War brings business to Feinstein spouse, Blum's firms win multimillion-dollar defense contracts

SF Chronicle ^ | 4-27-03 | Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross

[Oldeconomybuyer]

When it comes to scoring mega-military-related contracts, Sen. Dianne Feinstein's multimillionaire husband, Richard Blum, is right in the thick of things.

First up: a contract announced last week between the Army and URS Corp., the San Francisco planning and engineering company that specializes in defense work -- and that happens to be partly owned by Blum's investment firm.

[Lokibob]

E G & G has been in the business of WMD destruction for years, operating a chemical de-militarization plant in Utah.

It only makes sense that they would get the contract for similar operations in Iraq.

[fight_truth_decay]

Blum's Perini involvement, Blicksilver said that Blum doesn't serve on the board and that the company represents less than 1 percent of his overall investments. "So his benefit from any contract to Perini is (minuscule)," Blicksilver said

MINUSCULE? Celia Wexler, research director for Common Cause in Washington, D.C., says all the defense and homeland security deals involving Blum-connected companies raise concern of political hanky-panky -- especially with talk of the United States spending $100 billion to rebuild Iraq.

Charles Lewis, executive of the nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity watchdog group in Washington, says that "regardless of whether there is a direct conflict of interest, it's useful to know that the spouse of a sitting senator is getting richer because of what's going on in the world."

"Why hasn't she expressed outrage about some of the potential conflicts with people in or close to the Bush administration?" Lewis said. "Could it be that she herself has some entanglements

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/04/27/BA284459.DTL