A defense contractor connected to pork king John Murtha got raided today by federal agents.  Kuchera Industries, which has donated heavily to Murtha and the Democrats over the last four cycles, had investigators checking workers and removing files, led by the Department of Defense’s Inspector General and Criminal Investigations Divisions:

Federal agents raided Kuchera Industries, an area defense contractor located in Windber.

The entrance of the building was blocked by state and federal authorities. One by one, Kuchera employees drove off the property.

People who were working inside the building Thursday morning said about two dozen cars pulled into the parking lot around 9 a.m. Authorities form the FBI, IRS Criminal Division and others ordered employees to get their personal belongings and go to the front of the building.

Once there, each person was asked to provide their driver’s license, Social Security number and phone numbers. Each employee was also asked which department they worked in and what they get paid to do at Kuchera before they were escorted out of the building.

Some employees were given a business card of a contact person from the Office of Inspector General, the Department of Defense and the Criminal Division. Other personnel said boxes were taken from the building and loaded into a box truck.

The questions about job duties seem provocative.  Could the DoD believe that Kuchera is some sort of front organization?  The company employs 300 people, so it would have to involve a heavy amount of money.

Kuchera Industries has plenty of money, though, much of it ours.  Over the last eight years, Kuchera has won almost $40 million in federal contracts, most of it within the last three years, and most of it with limited or no competition.  Not coincidentally, Kuchera has spent a lot of money on politicians.  Donations from Kuchera amount to over $108,000 in the last four election cycles, and most of those donations have gone to Murtha himself or the DCCC.

We’ll try to keep a close eye on Murtha and Kuchera.  Obviously, the DoD wants to do the same thing, and they must have a reason for it.