July - Lobbyist Jack Abramoff forms Capital Athletic Foundation, a nonprofit organization the Justice Department later says is a cover for income tax evasion.

February - Abramoff and associate Adam Kidan begin negotiations with SunCruz Casinos owner Konstantinos Boulis to buy Boulis' fleet of casino boats.

May - Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and former DeLay staffer Tony Rudy join Abramoff and a group of associates on a 10-day trip to England and Scotland. The trip includes golfing at the world-renowned St. Andrews course.

June - Rudy again joins Abramoff and Kidan on a SunCruz sponsored trip to the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in California.

September - Abramoff and Kidan finalize the SunCruz Casino deal, agreeing to pay $147.5 million. A 2005 Miami indictment would later find the two faked a $23 million wire transfer to secure financing from two lenders in the deal.

October - Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, later identified as a close associate of Abramoff, hails Kidan in the Congressional Record, saying "he will easily transform SunCruz from a questionable enterprise to an upstanding establishment."

January - Abramoff, working as a lobbyist for four Indian tribes with gambling operations in several states, recommends Capital Campaign Strategies, a company formed by his friend and former aide to DeLay Michael Scanlon, to provide public relations services for the tribes. The government later contends Scanlon and Abramoff had a deal to defraud the tribes and split the more than $80 million in profits received between 2001 and 2003.

Abramoff leases a jet to fly a group of congressional staffers, including former aides to DeLay and Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mt., to the Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla.

February - Former SunCruz Casinos owner Boulis is shot and killed in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Three men, including two associates of Kidan, are later indicted on murder and conspiracy charges in relation to his death.

March - Abramoff, Kidan and other SunCruz executives each contribute $1,000 to a Ney fund-raiser in Washington, D.C.

August - Using money paid to his nonprofit foundation Capital Athletic Foundation, Abramoff flies a group, including Ney and former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed, to Scotland for a second golf trip at St. Andrews.

November - A U.S. attorney in Florida opens a criminal inquiry into Abramoff and Kidan's SunCruz purchase.

Abramoff raises more than $100,000 in contributions for the Bush-Cheney '04 election campaign.

February - Following reports that Abramoff and Scanlon made millions of dollars off of various tribes in lobbying and legal fees, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., begins an investigation into Abramoff's activities.

September - A seven-month investigation by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee finds that Abramoff and Scanlon made an estimated $66 million in lobbying fees and may have fixed two tribal elections in order to secure contracts. Appearing before the committee, Abramoff refuses to answer questions about his activities.

August - A Miami federal grand jury indicts Abramoff and Kidan on fraud charges in connection with the SunCruz deal. Abramoff pleads innocent. Kidan later reaches a plea bargain.

September - DeLay is forced to step down as House majority leader following an indictment on charges he violated Texas fundraising laws and mounting questions from Democrats about his relationship with Abramoff.

October - Scanlon pleads guilty to charges he conspired to bribe public officials.

December - In an effort to distance themselves from Abramoff, six members of Congress announce they will donate or return contributions made by the lobbyist and his associates.

January - Abramoff pleads guilty to federal conspiracy, tax evasion and fraud charges and agrees to turn witness for a widening Justice Department investigation into the corruption of public officials including members of Congress.

Assistant U.S. Attorney General Alice Fisher holds a press conference announcing Abramoff's plea deal and promises to investigate and prosecute any wrongdoing by public officials associated with Abramoff.

After media reports identify him as Representative No. 1 in the Abramoff plea deal, Ney quits as chairman of the House Administration Committee.

The White House announces that President Bush will give away $6,000 in campaign contributions that came directly from Abramoff.

Sources: Associated Press, Washington Post, CNN