I told you it was never ending.

The LA Times uncovers the latest candidate for the Scandal Scorecard.

"WASHINGTON — A senior Defense Department official is under investigation by the Pentagon inspector general for allegations that he attempted to alter a contract proposal in Iraq to benefit a mobile phone consortium that includes friends and colleagues, according to documents obtained by The Times and sources with direct knowledge of the process.

"John A. Shaw, 64, the deputy undersecretary for international technology security, sought to transform a relatively minor police and fire communications proposal into a contract allowing the creation of an Iraq-wide commercial cellular network that could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue per year, the sources said.

"Shaw brought pressure on officials at the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad to change the contract language and grant the consortium a noncompetitive bid, according to the sources."

This isn't just a matter of a bureaucrat trying to steer some pork to a friend or two. This is the kind of scandal that endangers lives.

"Shaw's efforts resulted in a dispute at the Coalition Provisional Authority that has delayed the contract, depriving U.S. military officials and Iraqi police officers, firefighters, ambulance drivers and border guards of a joint communications system," according to the Times report.

On top of that, this kind of corruption tends to drive away the people who are working hard under trying circumstances to do things right. Daniel Sudnick, senior advisor to Iraq's minister of communications, and a chief deputy, Bonnie Carroll, resigned after refusing to comply with Shaw's demands that they alter contracts to satisfy his goals.

Scandalous.