Reports: Bribed Ex-Lawmaker to Leave Prison Soon

Former Congressman Bob Ney, Republican from Ohio, is set to be moved from a prison cell to a halfway house, according to news accounts.

Ney went in to federal prison in Morganton, W. Va. last March (as inmate number 28882-016) to serve a 30-month sentence for taking bribes from and doing favors for disgraced superlobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Following his conviction in late 2006, Ney revealed an addiction to alcohol which he said contributed to his criminal ways. He disappeared from public view into a rehabilitation facility.

Ney’s revelation was supported by former staffers, one of whom later wrote to tell Ney’s sentencing judge that while in Congress, his former boss "would often begin drinking beers as early as 7:30 a.m."

Ney’s admission of alcoholism also opened up the possibility he could qualify for a rehabilitation program outside of federal prison that could shorten his time in a cell by up to a year,.

That fact that was not overlooked by Ney’s lawyer. In a court filing shortly after his client’s confession, Mark Tuohey asked the judge to find that "Mr. Ney’s alcohol addiction contributed to the conduct he has admitted."

"Mr. Ney would benefit from participation in the Residential Drug Abuse Program offered by the Bureau of Prisons during any term of imprisonment," wrote Tuohey.