A former longtime staffer of Sen. Thad Cochran (R., Miss.) pleaded

guilty to defrauding the government as part of the investigation into

jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Ann M. Copland, who worked on Sen. Cochran's staff from 1979 to

2008, admitted to being lobbied by Mr. Abramoff and two others

regarding a Native American tribe in Mississippi and taking actions to

help them while receiving more than $25,000 in food and entertainment

tickets during from 2002 through 2004.

The lobbyists allegedly emailed each other about what kind of

tickets and perks they could give to Ms. Copland, with one of them,

Todd Abramoff, writing, "Ann should get everything she wants."

The charges brought against Ms. Copland say she knew there were

rules governing the conduct of employees of the U.S. Senate --

specifically rules prohibiting soliciting gifts from anyone seeking

official action or doing business with the employee -- but accepted

them anyway.

Nineteen people, including Jack Abramoff, have pleaded guilty or are

awaiting trial as a result of the investigation. Mr. Abramoff was

sentenced in September 2008 to 48 months in prison.

His cooperation in the Justice Department's wide-ranging corruption

probe aided in the convictions of a dozen federal officials and

lobbyists, including Bob Ney, a Republican former congressman from Ohio

who was chairman of the House Administration Committee, and J. Steven

Griles, who was deputy secretary of the Interior Department.

Mr. Abramoff used his ties to conservative interest groups to build

influence with Republicans in Congress. He and his team of lobbyists

signed up gambling-rich American Indian tribes as clients, charging

them millions of dollars a year to lobby Congress, often manufacturing

issues to generate more fees.

By Kerry E. Grace