Ellenese Brooks-Simms connected to another bribe scheme

It seems that Ellenese Brooks-Sims name has once again come up in a federal probe:

Norco businessman Burnell Moliere, president of the politically active janitorial services firm AME Services Inc., was charged in federal court Tuesday morning with helping former School Board president Ellenese Brooks-Simms gain access to at least $40,000 in bribes she took while on the board.

Moliere was charged in a bill of information, which typically means he has agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with investigators. The crime Moliere is accused of is called structuring, which means that investigators believe he accepted a check whose proceeds were intended for Brooks-Simms, and then paid her in smaller cash installments. The method is designed to avoid triggering reporting requirements that surround any transaction involving $10,000 in cash or more.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office said that some of the money meant for Brooks-Simms was given to "nominee payees" known to Brooks-Simms and Moliere. Moliere agreed to cash those checks, and then paid Brooks-Simms in "an elaborate series of subsequent financial transactions."

Moliere's janitorial-services firm has long been active in local politics and has held various public contracts. Among other things, the firm has held contracts to clean Louis Armstrong International Airport, the Downtown Development District and Orleans Parish public schools.

One thing I am very curious about is when a person is charged with a federal crime, are they still allowed to hold public contracts? Their contracts should be immediately canceled. Why should they pay legal expenses from proceeds derived from their ill gotten contracts? I know cronyism is not illegal but why should they continue to benefit?