Oracle Contract Probe Continues

The head of a legislative committee says a decision by a computer software vendor to withhold information from the state about a potentially costly contract borders on criminality. The 95-million dollar, no-bid contract with Oracle Corporation was initially touted as a way for the state to save 16 million dollars through volume purchases and maintenance of database software. The state auditor says it could end up costing the state up to 41 million dollars more than if it had kept its previous software supply arrangements.