A former Bush administration official was convicted today of lying and obstructing justice for concealing his ties to Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

A federal jury found David H. Safavian guilty of three counts of lying or making false statements and one count of obstructing justice in the first trial to emerge from the scandal surrounding the disgraced lobbyist.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman set sentencing for Oct. 12.

Safavian sat without expression as the guilty verdicts were read. He was cleared of one count of obstructing the Senate Indian Affairs Committee's investigation.

The verdict adds momentum to a Justice Department investigation focusing on a number of members of Congress, including Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), whose former chief of staff was a government witness against Safavian.

Four other Abramoff associates have pleaded guilty.

Abramoff pleaded guilty in January to conspiring to corrupt public officials, and to steal millions from Indian tribes he represented. Abramoff did not testify at Safavian's trial, but his presence loomed large, through dozens of e-mails the government presented to the jury that showed how he attempted to use Safavian to extend his circle of influence.

Safavian had been a friend of the lobbyist since the two worked together at a Washington law firm in the mid-1990s, when Abramoff was just beginning his rise to power.

Safavian later struck out on his own to form a lobbying firm with conservative activist Grover Norquist, and worked as a congressional aide.

In 2002, he was named chief of staff at the General Services Administration, the federal agency that manages billions of dollars worth of federal real estate.

Prosecutors alleged that Safavian never stopped working for Abramoff despite being on the payroll of a public agency. Soon after arriving at GSA, he began exchanging e-mails with Abramoff about two pieces of GSA property that the lobbyist was interested in developing in the Washington area.

The case boiled down to whether Safavian had misled GSA ethics officers and other investigators about his relationship with Abramoff and the circumstances of a lavish golf junket to Scotland that Abramoff was organizing at the time.

Safavian went on the August 2002 trip, reimbursing Abramoff $3,100. Prosecutors alleged that the sum was a small fraction of the total cost, which included private jet service, luxury hotel accommodations, and $400 worth of golf at the famed Old Course at St. Andrews.

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