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Journal reporter addresses corruption in
federal purchasing programs

Andrew Pasztor

A senior investigative reporter with the Wall Street Journal will visit Sacramento State to discuss ethics in the federal government at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 14 in the University Union’s Hinde Auditorium. 

Andrew Pasztor, who has been with the Journal for almost 30 years, has covered a wide range of stories for the publication including the Iran-Contra scandal, the Persian Gulf War and corruption in the Pentagon. He currently covers defense-related topics, white-collar crime, aviation safety and the global satellite industry. 

Pasztor’s talk will center on multi-billion dollar government contracts tainted by flagrant violations and scandals and corruption in the federal acquisition process.

He will also discuss high-profile criminal probes of some of America’s most renowned companies including aerospace giant Boeing Co., which was involved in the largest procurement scandal to hit the Pentagon. 

“Over the past two decades, Congress, the Pentagon and other executive branch agencies have created a torrent of laws and regulations to protect against corruption in acquisition decisions,” says Pasztor. “But, federal initiatives failed to solve many basic problems and voluntary disclosure efforts by industry also have fallen short.”

Pasztor is an award-winning author. His book, When the Pentagon was for Sale, is an investigative report on corruption in the U.S. defense industry before and after the fall of communism.

The lecture is presented by the Center for Practical and Professional Ethics through a grant by the Sacramento Region Community Foundation. The center was founded in 2005 by the Philosophy Department as a complement to the department’s teaching and scholarly focus on ethics.

For more information on the Center, contact Christina Bellon at 278-4162, or visit their website at www.csus.edu/cppe.