A former congressional-staffer-turned-lobbyist called himself a "sugar daddy" as he described the type of lobbying that went on within "Team Abramoff" in today's testimony in the trial of Kevin Ring, an associate of imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

"I got calls: 'Let's go drinking.' To me, that meant 'bring the credit card,'" said Neil Volz, a former lobbyist with Ring and Abramoff at Greenberg Traurig and a former chief of staff to former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, when the prosecution asked him why he described himself as a "sugar daddy" for Ney's office. Volz pleaded guilty in 2006 over his involvement in the Abramoff scandal, and he was sentenced to probation, community service and a fine in exchange for cooperation with prosecutors.

Volz compared the relationship he had with Ney's office to the relationship Ring had with the office of California Republican John Doolittle. Ring was an aide in Doolittle's office before leaving Capitol Hill to become a lobbyist with Abramoff. Volz called Doolittle one of Ring's "champions," just as Ney was his own.

Ring referred to himself as a "sugar daddy" in an e-mail to several Doolittle staffers that was shown to the jury as evidence. The jury has been given several binders full of evidential documents, mostly e-mails between Ring, other lobbyists and public officials or their staffers.

Volz described his lobbying team's practice of giving tickets, meals and drinks to public officials and staffers who were deemed valuable, as well as taking those individuals on trips.

"Really we just wanted to party," Volz said about a trip he took to New Orleans with Ney, former Ney chief of staff Will Heaton, and other lobbyists. He said the group met a client and toured some homes, but those were not the main objectives of the trip, which he described as "part of the corrupt relationship" he had with Ney and his staffers.

Ney resigned and pleaded guilty in 2006. Heaton pleaded guilty in 2007. Ney served 17 months in prison, and Heaton was sentenced to probation, community service and a fine.

Volz described a discussion he had with Ring about "getting the joke," a term used for a lobbyist getting a staffer to prioritize an issue because the lobbyist is "taking care of them," after the Abramoff scandal began to surface in 2004.

"We thought, 'Boy, it would be pretty difficult to defend the idea of getting the joke,'" he said of his conversation with Ring.

Volz also testified about a $2,200 birthday party for Heaton that he expensed to clients of the lobbying firm, calling that type of spending "corrupt." He spoke about the various lunches and dinners for public officials that he paid for and witnessed Ring pay for, and tickets that he and Ring gave to officials to sporting events and concerts.

Henry Schuelke, an external investigator hired by Greenberg Traurig after the scandal emerged, testified this morning.

Volz's testimony will continue in the morning. Following the conclusion of his testimony, John Albaugh, former chief of staff to former Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., is expected to testify. Albaugh pleaded guilty last year for his involvement in the scandal.