This from the American Prospect...
Burn, Baby, Burns
The fact that Conrad Burns accepted more money from Jack Abramoff and his associates than any other senator or representative -- approximately $150,000 -- effectively sunk his re-election campaign against Jon Tester in Montana. Soon after the election, Burns joined GAGE Business Consulting and Government Affairs as a senior advisor, where his former chief-of-staff Leo Giacometto is a founding partner. Unsurprisingly, Burns has a sordid history with GAGE, replete with enough ethical violations to make his Abramoff ties look clean.
According to Roll Call, while Burns was in Congress he earmarked $8 million for a NASA project in Montana. Specifically, Burns directed $3.1 million to the Inland Northwest Space Alliance (INSA) in 2003, which was created by the University of Montana. The Missoulian, a Montana newspaper, reported that between 2003 and 2005, INSA paid $350,760 to GAGE and Compressus Inc., where Giacometto served as a vice president and lobbyist. (Burns' daughter served on the board of directors at Compressus.) In addition, Giacometto was a lobbyist for the University of Montana, and received nearly $80,000 for his services. Burns, Giacometto, and GAGE are currently under investigation.
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