Northern Virginia Public Corruption Task Force

The Washington Post reports on the formation of the new Northern Virginia Public Corruption/Government Fraud Task Force, composed of eight federal agencies:

"We're not standing here saying that the environment is systemic of corruption," Joseph Persichini Jr., head of the FBI's Washington field office, said at a news conference announcing the initiative. "It's reasonable to believe that if a high amount of dollars are coming into a region, that's opportunity. ... We believe that every citizen is entitled to ethical public service." ...

Persichini said business leaders should be careful when they seek contracts and other government dollars. "If you are confronted with a public official who is attempting to extort you, that's the ethical decision you have to make," he said. "In the very difficult economic conditions we have today, we want to make sure that people know we are out there."