Twenty-three Ex-Prosecutors Selected as Corporate Monitors
The Department of Justice has appointed 30 former government officials, including prosecutors, to monitor companies seeking to avoid prosecution.
Figures released yesterday by the Justice Department show 23 former prosecutors were among the monitors selected, the New York Times reports. They include former U.S. attorneys Debra Wong Yang in Los Angeles and David Kelley in Manhattan. Also on the list is James Doty, the former general counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Corporate monitors can earn as much as $1,000 an hour from companies they are hired to scrutinize under deferred prosecution agreements, leading some critics to complain of “sweetheart deals.” Former Attorney General John Ashcroft was among the appointees. His consulting firm stands to earn $52 million under the monitor agreement, the Times story says.
Critics are pushing for more accountability in the selection of monitors.
