In a year that has seen Republicans tarred by scandal -- Mark Foley of Florida resigned his House seat late last month after revelations he sent sexually explicit e-mail messages to teenage pages ; Representative Bob Ney of Ohio pleaded guilty on Friday to taking bribes in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal , and Randy Cunningham , a former House member , was sentenced to eight years in prison in March for taking bribes -- the troubles of Mr. Allen and Mr. Sherwood might seem tame by comparison .