By Diana Goovaerts
AT&T struck a deal with federal officials to resolve allegations it indirectly paid a state lawmaker in Illinois to secure support for legislation which freed it of an obligation to provide all residents in the state with landline phone services. An operator executive and two politicians involved in the scheme were separately charged in connection with the case.
The operator agreed to pay a $23 million fine and entered into a two-year deferred prosecution agreement. The latter will allow it to avoid going to court so long as it implements a new compliance and ethics program and provides annual reports to the government about its progress.
formatting link