Jack Abramoff

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A former legislative director to retiring U.S. Rep. John Doolittle (R-Roseville) has been indicted on public corruption charges, according to Roll Call.

Lobbyist Kevin Ring, who was on Doolittle's staff from 1993 to 1998, was formally charged Monday in Washington, D.C., with 10 counts of corruption relating to work he did as a colleague of convicted former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

U.S. Rep. John DoolittleU.S. Rep. John Doolittle’s final six months in office provide something of a sad bookend to a career of a man who was once considered a hero among California conservatives and a rising star within the Republican Party.

In a state that is largely dominated by the Democratic Party, Doolittle rose from the state senate to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he would eventually become House Conference secretary, the sixth-highest ranking position in the chamber.

“He was the golden boy for so long in a state that was Democratic,” said Barbara O’ Connor, a professor of political communications at California State University at Sacramento. “He was able to beat the odds.”