funding for a CNMI port project in an appropriations request. We don't know if Mr. Evich actually had this conversation or if the committee staffer acted on Mr. Evich's request. The defense did not object to this exhibit. RESULT: Admissible
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EXHIBIT 368: 12/16/2001 Redskins vs. Philadelphia FedEx Field event roster
Mr. Evich received three tickets to this game. The defense did not object to this exhibit. RESULT: Admissible
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EXHIBIT 371: 01/20/2002 Elton John/Billy Joel MCI Center Concert event roster
We believe that Mr. Evich received two tickets to this concert1. At least Mr. Evich has good taste in music, unlike other scandal participants. The defense did not object to this exhibit. RESULT: Admissible
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EXHIBIT 381: 08/13/2002 Email from Abramoff to Ring, "RE: Skins"
Mr. Ring had asked Mr. Abramoff for three tickets to a September 16, 2002 Washington Redskins for Mr. Evich and, we believe, Mr. Orlando. The defense did not object to this exhibit. RESULT: Admissible
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EXHIBIT 386: 09/16/2002 Email from Abramoff to Ring, "RE: Mistake?"
Mr. Evich complained that alcohol was not available in the suite for the September 16, 2002 Washington Redskins game. Mr. Evich also complained that he was "in a really low box in the end zone. View is obviously not very good." The defense did not object to this exhibit. RESULT: Admissible
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The ACR Blog knows that former Doolittle staffer David Lopez has received immunity. We don't know if Mr. Evich has also received immunity. Without a doubt, though, Doolittle staffers were extremely involved in advancing the interests of Team Abramoff's clients. They also got to attend a lot of sporting events and concerts on Team Abramoff's nickel, too.
It will be interesting to see if Mr. Evich testifies at Mr. Ring's trial (if there is one). Because Mr. Evich figures so prominently in Mr. Ring's indictment, if he does not testify at the trial, it will suggest to us that Mr. Evich may be an uncooperative co-conspirator.
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1 The ACR Blog believes that admitted felon Robert Coughlin also attended this concert.
6 comments:
ACR
According to Evich's bio, he left the Hill in 2003. That means it's been more than 5 years(statute of limitations) since he could have been a co-cospirator so I think it's unlikely he's in any legal jeopardy.
I know somebody commented on the fact that Horace's timeline went back to 1998 but that is only because he worked in the executive branch of the government as recently as 2005 and the government considers that a continueing conspiracy. In Evich's case, the conspirace was almost certainly severed when he left the public sector.
Anon (August 28, 2009 10:43 AM):
Fair point. But recall that some people have signed tolling agreements that waive the statute of limitations. I have no reason to believe that Mr. Evich signed a tolling agreement, but if he did, he still may face legal liability.
Ideally, Mr. Evich is holding himself accountable and cooperating with the DoJ.
~ACR
Of course the statute of limitations on Evich's involvement assumes the he stopped acting as a participant in the conspiracy when he left government service.
Many of the other now guilty or indicted players in the scandal actually stepped-up their involvement in the conspiracy when they left Government service.
His lobbyist client list is quite similar to the type of clients worked by other former staffers turned lobbyists who have been ensnared by the scandal. His client list even overlaps here and there with this or that thread in the case. The DOJ might make the case that he is still engaged in the conspiracy to this very day.
That outcome is just as possible as the notion that the statute of limitations on Evich's involvement in the scandal has already expired. Perhaps even more so given the known details of exhibit list.
Cheers
Dengre,
Great point. Tony Rudy participated in the conspiracy both as a congressional staffer and as a member of Team Abramoff. Just because a person leaves government service doesn't mean he's no longer part of the conspiracy.
One weakness in my scenario above is that Mr. Rudy went from his legislative job directly to Team Abramoff; Mr. Evich didn't go to Team Abramoff. Not all lobbying is part of the conspiracy. Even though Van Scoyoc is known for its ability to secure earmarks, that doesn't mean that lobbyists at Van Scoyoc are part of the conspiracy.
I'm curious about what you were thinking when you said there is overlap between Mr. Evich's clients and the broader scandal. I know that the city of Elk Grove, Calif. was a Kevin Ring client before it hired Mr. Evich. Are there other overlaps that you're thinking about?
~ACR
Nice catch of the old bio page. The new one has been scrubbed of all Doolittle references interesting.
This is quite interesting.
More than just a reference to Doolittle was removed from the old bio. I think that this section that was scrubbed tells us a lot about Mr. Evich and his exposure to the Abramoff scandal (and other ongoing DOJ investigations about the excessive earmark era):
Mr. Evich was closely involved in constructing and developing the Water Resources Development Acts (WRDA) of 1999 and 2002. He also worked with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee staff during consideration of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), and the Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21). Other responsibilities included serving as personal office liaison on issues related to Rep. Doolittle’s position as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Water and Power...
A recurring pattern in the Abramoff conspiracy is young staffers working to get earmarks into legislation (especially on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee), then these staffers leave public service for a job as a lobbyist for the entities that they helped to get funds for when in public service. Another aspect of the pattern is that the client base of these fresh lobbyists is made up mostly of cities, counties, schools, hospitals and other public entities that once were able to rely on their Member of Congress to look after their interests and for funding. As one reads a number of documents released in this conspiracy the DOJ seems to be concerned that Members of Congress worked with staffers, former staffers and lobbyists to convince many public entities that they had to pay for play if they wanted any funding for roads, airports, ports, buildings and on and on.
The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee seems to be at ground zero of the scandal and it looks like Evich was involved in this pattern long after Abramoff was exposed. If one thinks that the DOJ is only investigating the crimes mentioned to date in the various Abramoff Conspiracy court filings then Evich may be in the clear, but if you think the DOJ knows a lot more than they have revealed to date and that there is an investigation into earmarks that moves beyond Abramoff, then you might think Evich is in a lot of trouble.
I think he is in a lot of trouble and that his involvement with Abramoff may be the least of his problems. If he was sane he’d be working on a deal as the Abramoff scandal has shown the first ones to make a deal (Scanlon, Rudy, etc,) have (so far) avoided jail time.
Cheers
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