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Toward Tradition

Jack Abramoff served on the board of this Washington state-based non-profit and used the organization to channel money from his lobbying clients.

Toward Tradition was founded in 1991 by Daniel Lapin, a conservative Rabbi who had recently moved from Los Angeles to Mercer Island, Washington. The website for Toward Tradition asserts their mission is "to advance our nation toward the traditional Judeo-Christian values that defined America's creation and became the blueprint for her greatness."

In practice, the organization united members of the conservative Jewish community with the Religious Right to advance socially and economically conservative causes. It gained notably more influence in 1994 when the Republican Party took over the House of Representatives largely on the strength of the Religious Right voting bloc.

Toward Tradition is referred to as a "non-profit entity" in Abramoff's plea agreement. Lapin and several other employees were interviewed by the FBI in 2005.

Key Points:

Toward Tradition facilitated Abramoff's bribery scheme.

Lisa Rudy was employed by Toward Tradition while her husband, Tony Rudy, who would later work with Abramoff, was Deputy chief of staff for DeLay. Not only did Abramoff suggest Lapin hire Ms. Rudy, but he also said he could cover her salary.

That money, $5,000/month, was paid for with two $25,000 checks from Abramoff clients. One was from eLottery and was sent to Toward Tradition by Abramoff. He was lobbying on their behalf to quash legislation called the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act that would have regulated online lotteries. The Magazine Publishers of America, who had hired Abramoff to lobby against a postal rate hike, provided the other check.

In exchange for the $50,000 payments to his wife, Tony Rudy allegedly used his position in DeLay's office to torpedo the Internet Gaming legislation and significantly reduce the postal rate hike. Both Toward Tradition and Abramoff's lobbying clients claim they were unaware of the influence scheme.

Abramoff sat on the board of directors of Toward Tradition.

Abramoff served several terms as Chairman of the board of directors of Toward Tradition. He resigned his chairmanship in 2000, but remained on the board until 2004. During his time on the board, he made multiple contributions to the organization, including $10,000 from the Capital Athletic Foundation in 2002.

Research by Ryan Chiachiere

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