The human smuggling, prostitution, and threats against human rights activists, however, continued unabated. They promoted the Marianas as a 'petri dish of capitalism' and a 'free-market paradise,' and led whitewashed tours of the islands for visiting dignitaries, complete with golf outings and karaoke. territory where American labor laws did not apply, enabling foreign business owners to open sweatshops producing apparel bearing the 'Made in USA' label while workers were held in indentured servitude.įor years Abramoff (lobbying for the islands' business community), DeLay and others in Washington protected the Marianas from a Congressman seeking to investigate human rights abuses there. Perhaps Abramoff's most notorious lobbying came via the Mariana Islands, a U.S. The tenets of Orthodox Judaism didn't stand in the way of Abramoff expanding the use of influence (through gifts, junkets, visits to skyboxes at sports events, campaign donations, and golf trips to Scotland) to extraordinary levels, while conspiring to spread the wealth among his associates.Īs DeLay rose to Majority Leader, Abramoff's influence among Republican lawmakers became incomparable his access to the Bush Administration was solidified when his assistant Susan Ralston became the personal assistant of Karl Rove. When the Republicans won control of Congress in 1994, Abramoff was ready. Scott's 'Patton' ('Spill their guts! Shoot them in the belly!'). Together with Ralph Reed (who later became leader of the Christian Coalition) and future anti-tax guru Grover Norquist, Abramoff devised agitprop demonstrations against Communism, promoted the cause of 'freedom fighters' in Central America, and preached the destruction of liberals using the colorful language of George C. Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.īorn in New Jersey and raised in Los Angeles (his father was president of Diners Club International), Abramoff displayed an early sign of his conservative ideology (and theatrical tendencies) when, at age 12, he was inspired to convert to Orthodox Judaism after watching the musical 'Fiddler on the Roof.'Ī football player and wrestler in school, he became a leader of the College Republicans at a time when Ronald Reagan's ascendancy to the White House was a siren call for young conservatives.

Nor would you need to, with a political system that welcomes such characters with open palms.

'You think of these august corridors of power, and here he was funneling money from the government of Malaysia through a lifeguard in Rehoboth Beach in order to sell a meeting with the president for a million bucks,' said Gibney (left). Gibney (left) found the story of Abramoff's rise and fall 'wickedly funny.'

Casino jack movie online free