Goldman Sachs fingers in the Post Office?

July 19, 2010 07:16


Bribery, kickbacks and corruption or simply conflict of interest?

By Jim McElhatton at Washington Times

When the U.S. Postal Service‘s top marketing officer agreed to hire Goldman Sachs nearly two years ago without a written contract, top executives inside postal headquarters scrambled to make the unauthorized deal square with postal procurement rules.

But the no-bid contract they eventually awarded to Goldman Sachs was backdated and was for the wrong kinds of services: The company was hired under a banking services agreement, but Goldman Sachs‘ postal work didn’t have anything to do with banking, records show. And the idea to hire the banking giant came from a top former postal executive who also served on the board of directors for a company where Goldman Sachs was a big investor.

In trying to fix a $1.5 million deal that already generated misgivings, officials may have only added to the list of problems that remain under review by the Postal Service‘s office of inspector general even after the contract’s expiration.

While officials at the inspector general’s office declined to discuss the pending inquiry, a spokeswoman confirmed last week that the office is conducting a post-audit contract review of the Goldman Sachs deal.

FULL STORY



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