Blah, blah, blah

Apparently, the punishment for corporate fraud is further bribery in Bush’s Department of Justice, according to a recent NYT article.

When facing charges for bribery and fraud, corporations can sideswipe criminal indictment by merely paying small token fees - “peanuts” compared to damages paid after criminal conviction.

For example, a medical supply company [Zimmer Holdings Inc.] avoided criminal prosecution by the Department of Justice by paying up to $52 million to the consulting firm of John Ashcroft, the former attorney general, to act as an “outside monitor.” Sounds like a little conflict of interest, no? or a “a backroom, sweetheart deal” in the words of the chairperson of a House Judiciary subcommittee.

Zimmer Holding’s crime: bribing surgeons to use and promote their knee and hip replacements.

In another instance, federal authorities concluded that Monsanto bribed Indonesian officials to loosen environmental regulations on its cotton crops. The punishment? $1 million to DoJ for monitoring and a promise to not bribe anyone else. Yeah, that’s all. WTF.

Previously rare, such agreements have become increasingly common - 35 deals in 2007 alone.