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Investigations Posts
Big Boeing Award, New Rules Won’t End DOD Conflicts of Interest
Feb 25, 2011
Big Boeing Award, New Rules Won’t End DOD Conflicts of Interest
After a decade of delays and embarrassing missteps, on February 24 the Air Force awarded one of the largest contracts in military history, a $35 billion deal to build nearly 200 giant airborne refueling tankers, to the Chicago-based Boeing Company. At one point, the Air Force had awarded the contract to a team composed of…
Will the Internet Taint a Loughner Verdict?
Feb 22, 2011
Will the Internet Taint a Loughner Verdict?
As Arizona plans a trial for accused Tucson shooter Jared Lee Loughner, a new set of questions has arisen: How will a jury be able to sit in impartial judgment, untainted by nonstop online coverage of the crime and its aftermath? What safeguards should a judge impose to keep the jury from following the case…
Why Is an Assault on Congress Member a Federal Crime?
Jan 12, 2011
Why Is an Assault on Congress Member a Federal Crime?
The charges against Jared Loughner for shooting Representative Gabrielle Giffords put into sharp focus a little-known federal statute, 18 U.S.C. 351. This law provides for a death penalty for killing a member of Congress, a presidential or vice presidential candidate, or a Supreme Court justice, as well as imprisonment up to life for attempting to…
Federal Strike Forces Will Boost Medicare Fraud Enforcement
Dec 17, 2010
Federal Strike Forces Will Boost Medicare Fraud Enforcement
In October 2010, federal enforcers announced a plan to nearly triple the number of its Medicare fraud strike force units around the nation. In view of the magnitude of health care fraud, this plan is understandable, but the vast majority of providers, who comply with the law, will also see their compliance and other costs…
Time to Make Brady Compliance Part of Prosecutors’ Culture
Nov 17, 2010
Time to Make Brady Compliance Part of Prosecutors’ Culture
On Thursday, November 4, 2010, Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. Attorney for Maryland, defended the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent efforts to address its compliance with Brady v. Maryland, the 1963 Supreme Court case requiring prosecutors to disclose information that would tend to exculpate criminal defendants. Rosenstein, speaking before a group of defense attorneys at an…
Settlement Indicates Widespread Abuse of SBA Preference Programs
Nov 5, 2010
Settlement Indicates Widespread Abuse of SBA Preference Programs
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice settled a case with a Maryland company that shows, yet again, how common it is for companies to abuse the preference programs that the Small Business Administration runs. In this case, it was the SBA’s Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program that was the target. Beltsville, Md.-based CSI…
GTSI Settlement Could Mark Crackdown on Contracting Abuses
Nov 3, 2010
GTSI Settlement Could Mark Crackdown on Contracting Abuses
The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced a tough settlement with GTSI Corp., one of the nation’s largest government contractors. GTSI, which had been accused of improperly obtaining contracts that are meant for small businesses, avoided a one-year suspension from new work for the federal government. But two of its top executives are stepping down,…
FTC Getting Serious About Full Disclosure in Endorsements
Oct 20, 2010
FTC Getting Serious About Full Disclosure in Endorsements
The Federal Trade Commission is taking steps to show that it is quite serious about enforcing the so-called blogger disclosure rules that it issued last year. The rules say, essentially, that when someone endorses or reviews a product or service, the person must disclose any relationship with the company that produces the product. So if…
Impeachment Trial of Federal Judge Raises Issue of ‘Kickbacks’
Sep 16, 2010
Impeachment Trial of Federal Judge Raises Issue of ‘Kickbacks’
The impeachment trial of U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. is continuing before a U.S. Senate committee. Porteous, a federal judge in New Orleans, is accused of four counts of corruption. Each count is referred to as an article of impeachment. The first article of impeachment involves what some have described as a “kickback”…
Why Did Craigslist End ‘Adult Services’ Section?
Sep 6, 2010
Why Did Craigslist End ‘Adult Services’ Section?
We noted last May that the popular Craigslist website faced major flak from state attorneys general and from anti-prostitution groups over its “Adult Personals” section, which many say was a thinly veiled venue for prostitution. On September 3, Craigslist abruptly discontinued the “Adult Personals” section and replaced the link with the word “Censored.” Craigslist didn’t…
