Opinion ID: 425171
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Abscam's Payoff to Kelly

Text: 23 Shortly after 10:00 p.m. on January 8, 1980, Ciuzio, Kelly, Rosenberg, and Weisz arrived at Abdul Enterprises' townhouse to meet with Amoroso and Weinberg. Initially Weinberg met with Ciuzio, who vigorously sought to dissuade Amoroso and Weinberg from attempting to bribe Kelly directly. 41 The two ultimately agreed that Kelly would acknowledge that the money was in exchange for his agreement to assist the Arabs, but that Ciuzio would actually take the money from the meeting: 24 WEINBERG: You can be in with him, all right? 25 CIUZIO: Well I think I should be here to, ahh steer the f---ing thing ... 26 WEINBERG: Let him [Amoroso], let, just put the money on the table and say here, take it ... here Congressman, here's the twenty-five thousand, and that's it, you pick it up. 27 CIUZIO: Go along with that, he knows the answers too. 28 WEINBERG: All right, so ... CIUZIO: I rehearsed with him. 42 29 After this conversation Kelly and Amoroso met privately. Amoroso explained the Arabs' immigration difficulties and their willingness to pay to have friends in Congress when required. He also indicated that the Arabs would invest in their friends'  districts in order to protect them from pressure. 43 Kelly's response revealed that he was already aware of the purpose for the investments: 30 AMOROSO: Now I realize that ahh there's a possibility that ahh if, if you were to introduce somethin like this, that ahh, people would ask, well why is he doing it, ya know, well what's the reason, now ... 31 KELLY: I've got the reason. 32 AMOROSO: Ok, what ... would that be ... investing? KELLY: Sure. 44 33 Kelly agreed to assist the Arabs, and indicated that Amoroso's arrangement with Ciuzio was fine: 34 All of this stuff that you've been talking about ... I don't know anything about that, I'm not involved with it .... Gino [Ciuzio] and these guys are my friend[s] ... what you said makes a lot of sense to me ... I'm gonna stick with ya ... and you can put me out there on the hill, and when you come back in the morning, I'll still be there.... So this ... will be helpful to me and ... maybe ... down the road sometime, you can do me a favor. But in the meantime, whatever these guys are doing is all right, but I got no part in that.... [I]n other words, your arrangement with these people is ... all fine.... [Y]ou have my assurance that what you have told me here, sounds like a good thing and ... I will ... stick by these people. 45 35 After Amoroso received a call from Assistant United States Attorney Jacobs who was monitoring the meeting, Kelly asked to talk to Ciuzio. Ciuzio talked to Kelly privately for approximately ten minutes and, when Ciuzio emerged, he told Amoroso that Kelly would do what the Arabs wanted, but that Amoroso should not give Kelly any money. 46 36 As Amoroso and Kelly resumed their discussion, Amoroso sought to clarify Kelly's position. Kelly made it clear that he wanted the money given to Ciuzio: 37 KELLY: [Y]ou and I gotta ... learn to talk to each other. 38 AMOROSO: Well I know ... 39 KELLY: [D]on't stumble around, jump in there ... 40 AMOROSO: Jump in there and give it to you? 41 KELLY: Sure. 42 AMOROSO: Ok. Well I was under the impression ... when this thing was set up ... that I was gonna give you something ... tonight .... 43 KELLY: Yeah. 44 AMOROSO: Ok, and that the rest was gonna come ... 45 KELLY: Yeah. 46 AMOROSO: When you introduce that. 47 KELLY: That's right. 48 AMOROSO: Ok, is that, is that still ... 49 KELLY: Yeah. Here's ... what the thing is. Umm ahh just simply deal with Gino [Ciuzio] about it. 50 AMOROSO: Ok. You want me to give him the money ... here? KELLY: Sure. 47 51 However, when Amoroso indicated that all of the $25,000 was intended to go to Kelly, and that Ciuzio and the others would be separately compensated, Kelly was confused: 52 I understood that what you were talking about was ... all there was as far as Tony [sic, should be Ciuzio] was concerned and so as far as I'm concerned, he takes that.... [B]ut I see I didn't know ... about this other arrangement.... It's ... all right but I didn't know about that. So let's talk about it some. 48 53 Amoroso explained that he thought that giving the money directly to Kelly would avoid witnesses, thus protecting him. Kelly agreed: 54 AMOROSO: I thought that the best way of doing it was ... a one on one between you and I. Now to me that sounds like ... if you're looking for security ... the best way of doing it. KELLY: I think so too. 49 55 Amoroso then gave Kelly $25,000 in cash and Kelly stuffed the money into the pockets of his suit. 50 56 Amoroso and Kelly then joined the others in the living room of the townhouse. As Ciuzio and the others were preparing to leave, he asked Amoroso who had the money. Amoroso replied, He has it, and pointed to Kelly, who at that time was leaving the townhouse. Ciuzio responded that if Amoroso was satisfied, he was satisfied, and left. 51 Ciuzio, Kelly, Rosenberg and Weisz were then driven back to the Madison Hotel, where Kelly had left his car, and then to the Marriott, where Ciuzio, Rosenberg and Weisz were staying. 52