The founder of a Republican environmental group pleaded guilty today in federal court to obstruction of a Senate committee probe and tax evasion.

The allegations against Italia Federici — contained in an eight-page criminal information document filed in U.S. District Court in Washington as part of a plea deal — were part of the ongoing investigation of convicted former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Federici, president of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and mandatory restitution. Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle will sentence her on Nov. 16.

Prosecutors said Federici served as a conduit for information between Abramoff and former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles, who pleaded guilty in March to lying to a Senate committee about his dealings with Abramoff.

Prosecutors said Federici, like Griles, lied about her dealings with the two men in 2005 during an interview with Senate investigators and later in a public hearing before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

The committee, chaired by Arizona Republican John McCain at the time, was investigating complaints about Abramoff’s representation of various American Indian tribes.

Federici also was accused of providing incorrect tax information and failing to pay more than $100,000 in taxes.