Convicted Ney staffer avoids jail time.

Neil Volz, former chief of staff to Rep. Bob Ney, was spared jail time today and instead sentenced to two years probation, a fine of $2000, and 100 hours of community service for his role in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Volz had earlier argued that he should be spared prison time because he had “endured harsh criticism, including abusive phone calls” from Ney when his ex-boss suspected he was helping investigators.

UPDATE: TPMmuckraker has more.