I think this highlights one of the major differences between Australia and the US, in the US there appears to be some tolerance to arseholes as long as they are bringing in the $$. In Australia, the arseholes tend to get kicked regardless of how wealthy they are, in fact the more wealthy the bigger the target. In general it appears that bribery (in it's many forms) is less than in the US, wealth in and of itself does not impress people.