This was too good to pass up...

Republican Representative Bob Ney, another of Jack Abramoff's pawns, has pled guilty to bribery, but he didn't resign his seat in Congress. It's true that if you forced all criminals out of Congress we'd have a pretty empty house, but you'd think convicted criminals would have the decency to resign, especially if their crimes involved selling their offices (as opposed to something more mundane, like drunk driving or shoplifting). Here's the kicker, though. Ney's got good reason to keep his seat for as long as he can:

Ney did not resign his seat. Several officials have said the congressman is financially strapped and needs his $165,200 annual paycheck and benefits as long as he can continue to receive them.

Great. So we get to continue to foot the bill for this crook until Congress can get back in session and expel the convict. One thing's sure: with Fat Boy Hastert on the hot seat he'll feel compelled to do something about all the criminals under his wing. In fact, he's already claiming swift action:

Ney's lawyer, Mark Touhey, told the judge he would resign before sentencing on Jan. 19. House Speaker Dennis Hastert and other Republican leaders said he would be gone far more quickly than that.

We'll see. It probably all depends on what the midterm elections bring, but it seems every day brings another domino falling on its face.