Davis Administration Faces FBI Probe on Oracle Contract, Gift

NewsMax.com ^ | 5/11/02 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[kattracks]

A former Davis administration official who accepted a $25,000 contribution for Gov. Gray Davis' re-election campaign from computer giant Oracle shortly after the company got a controversial $95 million state contract will be questioned by FBI agents investigating the growing scandal.

Arun Baheti, Davis' director of e-government who got the check from Oracle contract lobbyist Ravi Mehta, will be informally interviewed by bureau agents, according to the Associated Press today. Baheti is just one of several people being interviewed as the FBI evaluates whether to open a formal, full-blown investigation, sources told AP Friday.

"Nobody from the governor's office has been contacted by the FBI," but Davis' staff will cooperate with any investigation, Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio told AP.

As NewsMax.com reported May 4, the $95 million contract awarded to Oracle for software never used was sharply criticized in a state audit released April 17. Northrop Grumman unit Logicon was hired by the state as a consultant on the deal but had also been working with Oracle and stood to earn $28 million from the contract, the audit showed, according to Reuters.

Logicon had projected the state would save $111 million through the deal, a forecast the auditor said was wildly inaccurate. In fact, the audit revealed that the deal could cost the state an additional $41 million more than if it had never been concluded.

Almost a year into the contract the three state departments involved were still figuring out how to pay for the software, and as of mid-March no state workers were using the Oracle database product, the audit charged.

According to newspaper reports, Davis, who insists he was unaware of the Oracle contract and denies there was any link to the contribution, returned Oracle's $25,000 on Thursday, the day after Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who is looking into the contract, gave back a $50,000 Oracle contribution.

The FBI's entry into the case is in addition to probes by Lockyer and a legislative committee seeking to determine if there was any connection between the Oracle contract and the campaign contributions.

Earlier Bill Simon, the Republican seeking to oust Davis, had expressed his outrage. "The scent of scandal surrounding this administration is growing," he said. "Already, three top officials have quit, been forced to resign, or have been placed on leave. Only a full and broad-based investigation can determine the truth."

On Friday he repeated his calls for Davis to release more details on the administration's contracts.

"I am pleased the Democrats and Republicans are coming together to sort through the facts of this scandal," Simon told AP.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
California Governor's Race

[kattracks]

ping

[meenie]

Kitty litter in Kalifornicate. How can this idiot (Davis) even be considered for Governor for another term????

[CaliGirlGodHelpMe]

I'm very glad the Feds are taking over this investigation. Hopefully, they will soon trace this poison to its source: Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, Clinton lover, huge DNC donor and sweetheart-deal maker. It's Ellison who cons these government entities into buying his crap software. It's ALSO Ellison who wants us all to carry I.D. cards with our personal, medical, and financial info on them, ostensibly for our "security" -- and guess who would have access to all of that sensitive, valuable info? The Clintons! Well, if the man wants to rule the world, at least he's doing it with style.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Boy the FBI showed up rather fast.

Must have been the San Jose Mercury latest article that called them in!

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