Former Interior Department Official Sentenced To Prison

In ordering the Interior Department's former No. 2 man to serve time behind bars, a federal judge sent a message yesterday that public officials must be held accountable for their misdeeds.

"Sir, you held a position of trust," District Judge Ellen Huvelle told J. Steven Griles as she sentenced him to 10 months in prison. "And I will hold you to a higher standard."

But whether the sentence will serve as a deterrent for other public officials, even within the Interior Department, is an open question.

Griles, Interior's deputy secretary from 2001 to 2004, pleaded guilty in March for lying to Senate investigators about the nature and extent of his relationship with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. His prosecution brought the Justice Department's influence-peddling investigation into the highest reaches of the Interior Department and, most important, raised questions about the agency's relationships with lobbyists.

A former coal and oil industry lobbyist, Griles, 59, is hardly a stranger to criticism about industry influence on the agency that oversees the country's national parks, natural resources, and Indian tribal lands.

Griles came under scrutiny by the Interior Department's Office of Inspector General in 2002 because of a number of ethical lapses, including allegations that agency contracts were steered toward his former associates.

In recent years, other high-level agency officials have faced criticism from the inspector general over crafting policies highly favorable to industry.

Though Griles has maintained that his lies about Abramoff were limited, prosecutors showed that his contacts with the former lobbyist were hardly insignificant, in part because Griles was introduced to Abramoff through Griles's on-and-off girlfriend Italia Federici.

When Abramoff's clients wanted to block casino permits for two Indian tribes, Griles took up their cause. When Abramoff wanted a film crew to move away from his restaurant, Griles made it happen.

And Griles wasn't shy about turning the tables and asking Abramoff for legal help or negotiating what he hoped would be a lucrative job offer with Abramoff's law firm after leaving government.

But much of Griles's aid for Abramoff was perfectly legal, and even prosecutors admit they have no evidence Griles ever took gifts from Abramoff.

Indeed, Griles's prosecution is also a reminder of what sorts of favors are still possible inside Washington--whether his sentence becomes a deterrent or not.

By Emma Schwartz