Celebrating Five Years Of Fraud
Stephanie Lambidakis is a CBS News producer based in Washington.
While there is no let-up in the corporate fraud crackdown, there was an unmistakable air of back-patting in the stately Great Hall today. Gonzales presented the head of the Corporate Fraud Task Force, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, with an actual medal. Then there was a reception, which by the brown-bag standards of the federal workforce, seemed downright lavish. This was a fully-catered affair with waiters in black tie and chafing dishes filled with giant shrimp, smoked salmon in puff pastry, and scallops wrapped in bacon. The staple of Justice Department functions, the pink punch was replaced by elegant glasses of iced tea and refreshing lemonade.
It was the kind of event that a Bernie Ebbers or Martha Stewart would instantly feel at home attending. McNulty's office spent several thousand dollars on the reception -- this in addition to the costs incurred with flying United States Attorneys to Washington to bask in the glow of the five year anniversary. This comes at a time when US Attorneys all across the country are begging for more resources and are being told money is too tight. Sure, this wasn't a $2-million dollar toga party thrown by now-imprisoned Tyco chief Dennis Kozlowski, but in a department that has cracked down on corporate excess, the sight of officials holding china piled high with hors d'oeuvres during the middle of a workday seemed excessive in its own way.