Abramoff: Some in Congress Profited from Insider Trading

(NewsCore) - Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff said Friday that more than a dozen members of Congress and their aides have been involved in insider trading.

Abramoff, who was convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy and served more than three years in federal prison, made the allegations in an interview with CNBC Friday. He provides further detail on lawmakers and Hill staff profiting from market-moving inside information in a book that came out this week, titled "Capitol Punishment."

"These people should not be using whatever information they gain as public servants to benefit themselves, any more than they should be taking bribes," he told CNBC.

"I think it was pretty widely known and it is pretty widely known that it is going on," Abramoff continued. He declined to name any of the members of Congress who took part in such activities.

The former Hill insider pointed to Congressional hearings as an example of the kind of advance knowledge a lawmaker of staff member could use to their advantage.

"Hearings under almost every circumstance are going to have a bad impact on a company," Abramoff said. "And so some staffers I've seen in the past talking about the fact that, 'Oh, I'm gonna go out and short that company.'"

Abramoff, who built a fortune as a prominent lobbyist, said he never really played the market himself, calling it a "gamble" where the casino held all the information.

He was released to a halfway house last year.

The allegations come amid a massive crackdown by federal authorities on corrupt Wall Street practices, including insider trading.