Ex-Capitol aide gets probation in lobbyist scandal

WASHINGTON - A former Capitol Hill aide received probation and a fine but no jail time yesterday after a federal judge credited him with helping convict a congressman in the Jack Abramoff scandal.

The former aide, William Heaton, let FBI agents record his phone calls and taped a 21/2-hour meeting with Rep. Bob Ney (R., Ohio). Heaton leaked documents and worked nights and on weekends to avoid arousing suspicion that he was working with the government.

Federal prosecutors recommended that Heaton serve house arrest, but U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle ordered him to serve two years' probation and pay a $5,000 fine. Huvelle said she would not have been so lenient had Heaton's cooperation not been so exceptional.

"People don't generally walk around congressmen wearing a wire," Huvelle said.

Heaton, 29, apologized several times in court. He said he was ashamed that he did not have the courage to stand up to Ney, who was trading political access for campaign donations, trips and gifts.

"American citizens should be able to trust those who work on their behalf," he said in court. "I violated that trust."

Ney, who resigned from Congress, was sentenced in January to 21/2 years in prison after pleading guilty. After helping send Ney to prison, Heaton pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy. Heaton admitted accepting a golf trip to Scotland, expensive meals, $5,000 in gambling chips and tickets to sporting events between 2002 and 2004 as payoffs for helping clients of Abramoff, the disgraced lobbyist.

Attorneys said Heaton has an opportunity to speak to congressional staffers as part of a new Capitol Hill ethics program. "No one else need repeat my mistakes if my life can serve as a cautionary tale for others," said Heaton, who at 23 became the youngest chief of staff on Capitol Hill.

Abramoff, star witness in the sweeping Capitol Hill investigation, is serving prison time in an unrelated Florida case and is awaiting sentencing in the corruption case.