Help Us Keep an Eye on Stimulus Contractors

by Sebastian Jones, ProPublica - January 12, 2010 12:27 am EST
As we noted on Monday, the nonprofit investigative outlet California Watch has a new story out on how large corporations like Boeing, BP and Rio Tinto have secured tens of millions in stimulus dollars despite previous pollution fines and alleged fraud, with Boeing actually getting a contract to monitor a site it was previously fined for polluting. It’s just the latest story in a category that interests us: past transgressions by contractors that have become stimulus winners. We plan to keep scrutinizing firms in this second year of stimulus spending. If you’ve spotted other contractors with past misconduct, e-mail us. ProPublica first reported on the issue last May, uncovering the fact that companies getting millions in stimulus cash had been fined for pollution and environmental destruction or investigated for refusing to hire black employees. One stimulus contractor had been rebuked for poorly screening interrogators who later abused prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Read more…