WASHINGTON – A former lobbyist pleaded guilty today to conspiring with others to commit honest services fraud, Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division announced.
Todd A. Boulanger, 37, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts in the District of Columbia. According to court documents, Boulanger worked as a lobbyist from 1999 through 2004 with Jack Abramoff and others.
Boulanger, Abramoff, and other lobbyists working with them, sought to advance the interests of groups and companies they represented by lobbying federal legislative and executive branch officials. According to court documents, Boulanger admitted that he, Abramoff and others established contacts with federal legislative and executive branch officials who could use their influence and positions to take official actions favorable to Boulanger and the other lobbyists.
After establishing contacts with certain public officials, Boulanger admitted that he, Abramoff, and others offered and gave numerous things of value to these public officials in an effort to reward them for actions they had taken, to influence the public officials in their official actions, and to make them more receptive to requests for official actions in the future.
The things of value Boulanger and others provided as part of this conspiracy included all-expenses-paid travel, tens of thousands of dollars-worth of tickets to professional sporting events, concerts and other events, and frequent and expensive meals and drinks at Washington, D.C.-area restaurants and bars.
According to court documents, the public officials, in turn, agreed to take and took favorable official actions, which included the insertion or protection of legislative appropriations; the insertion, protection, removal or prevention of legislative amendments; and lobbying by the public officials of other legislative and executive branch officials to take or abstain from taking official action.
Boulanger also admitted that he and others provided a stream of things of value to a different Senate staff member in order to influence that individual to take official action favorable to Boulanger’s lobbying firm and one of Abramoff’s Native American tribal clients. From March 2002 through March 2004, Boulanger and others provided more than $25,000 worth of tickets, meals and drinks to the Senate staff member.
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Key Facts
- State: District of Columbia
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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