Abramoff, Scanlon and key former aides continue to talk

With a busy autumn ahead for the Jack Abramoff investigation, prosecutors may be trying to send former aides — and even Abramoff himself — a message: Play nice with us and we’ll play nicer with you.

In August, Justice Department prosecutors investigating Abramoff and his wide-ranging corruption schemes reduced Will Heaton’s sentence to probation and recommended only home confinement for Neil Volz. The two former aides to Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) played key roles in sending their former boss to jail for 30 months.

{mosads}Prosecutors are continuing to talk to Abramoff and Michael Scanlon, his close associate and a former top aide to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). In late August, the government postponed scheduled status hearings with Judge Ellen Huvelle for both men, giving them three more months to continue to spill information.

In late July, prosecutors also agreed to give Tony Rudy more time to cooperate, scheduling another status hearing for him Nov. 5.

Mark Zachares, who worked for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and then for Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has a status conference hearing with the judge scheduled for Nov. 2.

Earlier this year, Zachares pleaded guilty to hatching a plan with Abramoff to help the lobbyist and his clients from within Congress for two years and then reap financial rewards by joining Abramoff’s lobbying firm afterward.

Young faces FBI scrutiny for a $10 million earmark for a Florida highway. Media reports also have scrutinized his involvement in setting aside earmarks for a pipeline project that benefited a company that employed Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens’s (R) son, Ben.

Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a government watchdog group, said the fall activity shows that the investigation is still very active.

“A lot of people thought the book was closed,” he said. “If anything, the feds have shown that they are being very deliberate in their process, moving slowly from one individual to another. It’s not done yet by any stretch.”

Heaton, who wore a wire in a meeting with Ney, in mid-August received only probation for his involvement in the scandal. Prosecutors are recommending only house confinement for Volz, whose cooperation was “substantial and timely” and included handing over to prosecutors travel documents that got the investigation rolling and later angry voicemails from a suspicious Ney. Volz’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 12.