by Frank James
It’s a recurring and cautionary tale in American life, the idealistic, ambitious young person drawn like the proverbial moth to the flame of power, fame and money—whether it be Hollywood, Washington or Wall Street—who is then consumed by it.
That’s the story that emerges in today’s Washington Post piece by James Grimaldi on Will Heaton, who was barely out of college when he became chief of staff to then Rep. Robert Ney (R-Ohio) whose conviction on corruption charges wound up with him going to federal prison.The story outlines how Heaton, after becoming disillusioned by Ney’s dealings with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, accepted the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s offer to wear a recording device as well as record phone conversations with Ney and others.
It was those recordings as well as documents Heaton turned over to law enforcement officials that apparently persuaded Ney not to contest the government’s case against him.
Heaton comes across as a young man more sinned against than sinning, which is exactly how his defense lawyer wants to portray the former congressional aide who is due to be sentenced by a federal judge on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Ney is portrayed as nothing less than a drunken creep who chose staffers not because of what they knew—like how to manage, among other things, a staff, constituents’ needs, negotiations with other lawmakers’ offices, or lobbyists—but what they didn’t know.
Here’s a key passage from the story:
Heaton’s lawyer, John N. Nassikas III, said his client was an “earnest, moral and at times naive” congressional staffer taken advantage of by “a corrupt, deceitful and manipulative public official.” Nassikas said that Ney “intentionally hired and quickly promoted young, inexperienced staffers — who did not receive any formal ethics training from Congress — so that staffers would have neither the knowledge nor the maturity to question Ney’s conduct.”
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Heaton, a government major at the College of William and Mary with a passion for American politics and history, was hired in part because he was inexperienced and deferential, Ney told Neil Volz, Heaton’s predecessor. Volz later became a lobbyist for Abramoff and then a cooperating witness for the government.
Volz told the government that Ney said “other, more seasoned candidates might ‘get up and walk out of dinner because it was too expensive’ ” and violated the $50 gift ban.
Ney had a reputation among colleagues in both parties as collegial and cooperative, but inside his office he could be abusive and manipulative, said Heaton’s wife, Kathryn Knapp, in another letter to the judge. He frequently “fired” Heaton when under the influence of alcohol, only to rehire him “once Ney was sobered up,” Knapp said.
In short, Ney’s office sounds like a miserable place to work. Small wonder that Heaton offered to wear the wire. With a boss like that, who wouldn’t?
It doesn’t leave a pleasant feeling to realize that if Ney had been just boorish but not a criminal, he would likely still be inflicting his brand of mismanagement on Capitol Hill staffers.
Fortunately, most lawmakers are, of course, honest and treat those who work for them with respect.
Still, it would be wise for any young person with ambitions to work in Congress to read Heaton’s story and learn the high cost of being naive.
(Bob Ney picture credit: AP Photo/Bill Haber)