FBI Raids Defense Contractor Linked To Murtha

by Zachary Roth, TPM Muckracker: Local media in western Pennsylvania is reporting that FBI agents have raided the offices of a defense contractor in the area, which has received millions of dollars in earmarks at the request of earmark king Rep. John Murtha (D-PA). According to The Hill, picking up on the local reports, Murtha engineered $8.2 million in federal defense earmarks last year on behalf of the company, Kuchera Industries and Kuchera Defense Systems. A local TV station adds that the IRS was also involved in the raid, and that Bill Kuchera's home and "game preserve," a 161,00 acre property, were raided as well. The report also notes, intriguingly, that signs on the property call it a "U.S. government test facility."

In recent years the politically active company has given Murtha more than $56,000 in contributions, according to The Hill. And CEO Bill Kuchera served on the board of a non-profit founded by a former Murtha aide. The paper adds:

Kuchera has several Pentagon contracts that could be worth more than $100 million over a decade, including parts used in air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, and robots used in dangerous war zones to patrol vehicles for booby traps and bombs.

Murtha's career was nearly derailed in the 1980's after he was caught on tape telling an undercover FBI agent he might want money for his district in exchange for legislative favors -- and he regularly appears on good-government groups' lists of the most corrupt members of Congress.

Murtha won't let military directly lobby for their needs

Psycmeistr at Murtha Must Go: It has long been known that Jack Murtha has been living high off the hog with regard to earmarks that have been given to his military contracting buddies. As a matter of fact, he's making such good money from his beneficiaries that he wants to streamline the earmark process: He plans to bypass advice by members of the military altogether. The House’s top defense appropriator has pledged to help strengthen the role of the Pentagon’s comptroller in an effort to curb lobbying by the military services for their controversial programs.

As I've stated before, Jack Murtha does nothing without there being something in it for Jack Murtha. To Jack Murtha, the military is merely a tool he uses to keep his fat backside in power, or to advance his political career, a/la his slanderous declaration of guilt toward the Haditha Marines.I don't know; perhaps I'm a bit too cynical. I'm absolutely positive that there is no lobbying going on when Concurrent Technologies receives a taxpayer-funded porkbarrel contract to the tune of $200 million dollars... or is there?

Yet, the Murtha situation is very troubling when you look at CTC’s Form 990. With the exception of three individuals listed on the schedule of officers and directors, all have contributed to Murtha’s congressional campaigns since 2002.[SNIP]

The Times also notes that CTC has paid somewhere around $500,000 to a lobbying firm. The lobbying firm's executives and clients have contributed over $1.2 million to Murtha in campaign contributions (the Times refers to these as donations) since 1999 according to the Times.

So we have a congressman who was a driving force behind the creation of this tax-exempt entity. That same congressman is earmarking significant amounts of money to that organization. Those who are in control of the organization (several of whom
receive significant salaries from CTC) contribute large amounts of money to the
congressman’s campaign. We can only wonder how the entity distributes the
federal grant money within the local community.>

I mean, with sweetheart deals like that, why should Murtha even bother to take the time listen to those pesky military folks who actually know what they need? I mean, there's gold in them there earmarks, right, Jihad Jack?

Murtha Defined

H/T to "mdconservative" for the following:

Murtha Defined:
Military Undermining Rhetoric Tactically Helping Adversaries