Italia Federici
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Italia E. Federici (born August 12, 1969), the former president of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA). Federici was also a political aide to Secretary of the Interior and CREA founder Gale Norton.[1] She pleaded guilty to tax evasion and obstructing the United States Senate investigation into the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal.[2] [3]
| Pled Guilty | Sentenced | Sentence | Started Serving | Current Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 8, 2007 | November 16, 2007 |
Federici founded CREA with Norton and Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist, a college friend of Abramoff, in 1997 with money Federici inherited; the organization's name was changed to CREA in 1998.[4]
Federici introduced Jack Abramoff to Griles in March 2001, just before Griles started at the Department of the Interior.[4] Abramoff donated more than $400,000 to her charity, after which time she began using her connections with J. Steven Griles, to influence him to make decisions beneficial to Abramoff's tribal benefactors.[5]
In emails, Abramoff claimed that "she is critical"[6] to his work with the Department of Interior, especially with regards to preventing the Jena Band of Choctaws Indian Tribe from creating a casino, that would take money away from one of Abramoff's "core tribes". A February 18, 2003 email from Abramoff to Federici said "...This will be a PR disaster as you can imagine, especially if for some reason Interior agrees to approve this deal. McCrery and Vitter (the other R's in the delegation) are furious beyond belief. This is going to get really ugly. Please let Steve know about this. Thanks so much Italia!"[7], referring to Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Interior Steve Griles. Griles is reported to have been romantically connected to Federici.[8]
Federici also pleaded guilty to tax evasion for using CREA as a source of personal funds; furthermore, she did not pay income tax from 2001 through 2003.[3]
Links
- Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy
- Six Lies and Videotape, GOPUSA - Article by Federici, herself, written to announce CREA's latest anti-environmentalist video
- An e-mail trail of money and influence, The Christian Science Monitor, January 12, 2006
- CREW DEMANDS FEDERICI BE REFERRED TO DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOR PERJURY INVESTIGATION - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
- Email records between Italia Federici and Jack Abramoff from the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
- The
greening of Italia Federici,
salon.com , November 18, 2005 - Abramoff Witness Frustrates Panel, washingtonpost.com, November 18, 2005
- Casino Bid Prompted High-Stakes Lobbying, washingtonpost.com, March 13, 2005
- Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy
- SourceWatch bio
- The New Energy Bill: Does the Bill Point the Country in the Right Direction MTV, 2005
- Democrats Promise a Greener America Environment News Service, July 28, 2004
References
- ^ Michael Scherer. "The greening of Italia Federici", Salon, November 18, 2005.
- ^ Matt Apuzzo. "New Charges Filed in Abramoff Probe", Associated Press, June 6, 2007.
- ^ a b Mark Heilprin. "GOP fundraiser pleads guilty in probe", Associated Press, June 8, 2007.
- ^ a b Mike Soraghan. "Norton aide cops a plea", The Hill, June 7, 2007.
- ^ "Senate Indian Affairs Hearings, testimony by Italia Federici (video)", Senate Indian Affairs Committee, November 17, 2005.
- ^ Susan Schmidt. "Abramoff Witness Frustrates Panel: E-Mails Suggest She Was Lobbyist's Connection to Interior Official", Washington Post, November 18, 2005, p. A08.
- ^ Susan Schmidt. "Casino Bid Prompted High-Stakes Lobbying", Washington Post, March 13, 2005.
- ^ Edmund L. Andrews. "Ex-Deputy of Interior Dept. Pleads Guilty", New York Times, March 23, 2007.
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