Gingrich backer: Medicare fraud questions 'fair game' for Romney
Medicare fraud questions 'fair game' for Romney
Jacksonville, Florida (CNN) - A super PAC supporting Newt Gingrich is hitting the Florida airwaves Friday with a television ad that essentially accuses Mitt Romney of committing Medicare fraud.
And now one of Gingrich's leading backers in Florida, former Attorney General Bill McCollum, is also raising questions about a Massachusetts medical testing company called Damon Corp. that pleaded guilty in 1996 to fraudulently billing Medicare and paid a $119 million fine.
Romney sat on the board of directors of Damon Corp. after his private equity firm Bain Capital took control of the company in 1989. The fraudulent billing occurred while Romney was on the board, and he personally profited when Bain sold off the firm in 1993.
Romney was never implicated in any wrongdoing, but McCollum, a co-chair of Gingrich's Florida campaign, told CNN that the episode raises questions that are "fair game" in a political campaign.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/27/top-gingrich-backer-medicare-fraud-questions-fair-game-for-romney/