Giuliani firm was hired to secure business

BOCA RATON, Fla., Dec. 14 (UPI) -- A Florida company hired the consulting firm of Rudolph Giuliani under an agreement that Giuliani Partners would be paid in part for securing business.

The co-founder of Seisint of Boca Raton says the deal was that the former New York mayor's high profile and connections would help the start-up company obtain federal contracts as well as non-government work, The New York Times reported Friday. Giuliani has slipped in recent polls but remains among the front-runners for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

"They were being compensated on a success basis," says co-founder Michael Brauser. "If they brought us to Company X, and Company X hires us or a government agency hires us and we receive fees, they would be compensated."

Federal law prohibits payment of a commission in return for a federal contract.

A spokesman for Giuliani Partners says the firm was paid bonuses, not commissions, by Seisint based on the overall growth of Seisint sales, not any particular contracts.

However, a copy of the minutes of a Seisint board meeting cites a contract based on a finder's fee.

Seisint was bought by the Reed Elsevier Group, owner of LexisNexis, in 2004.