Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff will start the 2013 Rancho Mirage Speakers Series tonight.
The talk will begin at 7 p.m. at the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower Medical Center, 39-000 Bob Hope Drive.
Abramoff was one of Washington's most successful and prominent lobbyists before being involved, with more than 20 other people, in a political corruption scandal. In 2006 he was sentenced to six years in federal prison for conspiracy and fraud. After he was released he wrote "Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist." He joined a Republican anti-corruption nonprofit and has appeared on CNN.
Actress Carrie Fisher will speak on Feb. 27, and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin is scheduled to speak on March 27. Fisher is filling in for her mother, Debbie Reynolds, who was originally scheduled and had to cancel for unspecified reasons.
Series tickets tickets are $150 for preferred seating and $120 for general seating; individual tickets cost $60 for preferred seating and $45 for general seating. Admittance to after-parties with each speaker is available for an additional fee.
Tickets are sold at www.ranchomirageca.gov. The speakers series hotline is (760) 770-3205.
