Is The U.S. Government Guilty of Racketeering Against Black Ad Agencies?
By Ken Smikle (April 23, 2002) Can the U.S. government be sued for its role in the underpayment or non-payment of minority advertising agencies handling federal accounts? Can it held accountable for the lack of compliance by the major ad agencies it hires? When the Rev. Al Sharpton announced two weeks ago that he was teaming up with attorney Johnnie Cochran to file just such a suit, he caught his supporters and detractors off guard. Is such a lawsuit possible? How could you prove your case? There was no question about whether there was a basis for the allegation of the improper procurement and under-payments. On numerous occasions, the U.S. government has made the case against itself and the agencies it hired to subcontract with minority shops. The most recent citing of such non-compliance was the executive order issued by President Clinton in the fall of 2000. It sought to obtain compliance with regulations already on the books for how government agencies spend hundreds of millions in
