Aide sentenced to probation, fine

Heaton was an integral part of the conviction of Rep. Bob Ney.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Capitol Hill aide convicted of conspiracy received probation and a fine but no jail time Thursday after a federal judge credited him with helping the Justice Department convict an Ohio congressman.

William Heaton let FBI agents record his telephone calls and taped a 21⁄2-hour meeting with Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who was trading political access for campaign donations, trips and expensive gifts. Heaton also leaked documents and worked late into the night and on weekends to avoid arousing suspicion that he was working with the government.

After helping send Ney to prison, Heaton pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy, admitting he accepted payoffs for helping clients of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

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.

His apology

Heaton, 29, apologized several times in court. He said he was ashamed that he did not have the courage to stand up to Ney.

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

He had faced a maximum sentence of five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

Ney, who resigned from Congress, was sentenced in January to 21⁄2 years in prison after pleading guilty. Abramoff, the 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.

Heaton had acknowledged accepting a golf trip to Scotland, expensive meals, and tickets to sporting events between 2002 and 2004 as payoffs for helping clients of Abramoff.

“If we can’t find people who can stand up to authority and don’t let power corrupt them, then we’ll all be in serious trouble,” Huvelle said.

Ethics program

Attorneys said Heaton has an opportunity to speak to congressional staffers as part of a new Capitol Hill ethics program. Young aides often are in awe of the powerful people who do business in Congress, Heaton said, and “they forego their moral duties in order to respect that authority.”

“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.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys said Ney promoted young, inexperienced aides who would not question him or challenge his dealings with lobbyists.

Huvelle ordered Heaton to perform 50 hours of community service each year of his probation. She said that should be in addition to speaking to congressional aides.