Ex-Justice official pleads guilty

WASHINGTON, April 23 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Justice Department official Robert E. Coughlin II pleaded guilty Tuesday in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

Coughlin, 36, former deputy chief of staff in the Justice Department's criminal division, admitted accepting thousands of dollars worth of meals and sports tickets from the Republican lobbyist in return for helping Abramoff's clients, The Washington Post reported.

Coughlin has agreed to help investigators trying to ferret out any additional figures involved in the case, which has already resulted in more than a dozen convictions, the Post said.

Coughlin, who now lives in Texas, faces as much as five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but his cooperation means he more likely will receive no more than 10 months and a $10,000 fine, or less.