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FBI Investigating Multi-Billion-Dollar Defense Contractor With Tax-Exempt Status In Congressman's HometownCBS News has learned the FBI is investigating a little-known not-for-profit organization called Commonwealth Research Institute. It's located, like a lot of Rep. John Murtha's, D-Penn., pet projects, in his hometown, Johnstown, Penn. Commonwealth gets the same benefits as the Salvation Army or any other charity: It doesn't have to pay taxes. But its line of work may be surprising. It's a defense contractor. "It certainly raises a question," says Dean Zerbe, a former top Senate investigator. He questions Commonwealth's tax exempt status, saying it seems to do business just...

David Stevens, the administration's pick for an assistant secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development failed to pass muster and his confirmation delayed as it was disclosed that the real estate brokerage he operates as chief is facing several class action lawsuits. The charges against Long & Foster, a Virginia real estate brokerage, allege that their agents steered homebuyers to affiliated mortgage and title companies, which then shared their profits with the real estate brokerage. We often advise our readers to contact a Realtor as their best source of information. Regularly we Realtors are asked for referrals to...

A Virginia man is on trial this week in federal court, fighting accusations that he participated in a large-scale kickback scheme that involved several Tobyhanna Army Depot workers. Derrick Jackson, 47, of Stafford, Va., was indicted in March 2008 along with a Hazleton man in an 18-count indictment alleging conspiracy, public corruption, wire fraud and related charges. Federal authorities began an investigation into contracts New York-based ComputerGiants.com had with Tobyhanna Army Depot. From 2001 until 2005, ComputerGiants.com set up a slush fund for several people — including Mr. Jackson, who worked at Fort Belvoir Army Base in Virginia — who...

...WHILE ROLLING IN THEIR CASHPosted: 1:55 am March 1, 2009 Meanwhile, if Frank, Kerry & Co. truly want to do something about wasteful spending by banks that got TARP money, maybe they ought to look at their own campaign donations. And then give some of it back. (Right.) According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group that tracks political giving, banks that got TARP funds spent more than $114 million on 2008 lobbying and campaign contributions. Since 360 institutions got bailout funds, that averages nearly $320,000 a pop. Even last fall, as the banks begged for handouts,...

Top recipients of Fannie/Freddie donations: #1 Chris Dodd #2 John Kerry #3 Barack Obama #4 HIllary Clinton For the record, that's two Democratic presidential nominees, two also-ran presidential candidates including Hillary Clinton, at least the second most significant Democrat in the country.

When state Senator Barack Obama cosponsored legislation creating and increasing subsidies for low-income housing developers in Illinois, and wrote letters to get $14 million specifically for two of them (one was Tony Rezko), his official acts benefited several friends and donors in that industry. A similar thing happened when Obama earmarked $200,000 for Jesse Jackson’s investment fund in Chicago and $225,000 for Father Michael Pfleger’s neighborhood ministry. Those are just a few among dozens of examples of how, when Senator Obama governs, his friends do well. Such arrangements give the lie to Obama’s self-projected image as a reformer who wants...

We thought Jessie James rode a horse. But apparently he now sits in a House office building. And instead of robbing banks, he bankrolls robbers. Enter Representative James Clyburn (D-SC), the Majority Whip. He has come under fire in the past week for revelations by The Sun News, based out of Myrtle Beach, that some of his earmarks have directly benefited friends, business associates, political allies, family members—and anybody else he apparently has taken a special liking to. The November 2007 Citizens Against Government Waste “Porker of the Month” winner is at it again. And for this year, he has...

LOS ANGELES – Famed San Diego class-action attorney William Lerach, a former partner at a prestigious New York law firm, was sentenced Monday to two years in federal prison for his role in a lucrative kickback scheme involving class-action lawsuits against some of the nation's biggest corporations. Lerach, 61, was also sentenced to two years probation, fined $250,000 and ordered to complete 1,000 hours of community service. “This whole conspiracy corrupted the law firm and it corrupted it in the most evil way,” U.S. District Judge John Walter said during the hearing. Authorities said Lerach's former firm, now known as...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Rudy Giuliani assured a conservative legal group Friday that if elected president he would appoint federal judges who adhere to their principles. He also praised a judge who declared the capital city's gun ban unconstitutional and ridiculed efforts to eliminate the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. In a speech marking the 25th anniversary of the Federalist Society, Giuliani spelled out a conservative legal agenda in which he cited Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts as models for the judges he would appoint to the federal...

The fall of San Diego trial lawyer William S. Lerach may end his reign as Wall Street's king of pain, but the class-action lawsuit industry he helped create has become an established reality for corporate America. William S. Lerach: "I ... crossed a line and pushed too far.” Lerach, 61, admitted in a plea agreement that prosecutors filed yesterday that he participated in a scheme that secretly paid kickbacks to recruit plaintiffs for more than 150 class-action lawsuits brought against U.S. companies. As part of the deal, Lerach agreed to forfeit $7.75 million in unlawful gains, pay a $250,000 fine...

