When the gates of Cumberland Correctional Facility in Maryland, not far from Washington, slammed shut on Jack Abramoff in November 2006, you could almost hear the sigh of relief across the nation's political capital.
Behind bars, Abramoff had been stripped of his status as one of Washington's best-connected and highest-powered lobbyists, and instead could be damned as a criminal who had corrupted United States politics, bribed Congressmen and their staffers, and brought public opprobrium on an otherwise reputable system.
Now he is out, back in the spotlight, and determined to prove he was no bad apple.
Money has rotted Washington to the core, he says, and the reforms Congress instituted after the "Abramoff scandal" have done nothing to mask the stink.
Abramoff's re-emergence, to promote a mea culpa autobiography, is already causing mischief on Capitol Hill, where Democrats hope to reopen investigations into his activities, just in time for next year's elections.