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Gov. Ritter Steered Stimulus Money To Ex-Employer

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Jul 10, 2009 1:59 pm US/Mountain

Gov. Ritter Steered Stimulus Money To Ex-Employer

DENVER (AP) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Gov. Bill Ritter
CBS

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Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter has awarded some of the state's first stimulus money to his former employer in a no-bid contract.

Ritter hired his former law firm, the Washington-based Hogan & Hartson, in a no-bid contract to review stimulus spending, The Denver Post reported Friday. It said the firm was paid $40,000 in stimulus money through June.

Aides to the governor insisted the contract was properly awarded. The state attorney general's office deemed the contract necessary to allow the state to have speedy legal advice about stimulus money. The contract is too small to require competitive bidding.

Ritter worked for the Denver office of Hogan & Hartson in 2005, leaving the following year when he ran for governor. The law firm has about 1,300 lawyers across the country and specializes in public finance, real estate, white-collar litigation and environmental and governmental regulation.

Many of Hogan's lawyers are Ritter supporters, and two who work directly on the state's stimulus issues are contributors.

A managing partner for the firm, Cole Finegan, told the Post that the work was of "tremendous importance." Colorado was due to receive about $3 billion in stimulus spending.

"This is an area where we have great expertise, and obviously we want to be helpful to the state in ensuring Colorado gets its fair share of stimulus money," he said.