uh oh, this is a NO NO

and one would think the former attorney general AND the top fed prosecuter in joisey WOULD KNOW BETTER. what they DIDN'T KNOW is that it would be brought to the light of day. we'll just see if anything is done about it or not. as with EVERYTHING in king george's reign, everyone gets off scott free (or is that scooter free???)

Ashcroft Deal Brings Scrutiny in Justice Dept.

By PHILIP SHENON

WASHINGTON — When the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey needed to find an outside lawyer to monitor a large corporation willing to settle criminal charges out of court last fall, he turned to former Attorney General John Ashcroft, his onetime boss. With no public notice and no bidding, the company awarded Mr. Ashcroft an 18-month contract worth $28 million to $52 million.

That contract, which Justice Department officials in Washington learned about only several weeks ago, has prompted an internal inquiry into the department’s procedures for selecting outside monitors to police settlements with large companies.

The contract between Mr. Ashcroft’s consulting firm, the Ashcroft Group, and Zimmer Holdings, a medical supply company in Indiana, has also drawn the attention of Congressional investigators.

The New Jersey prosecutor, United States Attorney Christopher J. Christie, directed similar monitoring contracts last year to two other former Justice Department colleagues from the Bush administration, as well as to a former Republican state attorney general in New Jersey.,,,,,,,