Newspaper: Rendell must come clean on 'pay-to-play'

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says in an editorial today that a grand jury investigation may be warranted to investigate Gov. Ed Rendell and key members of his administration in what may be a pay-to-play scheme that directed a no-bid contract to a politically-connected firm.

The editorial is based on reporting by The Harrisburg Patriot-News involving a contract the Rendell administration awarded to Deloitte Consulting and its affiliates. The Patriot-News obtained a draft report of an audit conducted by Auditor General Jack Wagner, a Democrat.

From the editorial in the Pittsburgh paper:

The Wagner audit suggests the Rendell administration engaged in vendor favoritism and improperly employed no-bid contracts.

Furthermore, the auditor general says Deloitte, a financial consulting firm, benefited from inside information and questions another one of those funny job creation/job retention grants in which only one beneficiary -- Deloitte -- is apparent.

And then there are allegations of conflicts of interest involving the dealings of Rendell acolytes with the firm.

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