Friday, December 28, 2007

Rudy Rep'd For Oxycontin Makers

Rudy tries to keep his client list a secret, but as more investigations are done into his past, the more companies and countries of ill repute come out as having contracts with Rudy's security firm Giuliani Partners. The latest uncovering is that of his ties to Purdue Pharma, best known for its product Oxycontin which is basically a legal narcotic. It is used widely on the street as another drug to be abused, popularized by right wing bigot and radio host extraordinaire Rush Limbaugh. Purdue had some trouble with the Drug Enforcement Agency (leading to several guilty verdicts) and enlisted Rudy for name support.

From The New York Times:

A former top federal prosecutor, Mr. Giuliani participated in two meetings between Purdue officials and the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the agency investigating the company. Giuliani Partners took on the job of monitoring security improvements at company facilities making OxyContin, an issue of concern to the D.E.A.

As a celebrity, Mr. Giuliani helped the company win several public relations battles, playing a role in an effort by Purdue to persuade an influential Pennsylvania congressman, Curt Weldon, not to blame it for OxyContin abuse.

Despite these efforts, Purdue suffered a crushing defeat in May at the hands of Mr. Brownlee when the company and three top executives pleaded guilty to criminal charges.


Basically Purdue wanted Rudy to lobby for them (which is illegal in a case like this) to avoid prosecution and Congressional scrutiny. Thankfully, the DEA was better at prosecuting than Giuliani was at defending the drug dealers makers. Rudy declined to comment for the story, as he has for the rest of the inquiries into Giuliani Partners. He says he no longer does the day to day stuff with the company, but he was involved at the pertinent time and obviously the firm still sports his influential name.

Just another nail in the bastard's coffin.