Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: kumar who wrote (44723)	9/17/2002 8:40:48 AM
From: Ilaine	Respond to of 281500

and the lobbyists for Boeing or <name your corporation>, live in DC on my $50 contribution True, but every corporation and every organization has a lobbyist in DC. There are gazillions of them. Did you know that people who blow the whistle on government corruption can get paid for doing so? Let's say you work for a Beltway Bandit, and you find out that your boss is paying off government officials to get special deals. The famous $400 toilet seats or something like that. If you blow the whistle and the government doesn't step in to make them clean up their act, you can sue the Beltway Bandit in the name of the government. This is called a "qui tam" lawsuit. I know lawyers who got very rich handling qui tam lawsuits, aka whistleblower lawsuits. Even petty graft gets reported. I have a client who filed a complaint because his office accepted a plate of pastries every week from a contractor. Everybody he works with thinks he's a major pain in the ass, but the house counsel made them stop accepting the pastries.