Mark Zachares

Mark Zachares is an American Republican politician and lobbyist who served as Congressional aide to Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska). He pleaded guilty on April 24, 2007 to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from lobbyist Jack Abramoff in return for using his position in Congress to advance Abramoff's interests.

Career Zachares became acquainted with Jack Abramoff while serving as Secretary of the Department of Labor and Immigration for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ("the CNMI"); Abramoff was a lobbyist for business interests of the U.S. territory. The Anchorage Daily News described their relationship:

Abramoff was the commonwealth's lobbyist. According to the Saipan Tribune, he was paid at least $11 million from 1994 to 2001 to prevent Congress from interfering with local regulation of wage rates and immigration - the two issues under Zachares' authority. "Beginning in the mid-1990s, Zachares came to have extensive contact with Abramoff during Zachares' tenure as an official of the CNMI, and Zachares and Abramoff became personal and professional acquaintances", the charging document said.

Zachares received $10,000 from Abramoff's false charity, Capital Athletic Foundation in two payments. The first came while he was secretary, the second after leaving the job. Starting after the 2000 election and a number of months afterwards, Abramoff attempted to convince the White House to hire Mark Zachares as the head of the Interior Department's Office of Insular Affairs.

The scandal was portrayed in the 2010 movie Casino Jack and the United States of Money.