Records show Gutierrez owned 2 million shares, while his daughter and son-in-law owned 27 million shares. Other Gutierrez family members, a bodyguard and press secretary also were listed as Map Roi shareholders, according to corporate records.

Buckham and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Weldon also did not return calls on Wednesday. However, in a statement issued after the federal funding was approved, Weldon said he "knew right away" that Florida Tech and Map Roi "would create an excellent program."

University press releases credited Weldon with obtaining the funding, called a budget earmark.

"U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon was instrumental in bringing Map Roi to Florida Tech," a university newsletter said.

The Florida contract apparently had a positive financial impact on Map Roi, which soon after attracted about $3 million in investments from a group of venture capital firms.

Weldon filed a bill championed by DeLay to force a federal court review before a feeding tube could be removed in the Terri Schiavo case. Weldon, who also is a physician, declared that the Florida woman was "not in a vegetative state. As a doctor I would never pull her tube out."

Federal prosecutors in a wide-ranging probe of congressional influence peddling are investigating Buckham's lobbying efforts.

'Lobbyist B'
According to a plea agreement with Tony Rudy, who also worked for DeLay, "lobbyist B" helped channel $50,000 in payments to a consulting firm run by Rudy's wife. Lobbyist B has been identified as Buckham.

Rudy worked for Buckham after Rudy left his job as DeLay's deputy chief of staff. He also was registered as a lobbyist for Map Roi.

Rudy, Abramoff and another former DeLay aide, Michael P.S. Scanlon, await sentencing following guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy and bribery. All have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

The ties between Buckham, Abramoff and DeLay are numerous. Buckham's now-defunct Alexander Strategy paid $115,000 in consulting fees to DeLay's wife, and for a time DeLay's political action committee -- Americans for a Republican Majority, founded by Buckham -- operated out of Alexander Strategy offices.

Buckham made a trip to the Northern Mariana Islands in late 1999 as part of an effort to help an Abramoff political ally win election as speaker of the island's Legislature. That ally and now governor, Benigno R. Fitial, later helped Abramoff win a lobbying contract from the island government.

According to Guam officials, an effort was also made to channel an additional $20 million in federal earmarks to Map Roi over a five-year period through a contract with Guam agencies.

A legislative aide, who asked not to be identified because of political sensitivity over the matter, said Map Roi lobbying efforts sought funding for other projects in the Pacific island territories and Puerto Rico.

Camacho administration
In a May 13, 2003 State of the Island address, Gov. Felix P. Camacho, said that a $20-million pact with Map Roi was in the works. In the speech, he credited Montana Republican Sen. Conrad Burns with pushing for the appropriation. A Burns spokesman said the project was never funded.

Burns received about $150,000 in donations from Abramoff, his firm and his clients between 2001 and 2004.

Camacho's office yesterday released this statement:

"A proposal was offered from Map Roi to the University of Guam in the spring of 2003. Considering the cash situation facing UOG and the government at the time, the university had asked the governor to help identify possible funding sources to participate in the project," according to statement sent via e-mail by governor's spokesman Shawn Gumataotao.

"The governor did write a letter to Sen. Burns seeking his assistance in getting Guam federal funds for this economic stimulus package," the statement said. "The project was never funded by Congress."

Camacho's office could not immediately provide the specific details of the Map Roi project as of press time.