Flipping Abramoff

This could be huge. Abramoff seems just about ready to flip:

Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist under criminal investigation, has been discussing with prosecutors a deal that would grant him a reduced sentence in exchange for testimony against former political and business associates, people with detailed knowledge of the case say.

Mr. Abramoff is believed to have extensive knowledge of what prosecutors suspect is a wider pattern of corruption among lawmakers and Congressional staff members. One participant in the case who insisted on anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations described him as a "unique resource."

Other people involved in the case or who have been officially briefed on it said the talks had reached a tense phase, with each side mindful of the date Jan. 9, when Mr. Abramoff is scheduled to stand trial in Miami in a separate prosecution.

What began as a limited inquiry into $82 million of Indian casino lobbying by Mr. Abramoff and his closest partner, Michael Scanlon, has broadened into a far-reaching corruption investigation of mainly Republican lawmakers and aides suspected of accepting favors in exchange for legislative work.

This is as dirty a case as we've ever seen in Washington, one that goes far beyond the kind of sleazy gifts-for-legislation quid pro quo that has come to make Americans yawn by this point. That Abramoff has been able to ensnare SO many largely, but in the interest of fairness, not exclusively Republican politicians in his web is certainly indicative of a larger pattern of Washington corruption.

Most troubling is the part of this story that's right out of a Mario Puzo novel -- the gangland-style murder of Konstantinos Boulis, an Abramoff rival in the purchase of the SunCruz boat fleet in 2000:

While he and a partner, Adam Kidan, were angling to buy the SunCruz boat fleet in 2000, Mr. Abramoff had Mr. Scanlon persuade Representative Bob Ney, Republican of Ohio, to insert negative comments about a business rival of Mr. Abramoff into The Congressional Record, under a scheme outlined in documents filed in Mr. Scanlon's criminal case.

The rival, Konstantinos Boulis, was murdered a short time later in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a twist that heightened the profile of the Miami case.

Florida prosecutors are also investigating corruption in that case, focusing on Mr. Ney and his chief of staff at the time, Neil Volz, according to people involved in the case. Mr. Volz reportedly agreed to put negative remarks about Mr. Boulis in The Congressional Record, even though Mr. Ney had no obvious reason to comment on Mr. Boulis.

Mr. Volz went on to work for Mr. Abramoff as a lobbyist.

Mr. Ney has said he was tricked by Mr. Scanlon and Mr. Abramoff into participating, and no charges have been brought against him.

He was tricked? How can some one trick you into putting negative comments about someone you don't even know into the Congressional Record?

Whether Abramoff flips or not, between this case, Snoopgate, and the tantalizing visions of Fitzmas II, 2006 is shaping up to start out with a bang.

Fasten your seat belts. We may experience unexpected turbulence.