A former congressional aide to Commerce Secretary-nominee Judd Gregg has been caught up in a long-running investigation into a Capitol Hill lobbying scandal.

    A person familiar with the case confirmed Wednesday that "Staffer F" in court documents is Kevin Koonce, who worked as legislative director in Gregg's Senate office from 2002-04. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is still under investigation.

    Staffer F was cited in a guilty plea last week by Todd Boulanger, a former deputy to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. In federal court, Boulanger admitted he plied the staffer with front-row tickets to a hockey game, meals and drinks and other tickets to a baseball game, and in exchange received favors in spending legislation.

    The total value of the gifts Staffer F took from Boulanger exceeded $10,000, court papers said.

    The biographical details about Staffer F contained in court documents -- his job title at the time in the Senate office -- correspond to Koonce's.

    Koonce has not been charged with any crime. He now works at a private firm, Sorini Samet & Associates LLP.

http://tpmmuckraker.talking pointsmemo.com/2009/02/repo rt_staffer_who_got_gifts_fr om_team_abramoff_wa.php

Last week, when Todd Boulanger pleaded guilty to his role in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, he cited a Staffer F in his plea. That staffer had received tickets to hockey and baseball games (with champagne and filet mignon provided, in the latter case) from Boulanger and Team Abramoff.

And today the Associated Press reports that Staffer F is Kevin Koonce, a former legislative director for New Hampshire GOP senator Judd Gregg.

Koonce, who has not been charged with a crime, now works at a private firm, Sorini Samet & Associates. But he told the AP he's on personal leave. Another staffer who received similar favors from Team Abramoff, Trevor Blackann, pleaded guilty last fall to failing to disclose the gifts on his tax returns.

Gregg was announced yesterday as President Obama's pick for Commerce Secretary.
Asked about that inconvenient fact by a reporter just now at a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stressed that Gregg is not a target of the investigation, and that Koonce left Gregg's office in 2004.