The Washington Post continues its excellent and brutal coverage of military contracting by Robert Murtha, nephew of Rep. John Murtha (D, Pa.).
Robert Murtha, an engineer, benefited from some of the defense contracts when companies brought him in to manage a small portion of the work. Even when the main contract shifted to a new company, he continued to be paid as part of that work…
Jeff Curtis, an engineer who worked for Robert Murtha’s company in 2001, contacted The Post to say that he and some co-workers did virtually no work on a project to make kits to test for biological agents…”I was always thinking, ‘Why is the government paying this company?’ ” said Curtis…”If it’s fair to have this kind of no-bid work, I’ll start a company and do it for half as much. Because this company didn’t do anything.
The full piece is a must-read. Of critical importance is e-mail evidence that the younger Murtha pressured the contractors he worked with to move their work to Johnstown as a condition for “keeping funds flowing.” (PMA Group also receives a mention near the bottom.) Rep. Murtha did not answer the Post’s questions for the story, either.