Feds intervene in lawsuit

GULFPORT, Miss. - The federal government has intervened in a so-called "whistleblower" lawsuit that accuses several companies and former government employees of rigging a winning bid for a $3.2 billion contract at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

The lawsuit, unsealed Wednesday by a federal judge in Gulfport, claims three former or current federal employees conspired to steer a computer project to Science Applications International Corp. A company started by one of those former employees had teamed up with Science Applications to bid on the contract.

The defendants allegedly shared secret information about the bidding process with Science Applications and chose a type of contract that favored the company's successful bid in 2004.