Newspaper: Investigation of Rendell warranted

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is calling for a criminal investigation of Gov. Ed Rendell's latest "play-to-play" scheme, this one involving the awarding of a no-bid state contract to a law firm that contributed generously to Rendell's 2006 re-election campaign.

From the editorial:

A troubling trail has been exposed that has all the appearances of a pay-to-play scheme and a quid pro quo involving Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.

The Wall Street Journal documents campaign contributions to Mr. Rendell between February and October 2006 of more than $90,000 from attorney F. Kenneth Bailey. In August 2006, Mr. Bailey's law firm -- Bailey Perrin Bailey LLP of Houston, Texas -- was awarded a lucrative no-bid contingency fee contract to represent Pennsylvania in a lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

In a case that state Attorney General Tom Corbett thought lacked merit, the Rendell administration alleges Janssen improperly marketed a drug for off-label use.

Rendell has awarded more than $1 billion in no-bid contracts to politically-connected firms during his six years as governor. Too much taxpayer money is changing hands without any accountability.

From the Tribune-Review:

Gov. Ed Rendell denies any impropriety. But the smoke on this one is dense. It behooves the U.S. Department of Justice to see if there's any fire.

Read the full editorial at the newspaper's Web site.