Updated

A former Washington lobbyist convicted in the Jack Abramoff scandal is out of federal prison.

Forty-four-year-old Kevin Ring spoke by telephone Monday with The Associated Press. He says he was released Thursday after serving about 15 months of a 20-month sentence at a facility near Cumberland.

Ring says he's on home confinement in Kensington and is working for the nonprofit Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

Ring was convicted after two trials of giving meals and event tickets to public officials with an intent to corrupt them. His sentence was among the stiffest for the 21 defendants.

Abramoff was a prominent Republican lobbyist who pleaded guilty in 2006 to charges including conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion in the purchase of gambling cruise boats. He spent 3 and 1/2 years in prison.