Will Heaton, who once served as chief of staff to Ohio Congressman Bob Ney will be sentenced Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Heaton, 29, faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison but is expected to receive a more lenient sentence because of his cooperation with authorities.

Heaton pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges several months ago for his role in a lobbying scheme in which Ney traded official government favors in exchange for money, gifts, and trips. Heaton himself admitted accepting a golf trip to Scotland and tickets to sporting events from the lobbyist at the center of the Ney scandal: Jack Abramoff.

Court documents obtained by WTOV9.com indicate it was Heaton who also helped federal investigators build a case against Ney. It was Heaton who reportedly wore a secret “wire” during meetings with the congressman. Heaton later passed along documents to investigators, while also allowing FBI agents to record his telephone calls.

Heaton has submitted letters from friends, family, and supporters to Judge Ellen Huvelle, the sentencing judge who’ll preside at his sentencing hearing tomorrow. Nearly all ask the judge to offer Heaton a lenient sentence. Several of those letters, which are published in their entirety to the right of this page, suggest Ney took advantage of Heaton’s youth and naivete. Heaton was just 23 years old when he became Ney’s chief of staff, the youngest chief of staff in the U.S. Congress.

Heaton also wrote his own letter to Judge Huvelle, in which he pleads for a light sentence.

“I made several terrible decisions while working for Congressman Ney,” he wrote. “My actions reflect my injudicious acceptance of what others were doing. Due to a lack of resolve, I simply followed some of my peers and supervisors. I blurred the distinction between acceptable and unacceptable professional behavior.”

Other letters indicate Heaton, like Ney, drank in excess during the period in which the crimes were committed. Former Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives Karen Haas wrote, “(Will) drank heavily, something he had not done previously. As part of his job he was required by the Congressman to accompany him in the evenings outside the office. I often worried about Will and would question him about how he was doing. I encouraged him to consider leaving Mr. Ney’s office, because I could see the toll the job was taking on him physically.”

Ney admitted to have an “alcohol problem” and entered rehab before being sentenced to 30 months in the federal prison in Morgantown, WV. It was Judge Huvelle who handed down that sentence.

Abramoff is also serving a federal prison sentence.

Heaton’s sentencing is scheduled for Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in Washington, D.C. Stay with NEWS9 and WTOV9.com for continuing coverage.

-Scott MacFarlane & Renee Cardelli, NEWS9