Ante up!

Gaming lobbyist Jack Abramoff is at the center of only one of the current campaign-finance, money-laundering and influence-peddling investigations going on in Washington. There are three investigations right now: Abramoff’s; the investigation into the political action committees of Representative Tom DeLay, R-Texas; and the bribery investigation surrounding defense lobbyist Brent Wilkes, which recently resulted in the resignation and guilty plea for bribery of former Representative Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Rancho Santa Fe.

It may be surprising how closely related these three high-stakes dealers—and their players—really are. We were especially interested in how local boys Representative John Doolittle, R-Auburn, and Representative Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, are playing their hands. To help our readers sort it out, we’ve come up with a little diagram to help with learning the game.