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ABC's Justice Department correspondent Pierre Thomas tried to attach the news hook of federal fiscal stimulus spending to undercover videotapes he obtained from the FBI. A Closer Look suggested that graft will increase as municipalities have more funds to disburse. His trio of examples out of 2430 corruption cases nationwide did little to support that conjecture. There was only one example of kickbacks--for a school construction project in Maryland's Prince George's County--and that amounted to a mere $1,000 payment. A second non-stimulus-related example involved a Louisiana judge bribed to shorten prison sentences. The star turn involved a sting operation by a pretend moneylaunderer not an actual criminal. The informant nailed a Tennessee sheriff named Billy Long but, watching the video, he seemed to be auditioning for a sequel to The Wire more than posing as a hardened narco. "The Lord is my shepherd," he joked about all the dollars he was pretending to handle. "He makes me lie down in green pastures."
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