Former GSA chief of staff convicted
A federal jury in Washington, D.C., has convicted David Safavian, the former chief of staff for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), of obstructing a GSA internal investigation and making false statements, as part of an ongoing probe into the activities of disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates.
The jury convicted Safavian of four charges in an October superseding indictment, following a six-day trial and three days of jury deliberation.
The jury found that from 2002 until 2005, Safavian made false statements and obstructed an investigation into his relationship with Abramoff. The investigation focused on whether Safavian — the chief of staff at the GSA from May 2002 until January 2004 — aided Abramoff in his attempts to acquire GSA-controlled property in and around Washington.
