LegiStorm

Former Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) has finally admitted to sneaking puffs from the cigar industry. But she's quit. She swears it.

After a New York Times story this month called out Landrieu for failing to properly disclose her lobbying campaign at the beginning of this year, Landrieu has filed forms disclosing that she had worked on behalf of the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association and the Cigar Rights of America. The Lobbying Disclosure Act requires disclosure of lobbying activity within 45 days.

Landrieu reportedly blamed the error on oversight.

The cigar groups paid her a combined $20,000 to push for "FDA regulatory exemption for premium cigars." The filings indicated that the engagement ended in April.

After a long break spent working for Jeb Bush and his think tank, Jaryn Emhof returned to Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) last week — this time, as his chief of staff.

Emhof previously served as Webster's legislative assistant from 2001 to 2008, during his tenure as a Florida state senator. After Webster's election to U.S. Congress in 2008, Emhof served the Florida Senate in press and communications capacities until becoming a spokesperson to Jeb Bush, as well as vice president of communications to the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a Florida-based education-reform think tank founded by Bush.

The Washington newcomer holds a BA in political science and government from Thomas Edison State College.

One New Jersey town's mayor, who has raised eyebrows for the number of public jobs he can hold at once, has returned to a congressional position as district director for Rep. Albio Sires (D-N.J.) — and is keeping his lucrative side gigs.

Weehawken mayor Richard Turner had served as Sires' district director from 2006 until last fall until controversy dogged the mayor over his outside public gigs. He dropped off the House payroll in late fall as Sires hired another district director, but according to the office's salary disclosures, his replacement got a promotion to deputy chief of staff, and Turner quietly returned to the district director post in June.

While mayor, Turner has taken a number of lucrative consulting gigs in neighboring towns, including a $90,000 contract for "mold remediation" last fall. The nature of the work meant that it did not require him to face competitive bidding.

More recently, the nearby town of West New York, N.J. awarded Turner a $17,500 contract "to perform special projects."

The Sires job pays him roughly $120,000 per year. His mayor job pays only $5,000 per year but his pension from a previous job with Sires in West New York reportedly pays him $72,000 per year.

The company behind Iraq's national credit card is lobbying the federal government on biometric payments.

Now the country's largest financial institution, International Smart Card was formed by Iraq's two largest state-owned banks in 2007. The company's flagship "QiCard" uses biometrics to identify users — impressive, given that the technology, which uses unique physical identifiers to verify indentify, hasn't yet caught on among credit and debit card companies in the US.

Law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is handling the lobbying work through Markez Inc., an Iraq-focused construction-management company based in Silver Spring, Md.

Paul Junge's career has taken him from news anchor to options trader to counsel. Now, the former Senate Judiciary investigatory attorney can add a new line to his already-varied resume: President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for St. Mary's County, Md.

Junge came to the committee last year after working on the unsuccessful Senate campaign of Terri Lynn Land, former Michigan secretary of state.

Junge spent the early 2000s working as a news anchor and reporter for a variety of local television stations, eventually taking a job as an options trader for the Cutler Group. He has also served as public policy director for the Oakland (Calif.) Chamber of Commerce and as a special assistant to former Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.).

The do-it-all holds a BA from the University of California Berkeley, a JD from the University of San Diego and an MBA from the University of Michigan.