A former U.S. State Department employee pleaded guilty Monday to a conflict of interest charge for urging a senior State Department official to support a joint Israeli-Jordanian theme park. Matthew Lorin paid a $20,000 fine and admitted to violating federal ethics rules by urging Dennis Ross, the State Department’s special Middle East coordinator, to support the Grand Oasis project. Lorin, who has a financial interest in the project, never received approval to lobby Ross, who was never charged with any wrongdoing.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.