http://www.timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=54460&r=4WASHINGTON – Former General Services Administration head Stephen A. Perry praised his one-time chief of staff David Safavian as a hardworking, industrious aide who never pressured him on behalf of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff as the first trial emerging from a federal corruption probe began Wednesday.
Perry, a longtime Canton resident, led off as the prosecution’s first witness in the trial of Safavian, a former administration official who is charged with lying to investigators and obstructing justice in connection with his parti-cipation in a lavish golf trip to Scotland organized by Abramoff in August 2002.
Rep. Bob Ney, R-Heath, who also went on the trip, is under investigation by federal authorities as part of a continuing Justice Department probe into bribery, corruption and fraud involving lobbyists, lawmakers and their staff.
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A longtime executive at the Timken Co. before President Bush nominated him to run the GSA in 2001, Perry, dressed in a greenish plaid suit and pale yellow tie, remained calm even while answering questions.
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THE DOTS:
Perry was a Timken executive.
Wm. "Timmy" Timken, now ambassador to Germany and a Bush Ranger, is a member of the Diebold Board of Directors.
Ney, along with Ralph Regula, helped pass legislation to "help" the steel industry. That leglislation resulted in a windfall of millions of dollars for Timken Steel.
Abramoff's law firm wrote at least one big check to Diebold.
Safavian, Perry's Chief of Staff, gets time off to go golfing with Abramoff and Ney in Scotland shortly after beginning his new job with Perry.