Ruling: State bungled bidding
Source: J. Andrew Curliss, News Observer (NC), April 29, 2006
The state mishandled the seemingly easy task of buying paper clips, pencils and other supplies, a judge ruled Friday. After four days of testimony, including a focus on ethics in government, Administrative Law Judge Beecher "Gus" Gray said the state's handling of its office supplies contract appeared unethical and was unfair.
....... A big issue in the hearings was the state's hiring of consulting company Accenture to help prepare and evaluate the bids. The state paid Accenture $300,000 for the work, according to court documents and the company. Accenture has received millions from Office Depot under separate contracts at the corporate level.
Other documents in the case -- one was described by Corporate Express lawyers as the "smoking gun" -- showed that Accenture played a role in deciding a key point: that extra weight would go to bidders with retail outlets.