Jack Abramoff has been in the news a lot lately.  Actually, former associates of Abramoff have been in the news lately, for example, Kevin Ring.   For his "extensive cooperation" with law enforcement authorities, Mr. Abramoff got his sentence cut.

A federal judge agreed yesterday to shave two years from former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff's prison sentence for a fraudulent Florida casino boat deal because of his extensive cooperation in that case and a wide-ranging political corruption probe that upended Washington politics.

The decision by US District Judge Paul Huck guarantees that Abramoff, 49, will serve no more than an additional four years in prison - the sentence imposed by a Washington, D.C., judge last week in the separate corruption case.

Abramoff's attorneys had sought to have the Florida sentence reduced from nearly six years to about two. Huck called that request "greedy" and said it would not reflect the gravity of the fraud involved in the 2000 purchase of SunCruz Casinos by Abramoff and a partner.