Prosecutors promised on Monday to prove that Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt paid millions of dollars in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's government, earning him a privileged position in Iraq. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Miller told jurors at opening arguments of Wyatt's trial that prosecutors would present photos, audio tapes, bank records, U.N. records and Iraqi government records proving Wyatt paid kickbacks to win Iraqi oil contracts . "Oscar Wyatt's years of assistance to the Hussein regime earned him a privileged status in Iraq," Miller said. Wyatt, an 83-year-old self-made oil tycoon, faces five counts in Manhattan federal court including engaging in...

A Texas oil executive pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a scheme to cheat the United Nations oil-for-food program out of millions by paying kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's Iraq regime. David Chalmers, the sole shareholder of Bayoil USA Inc. in Houston, was set to go on trial next month on charges he used a cozy relationship with Iraq in the 1980s to secure oil contracts. He could have faced more than 60 years in prison if convicted. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a 37- to 46-month term when he is sentenced Nov. 19. Chalmers...

CHICAGO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Home Depot Inc. (HD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday it had fired four merchandising associates who violated the company's ethical standards and said the matter is under investigation by federal authorities. CBS News reported that four purchasing managers are alleged to have taken kickbacks totaling millions of dollars to make sure that certain flooring products got onto Home Depot's shelves. The company said in a statement, "The Home Depot has terminated four merchandising associates for infractions of our ethical standards. We're cooperating with authorities and because this matter is under investigation, we can't comment...

A former senior partner of a pioneering law firm that won billions for clients in securities fraud cases pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy. The plea agreement by Milberg Weiss ex-partner David Bershad in what the government has described as a kickback scheme ratchets up the pressure on William S. Lerach and co-founder Melvyn I. Weiss. The New York-based firm made its name launching shareholder suits against major corporations and recovered more than $45 billion for investors in such cases. Lerach left Milberg in 2004 to open a San Diego-based practice that quickly became one of the top securities class-action firms,...

A former partner of a major New York law firm pleaded guilty to conspiracy in connection with kickbacks the firm is accused of paying to plaintiffs in class action and shareholder lawsuits. David J. Bershad, 67,........pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy.......obstruction of justice and making false statements under oath. Prosecutors believe the firm, now known as Milberg Weiss, received more than $200 million in fees from such lawsuits filed over the past 20 years......... ........one of his attorneys said "His efforts to right these wrongs, together with his many good works throughout his career, should be remembered along with...

The California Lottery's broadcasting director was fired Tuesday over allegations he signed an unauthorized contract last year with the Hilton Glendale using state funds that earned his personal hotel account at least 97,000 member rewards points. Richard Leeson's termination came after a two-month administrative investigation into the matter, and on the same day a special state Senate hearing was convened seeking an explanation from state lottery officials. The August 2006 contract for about 80 rooms a month was signed by Leeson to house lottery contestants appearing on the "Big Spin" television show for the 2007 calendar year at the Hilton...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- The founder of a multinational oil services company and one of his top executives have admitted to illegally paying more than $400,000 to Alaska lawmakers in a widening political corruption scandal. Bill J. Allen, chief executive of Anchorage-based VECO Corp., and Rick Smith, a vice president, pleaded guilty Monday to bribing state legislators with cash and the promise of jobs and favors for their backing on bills supported by the company. Allen, 70, and Smith, 62, appeared separately in U.S. District Court to plead guilty to extortion, bribery and conspiracy to impede the Internal Revenue Service....

Army Reserve Lt. Col. Debra Harrison returned to New Jersey after 17 months in Iraq with a Purple Heart and vivid descriptions of at least two brushes with death in the combat zone. A federal indictment unsealed yesterday alleged she also returned with $330,000 in stolen cash earmarked for Iraq reconstruction projects and played a key role in a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme that netted her a Cadillac Escalade, two handguns, prescription drugs and enough money to install a deck and hot tub at her home in Trenton. The 25-count indictment accused Harrison and two fellow soldiers, Col. Curtis Whiteford of...

You may recall that William Jefferson was the Rat congressman nailed a few months ago with a freezer full of cold cash. Naturally, both Rats and Pubbies condemned the FBI for raiding the Congressman's office and coming up with the goods. And even more naturally, MSM pretty much gave the Rats a free pass over the incident -- while focusing on the far more serious Mark Foley e-mails. Well, it just so happens that Jefferson was not turned over his slight moral lapse -- maybe. William was forced into a runoff against a black female lawyer. The election was held...

Former Army reservist will admit guilt in bidding scheme related to Iraq reconstruction. _____ WASHINGTON--A former U.S. Army Reserve officer from Spotsylvania County has agreed to plead guilty to playing a key role in a kickback scheme that steered millions of dollars in Iraq-reconstruction contracts to one businessman. Bruce D. Hopfengardner, 46, served as a special adviser to the U.S.-led occupation forces, recommending funding for projects on law-enforcement facilities in Iraq. Documents filed yesterday in U.S. District Court said that Hopfengardner will plead guilty to conspiring with Philip H. Bloom, a U.S. citizen with businesses in Romania, Robert J. Stein,...