Surfer-dude DOJ career prosecutor negotiated Abramoff deal

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Team of Career Prosecutors Negotiated Lobbyist's Deal
By NEIL A. LEWIS
Published: January 11, 2006

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 - The plea agreement from the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, which has the potential for a multitude of legal troubles for Congressional Republicans, has been largely the work of a team of career prosecutors in the Justice Department led by an avid surfer and early Bruce Springsteen fan from New Jersey.

The team leader, Noel L. Hillman, chief of the department's Office of Public Integrity, began his government career bringing cases in New Jersey involving the arcane issue of export control restrictions.

As a young lawyer, Mr. Hillman developed a specialty in that field, said Robert J. Cleary, the former chief federal prosecutor for New Jersey. Mr. Cleary, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, recalled that Mr. Hillman successfully prosecuted a major aircraft parts dealer for selling missile and jet fighter parts to Iran, as well as an Argentine banker who was linked to a $500 million scheme to defraud American banks and the Argentine government.

Mr. Hillman moved into the area of official corruption prosecutions with the federal investigation of former Senator Robert G. Torricelli of New Jersey. Mr. Hillman prosecuted David Chang, who pleaded guilty to funneling illegal contributions to Mr. Torricelli's campaign, and told prosecutors he had also given the senator cash and gifts. Mr. Torricelli, a Democrat, dropped his 2002 re-election bid after accusations of ethical missteps and an admonishment from the Senate Ethics Committee for his relationship with Mr. Chang.

In a brief interview, Mr. Hillman, 49, said cases with political dimensions like the one involving Mr. Abramoff invoked "a recognition and tradition in the Department of Justice that these kinds of cases must be treated as the law requires, regardless of politics."...

(On Hillman's surfing: "....Mr. Hillman would take off at a moment's notice to some surfing site. His older brother, Rick, was a professional surfer, and they knew Mr. Springsteen from the time the singer lived and rehearsed at a surfboard factory at the Jersey Shore.

Mr. Hillman was a board member of the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental organization in California that works to keep coastlines around the country clean. Michelle Kremer, the group's legal counsel, said he remained an important adviser to the group....")


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/11/politics/11prosecutors.html

[Cocoa]

1. Dana Rohrbacher is a surfer too

surfers love Abramoff I guess.

[Atman]

2. "....Mr. Hillman would take off at a moment's notice to some surfing site"

That what surfers do. The waves don't keep a 40-hour work schedule!

I took a different approach...I worked for a surfing magazine, then published my own, and ran surf contests. So "taking off at a moment's notice to some surf site" was all in a days work!