Saturday, November 19, 2005

More Scuttlebutt on Corruption: Scanlon & Halliburton


CLICK TO READ: FT.com / World / US - Threat of federal charges against DeLay grows

CLICK TO READ: Corruption Inquiry Threatens to Ensnare Lawmakers - New York Times

CLICK TO READ: DeLay Ex-Aide to Plead Guilty in Lobby Case - New York Times

CLICK TO READ: Witness May Have Pivotal Role in Probe of Alleged Corruption

Scuttlebutt No. 1 -- is about Michael Scanlon, a top official for Rep. Tom Delay and ex-partner of lobbyist Jack Abramoff. According to his lawyer, Scanlon agreed to plead guilty in a deal with the feds. Looks like the investigation will be delving into possible corruption involving top members of Congress. One Congressman identified by lawyers in the case to be complicit is Representative Bob Ney (R-Ohio). No telling how many others may be involved in the alleged conspiracy.

PHOTO: Michael Scanlon, a former business partner of ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, is to plead guilty tomorrow in a deal with prosecutors. (Gerald Herbert - AP)

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Halliburton Case Is Referred to Justice Department

Scuttlebutt No. 2 -- involves our good friend, Halliburton. According to a Democratic senator who has been holding unofficial hearings on contract abuses in Iraq, Pentagon investigators have referred allegations of abuse in how the Halliburton Company was awarded a contract for work in Iraq to the Justice Department for possible criminal investigation.

"The allegations mainly involve the Army's secret, noncompetitive awarding in 2003 of a multibillion dollar contract for oil field repairs in Iraq to Halliburton, a Texas-based company. The objections were raised publicly last year by Bunnatine H. Greenhouse, then the chief contracts monitor at the Army Corps of Engineers, the government agency that handled the contract and several others in Iraq."

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