:en:Italia Federici
Italia Federici (born August 12, 1969), the former president of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA), a greenscam organization.[http://www.indian.senate.gov/sites/default/files/upload/files/Report.pdf Final report] Committee on Indian Affairs. June 22, 2006 Federici was also a political aide to Secretary of the Interior and CREA co-founder Gale Norton.{{cite news |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/11/18/federici/index_np.html
|title=The greening of Italia Federici|author=Michael Scherer|work=Salon|date=November 18, 2005}} Federici pleaded guilty in June 2007 to tax evasion and obstructing the United States Senate investigation into the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal and was sentenced to four years probation.{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/06/06/national/w145234D83.DTL|title=New Charges Filed in Abramoff Probe|author=Matt Apuzzo|publisher=Associated Press|date=June 6, 2007}}{{cite news
|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-06-08-1376100897_x.htm|title=GOP fundraiser pleads guilty in probe|author=Mark Heilprin
|publisher=Associated Press|date=June 8, 2007}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121402008_pf.html|title=Republican With Links to Abramoff Is Sentenced|author=Susan Schmidt|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 15, 2007}}
Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy
Federici founded CREA with Norton and Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist, a college friend of Abramoff, in 1997 with money Federici inherited;{{cite news|url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/norton-aide-cops-a-plea-2007-06-07.html
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208090058/http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/norton-aide-cops-a-plea-2007-06-07.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=December 8, 2007
|title=Norton aide cops a plea|author=Mike Soraghan|work=The Hill|date=June 7, 2007}} The organization was also funded by, and supported the goals of, mining and other industries.
Abramoff involvement
Federici introduced Jack Abramoff to Deputy Secretary of the Interior J. Steven Griles in March 2001, just before Griles started at the Department of the Interior. Abramoff donated more than $400,000 to CREA, after which time she allegedly began using her connections with Griles to influence him to make decisions beneficial to Abramoff's tribal benefactors.{{cite news
|url= http://indian.senate.gov/2005hrgs/111705hrg/hrg111705.ram
|title = Senate Indian Affairs Hearings, testimony by Italia Federici (video)
|publisher = Senate Indian Affairs Committee
|date = November 17, 2005
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070530213728/http://indian.senate.gov/2005hrgs/111705hrg/hrg111705.ram
|archivedate = May 30, 2007
}}
In emails, Abramoff claimed that "she is critical"{{cite news | title=Abramoff Witness Frustrates Panel: E-Mails Suggest She Was Lobbyist's Connection to Interior Official | author=Susan Schmidt | newspaper=Washington Post | date=November 18, 2005 | page=A08 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111701682.html}} 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!".{{cite news
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A30274-2005Mar12?language=printer
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821110810/https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A30274-2005Mar12/?language=printer
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=August 21, 2018
|title=Casino Bid Prompted High-Stakes Lobbying
|author=Susan Schmidt
|newspaper=Washington Post
|date=March 13, 2005}} The email referred to Griles, who is reported to have been romantically connected to Federici.{{cite news
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/washington/23cnd-giles.html?ex=1332302400&en=8110ca03cc771e77&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
|work=New York Times
|title=Ex-Deputy of Interior Dept. Pleads Guilty
|author=Edmund L. Andrews
|date=March 23, 2007}}
Federici also pleaded guilty to failure to file tax returns from 2001 - 2003; Furthermore, she did not pay income tax from 2001 through 2003.
In December 2007, Federici was sentenced to four years probation, and $77,243 in restitution of back taxes.
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060110085325/http://www.crea-online.org/ Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060524000842/http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/guest/2004/if_1020p.shtml Six Lies and Videotape], GOPUSA - Article by Federici, herself, written to announce CREA's latest anti-environmentalist video.
- [http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0112/p01s02-uspo.html An e-mail trail of money and influence], The Christian Science Monitor, January 12, 2006.
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060303152440/http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php?view=90 CREW DEMANDS FEDERICI BE REFERRED TO DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOR PERJURY INVESTIGATION] - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060125171049/http://indian.senate.gov/2005hrgs/111705hrg/111705exhibits.pdf Email records between Italia Federici and Jack Abramoff] from the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
- [http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/11/18/federici/index_np.html The greening of Italia Federici], salon.com, November 18, 2005.
- [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111701682.html Abramoff Witness Frustrates Panel], washingtonpost.com, November 18, 2005.
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20180821110810/https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A30274-2005Mar12/?language=printer Casino Bid Prompted High-Stakes Lobbying], washingtonpost.com, March 13, 2005.
References
{{Jack Abramoff|subcat=people}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Federici, Italia}}