![\"hassannemazee.JPG\"](\"http:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/news\/hassannemazee.JPG\")
<\/a>HOW DOES THE DEFENDANT PLEAD?<\/strong> Guilty. Hassan Nemazee, a prominent donor to Democrats, pleaded guilty<\/a> to three counts of bank fraud and a count of wire fraud, according to Colin Moynihan at the New York Times<\/em>. In the past, the Capital Eye<\/em> reported<\/a> on Nemazee and his immediate family\u0092s contributions to federal candidates and political action committees, including thousands of dollars since 1990 to the likes of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton<\/a>, Vice President Joe Biden<\/a> and President Barack Obama<\/a>. (Many of the politicos have vowed to return or donate their Nemazee-related contributions.) As part of the plea agreement, Nemazee will forfeit assets totaling $292 million and spend between 15 to nearly 20 years in prison, Moynihan reports.<\/p>\nCRP, IN THE NEWS:<\/strong> Rich Blake, of ABC News<\/em>, quotes CRP\u0092s Dave Levinthal in his piece<\/a> on the possible conflict of interest for Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd<\/a>\u0092s financial reform legislation. Dodd\u0092s wife sits on the board of the CME Group<\/a>, a major futures exchange who may benefit from new derivatives rules included in the legislation. Other reporters and outlets citing CRP\u0092s work include Paul Farrell of MarketWatch<\/a><\/em>, Julianna Goldman and Robert Schmidt of Bloomberg<\/a><\/em> and Sean Miller at The Hill<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n![\"donyoung1.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/news\/assets_c\/2010\/03\/donyoung1-thumb-125x190-715.jpg\")
<\/a>EARMARK, ALASKA:<\/strong> Rep. Don Young<\/a> (R-Alaska) is disregarding<\/a> his party\u0092s one-year, all-inclusive moratorium<\/a> on earmarks, reports Erika Bolstad<\/a> of the Anchorage Daily News<\/em>. House Republicans announced the moratorium<\/a> in early March, soon after House Democrats banned earmarks to private companies. Meredith Kenny, Young\u0092s spokeswoman, told Bolstad, “Representative Young’s stance is that as long as Alaskans continue to request federal funding for their projects of interest, he will continue requesting that funding on their behalf.” Bolstad notes that Young\u0092s office is still deciding which projects to recommend from the $1.4 billion worth of requests his office has received, but that those focusing on job creation, economic stimulation and health care will be the most likely to make the cut. Young has had made a name for himself as a proud pork-loving Republican<\/a>. He’s helped secure millions of dollars for two Alaskan “bridges to nowhere<\/a>” and, in his own words, stuffed a transportation bill “like a turkey” with extra goodies for his home state. Young is this year seeking<\/a> re-election<\/a> to the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n