Legal News

New Jersey U.S. Attorney Under Fire for No-Bid Contracts

By Dan Slater

We must confess, when it comes to politics in the Garden State we don’t keep as current as we should. But today our eye caught on a story about New Jersey U.S attorney Christopher Christie, and not just because his name sounds cool.

Known for his aggressive tactics in battling alleged corruption by high-ranking officials — such as Sharpe James, the former mayor of Newark, Wayne Bryant, a former state Senator from Camden, and New Jersey’s former governor, Jim McGreevey — Christie has recently been put on the defensive for allegations that he awarded millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to his political allies, including former U.S. attorney general John Ashcroft.

According to the NYT, Christie (University of Delaware, Seton Hall Law) handed Ashcroft, who now runs a consulting firm called the Ashcroft Group, an 18-month contract worth between $28 million and $52 million to monitor Zimmer Holdings, an Indiania-based medical supply company. According to this past report on the investigation into Christie, he awarded similar monitoring contracts last year to two other former DOJ colleagues from the Bush administration. Christie worked on the campaign of George H.W. Bush, and as a fundraiser in 2000 for George W. Bush, who appointed him U.S. attorney.

Other alleged beneficiaries of Christie’s contracts have included those assigned to monitor companies that sign deferred prosecution agreements — legal settlements that allow companies to avoid criminal charges by agreeing to pay damages and be overseen by a monitor.

While Christie declined to speak to the NYT, the Times said he has reportedly insisted that Ashcroft’s contract was based on merit rather than political loyalty or a wish to curry political favor. According to the NYT, political leaders in New Jersey believe Christie plans to run for governor next year.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on February 13, 2008 (boomark / email).