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GOP Lobbyist Found Guilty Of Bribing Hill Staffers With Strip Club Party

James Hirni, a former Republican staffer-turned-lobbyist, went to jail briefly today for his role in an influence-peddling scheme in 2004. Prosecutors began looking into Hirni’s conduct because of his association with disgraced GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and had discovered that he broke federal lobbying laws with illegal gifts of Yankee tickets, travel, and a strip club party for congressional staffers. Hirni spent four and a half hours in jail, and will be sentenced to two years of probation with 100 hours of public service. According to the AP, Hirni had asked Judge Richard Roberts for no jail time because Hirni had admitted to his role in a larger influence-peddling scheme and had helped convict others. However, Roberts said he wanted to send a message about political bribery as an unacceptable way to do the taxpayer’s business.

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