Liberals often complain about the greed of profit-seeking corporations, while conservatives likewise complain about abuses by government officials. Both sides might take notice of something that seems to epitomize the worst of both worlds \u2013 government agencies that use their power to bolster their own budgets.<\/p>\n
An\u00a0eye-popping example<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 filled with\u00a0allegations of fraud, corruption, and official misconduct<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 is unfolding in a northern California legal case involving state and federal efforts to secure a massive financial settlement from the state’s largest land owner, Sierra Pacific Industries.<\/p>\n Authorities say a bulldozer from a subcontractor working for the Shasta County-based lumber company sparked the “Moonlight Fire” that burned 65,000 acres in northeast California in 2007. Sierra Pacific has long denied responsibility for it, but after a courtroom setback, the company agreed to a $55 million settlement and agreed to give the government 22,500 acres \u2013 much less than it could have owed if it lost a prolonged court battle.<\/p>\n But earlier this month, the government’s case continued to unravel. Sierra Pacific filed a\u00a0100-page motion<\/a>\u00a0with the U.S. District Court accusing prosecutors of fraud and a cover-up \u2014 and asking it to vacate the settlement.<\/p>\n Its filing included a 15-page declaration from a former U.S. Justice Department prosecutor who argued that it was the first time in his long career that he “was pressured to engage in unethical conduct as a lawyer.” E. Robert Wright said he was removed from the case given his “zero tolerance of litigation misconduct by the government.”<\/p>\n