But the cases arising since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have also involved conflicts that go beyond ethnicity and often range across the political spectrum.
Two years ago, Mr. Gaffney's former law partner, Allan D. Grecco, quit as Suffolk's real estate director after critics charged that land purchases he oversaw involved conflicts of interest, insider deals and overpaying by millions of dollars.
The rift has been most pronounced between top lawyers in the State Department and the Pentagon, though it has also involved conflicts among career Justice Department lawyers and political appointees throughout the national security agencies.
At one time, the federal mail and wire fraud statutes were used against corporate leaders who breached the duty of honest services that involved conflicts of interest and other actions that put their own interests ahead of those of an employer.
The second most common problem (17%) involved conflicts among patients, physicians, team members, or families around goal setting.
They also managed two private equity funds that received $15 million from Nashville's pension fund; an auditor's report said the deal involved conflicts of interest and almost no due diligence.
