Murtha nephew name-dropped for no-bid, no-work contracts

posted at 8:47 am on May 12, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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When the Washington Post first reported Robert Murtha’s luck in landing no-bid contracts for warehousing from the Pentagon, Rep. John Murtha’s nephew claimed that his last name not only didn’t help his business, it sometimes acted as an handicap on building relationships with the DoD.  If so, Murtha must have built some significant muscle tone throwing it around all over Washington.  The Post follows up a week later with documents showing that Murtha dropped his uncle’s name frequently to get business, especially those special contracts where he got paid for doing nothing:

Robert C. Murtha Jr. has made a sizable living for years working with companies that rely on Pentagon contracts over which his uncle,  Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), holds considerable sway.

He has maintained that his uncle played no role in his defense-related work, much of it secured without competition. Newly obtained documents, however, show Robert Murtha mentioning his influential family connection as leverage in his business dealings and holding unusual power with the military. The documents add to mounting questions about Rep. Murtha, whose use of federal earmarks to help favored defense companies and whose relationship with a former lobbying firm are under scrutiny by federal investigators.

The congressman has used his control over Pentagon funds to build a hub of defense-related industry in his congressional district and has also received generous campaign donations from the companies.

Robert Murtha, an engineer, benefited from some of the defense contracts when companies brought him in to manage a small portion of the work. Even when the main contract shifted to a new company, he continued to be paid as part of the team. Some former business associates and employees told The Washington Post that they thought the role played by Robert Murtha’s companies was unnecessary.

Jeff Curtis, an engineer who worked for Robert Murtha’s company in 2001, contacted The Post to say that he and some co-workers did virtually no work on a project to make kits to test for biological agents. Curtis said he remains “furious” that taxpayer dollars were wasted.

In the case of Murtech, the nephew got involved in defense contracts pushed by his more famous uncle.  Carol Leonnig writes that John Murtha got behind a Pentagon effort to buy gear to protect soldiers from biological and chemical warfare while his nephew got ahead of it.  As the contract moved from company to company, one constant remained: Robert.  Wherever the contract went, so did Robert, who eventually started his own company to gain contracts himself.

Robert didn’t act like a shrinking violet, either.  He let people know in written correspondence that Robert was the key to managing the contract.  If the name “Murtha” was ever a hindrance to him, Robert certainly didn’t act like it.  As an employee of a subcontractor, one would have expected Robert to follow orders from the prime contractor NMS Imaging, but instead he demanded — and received — a transfer of operations to Johnstown, his uncle’s power base  That doesn’t sound like Robert was embarrassed by the family name, but it does sound like he was doing his uncle’s bidding, and getting paid to do it.

NMS eventually lost the contract, but not before they questioned Robert’s role in the process.  In 2000, the Pentagon invoiced NMS for the same services from ACS Design and Murtech, which was then just a consulting firm for Robert.  When NMS questioned the Pentagon on why they wanted both companies paid for the same work, the Pentagon replied, “Please expedite.”

Organized-crime families arrange for no-show positions, too.

Update: The NRCC has a new microsite dedicated to John Murtha’s airport.  Book your flights today!

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