Brandeis alumnus Jack Abramoff ’81 (the right-wing influence-peddler and felon who, if you’ll remember, bilked Native American tribes out of millions of dollars in fees while secretly lobbying against the tribes in order to extract even more exorbitant fees) is the star of a new film, Casino Jack. He’s played by Kevin Spacey! You can watch the trailer here. I suggest we have a big movie-outing together when the film is released in December, to celebrate the newfound Hollywood stardom of our proud Brandeisian brother. I wrote Abramoff a letter in prison once, asking him about his time at Brandeis and whether as a former head of the College Republicans he had any advice to offer an aspiring conservative with an interest in a lobbying career. He never responded, but I don’t hold it against him, and would still be proud to see a fellow product of our institution up there on the silver screen.
Oh, and for those curious, my personal Top Five list of infamous (at least in the eyes of the Establishment) Brandeis alumni is: Angela Davis, Katherine Ann Power, Susan Saxe, Jack Abramoff, Aafia Siddiqui.