Jack Abramoff, 2005 News

high-powered Washington lobbyist, faced corruption investigations by two Senate committees and the FBI for allegedly defrauding Native American tribes—former clients—out of millions of dollars. Abramoff was also at the center of House majority leader Tom DeLay's ethics problems throughout 2005. News organizations reported that Abramoff gave expensive gifts to several DeLay aides and paid for trips taken by DeLay and other members of Congress in the late 1990s and early 2000s. House ethics rules prohibit lobbyists from financing congressional travel. In a separate scandal, Abramoff was indicted in August on charges that he defrauded lenders in the purchase of a $147.5 million casino cruise line in Florida in 2000.