Massive bid-rigging scam alleged in Iraq

Let’s add this one to the list:

A criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Washington on Wednesday alleges a web of corruption and bid rigging in Iraq by officials who worked with the now-defunct Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S.-led agency that ran Iraq for more than a year after the 2003 invasion.

The complaint accuses an American-Romanian businessman, Philip H. Bloom, of paying officials from the coalition’s south-central region “bribes, kickbacks and gratuities, amounting to at least $200,000 per month,” in order to obtain reconstruction contracts through a bid-rigging scam.

According to the complaint, Bloom “conspired with United States government contract employees and military officials to obtain fraudulently government contracts.” MSNBC.com

Somewhat related the Wallstreet Journal has a new poll that puts Bush’s approval rating at 34 percent and VP Cheney’s at 30. (link)