Dallas Morning News: Lobbyists bring unwanted attention to law firm

[PhilipShore]

Dallas Morning News
Lobbyists bring unwanted attention to law firm
By Joshua Benton
January 24, 2006

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012506dnmetlobbyists.122fa520.html

Lobbyists are hired for their connections. But as Washington sorts through a growing lobbying scandal, the past connections of two lobbyists hired last fall by Locke Liddell & Sapp are bringing unwanted attention to the powerful Dallas law firm.

The two men, Roy Coffee and David DiStefano, have been connected to a foreign company's attempt to work around U.S. sanctions against Iran and sell airplane parts to that nation – an attempt that centered on U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican accused in lobbyist Jack Abramoff's recent plea agreement of accepting bribes.

The two lobbyists were hired in 2003 by a pair of businessmen with résumés out of a James Bond movie. One, a Syrian gambler nicknamed "The Fat Man," made his fortune in Middle East arms deals. The other, a felon, was banned from East Coast racetracks in the 1980s for his connections to organized crime and has a Tennessee rap sheet for trying to defraud Elvis Presley.

[EST]

1. And the hits just keep on happnin"!

[lovuian]

2. Connections to organized crime well that gets better and

better... I've been waiting for another Mafia connection...

[wordpix2]

12. "Ties to Texas" Georgie Boy's old drinking buds? Charming group

snip>

Ties to Texas
Mr. Coffee was deputy campaign manager for George W. Bush's first run for governor in 1994. After the election, he was Texas' director of state-federal relations until 1998. He then joined the Washington lobbying firm O'Connor & Hannan.

He was known for close connections to the Bush family. In 2000, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call said some lobbyists called him "Bush's 'eyes and ears' on K Street."

It's not unusual for powerful law firms to offer lobbying services. Locke Liddell's lobbying business represents a wide range of clients, including a number of firms in the telecommunications, energy and health care industries.

Ms. Gilbert, the firm's director of strategic communications, said Locke Liddell's October announcement of a new Washington office was not timed to coincide with Ms. Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court.

[liveoaktx]

3. That's the law firm Harriet Miers headed

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1129898340117

[Lochloosa]

4. Well. I'm just shocked!

:sarcasm:

[wordpix2]

11. this guy Coffee a known thug

snip> The two lobbyists were hired in 2003 by a pair of businessmen with résumés out of a James Bond movie. One, a Syrian gambler nicknamed "The Fat Man," made his fortune in Middle East arms deals. The other, a felon, was banned from East Coast racetracks in the 1980s for his connections to organized crime and has a Tennessee rap sheet for trying to defraud Elvis Presley.

"Ties to TX?" Bush's old drinking buds??????

snip>

Ties to Texas
Mr. Coffee was deputy campaign manager for George W. Bush's first run for governor in 1994. After the election, he was Texas' director of state-federal relations until 1998. He then joined the Washington lobbying firm O'Connor & Hannan.

He was known for close connections to the Bush family. In 2000, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call said some lobbyists called him "Bush's 'eyes and ears' on K Street."

It's not unusual for powerful law firms to offer lobbying services. Locke Liddell's lobbying business represents a wide range of clients, including a number of firms in the telecommunications, energy and health care industries.

Ms. Gilbert, the firm's director of strategic communications, said Locke Liddell's October announcement of a new Washington office was not timed to coincide with Ms. Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court.

[formercia]

5. I see a sequel to Pulp Fiction here.n/t

[0007]

6. Holy jumping fucking catfish! This is a must read...Unbelieable

snip..

Mr. Coffee was deputy campaign manager for George W. Bush's first run for governor in 1994. After the election, he was Texas' director of state-federal relations until 1998. He then joined the Washington lobbying firm O'Connor & Hannan.

He was known for close connections to the Bush family. In 2000, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call said some lobbyists called him "Bush's 'eyes and ears' on K Street."

snip...

The two men, Roy Coffee and David DiStefano, have been connected to a foreign company's attempt to work around U.S. sanctions against Iran and sell airplane parts to that nation – an attempt that centered on U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican accused in lobbyist Jack Abramoff's recent plea agreement of accepting bribes.

The two lobbyists were hired in 2003 by a pair of businessmen with résumés out of a James Bond movie. One, a Syrian gambler nicknamed "The Fat Man," made his fortune in Middle East arms deals. The other, a felon, was banned from East Coast racetracks in the 1980s for his connections to organized crime and has a Tennessee rap sheet for trying to defraud Elvis Presley.

[wordpix2]

7. known criminal is Bush's 'eyes and ears on K St.'--lovely * crime family

revealed at last

BTW, K St. used to be the business district, not the lobbyist district in DC.

[donkeyotay]

8. So that's where Ney got lucky. God sure must love Republicans

snip>
According to his personal finance disclosure filing, Mr. Ney returned to London sometime later in 2003 and gambled at the Ambassador's Club, a private casino at which Mr. Al-Zayat was a member. He reported winning $34,000. Mr. Walsh, his spokesman, has said that Mr. Ney won that sum by playing two hands of a three-card game of chance, with an initial bet of $100.

[MagickMuffin]

9. Game of Chance? ? ? ?

They didn't mention what kinda cards they were, perhaps they were some sort of "homemade cards" that covered his pay to play shell game! :eyes:

[wordpix2]

10. I wonder if NEY EVERY PAID TAXES on that $34,000 gambling win

[donkeyotay]

13. Ha! Good one. No, freedom fighters like Ney don't pay no stinkin taxes

He's so sure he's protected that I heard he's running again. Imagine, here's the man most implicated on the surface by Abramoff, and he's running again. Delay's prosecuting his prosecutor, and king george is giving us the finger. They seem to have more confidence in the justice system than I do. I wonder why.