Quite a story in the NYT today about the trial of David Brooks, CEO of a body-armor company who ripped off the US military for millions. Okay, maybe his $100,000 belt buckle was excessive. But the prostitutes? Totally legit.

His lawyers also defended the hiring of prostitutes for employees and board members, arguing in court papers that it represented a legitimate business expense "if Mr. Brooks thought such services could motivate his employees and make them more productive."

So you can cross the "prostitutes for his employees" right off the "university textbooks for his daughter, pornographic videos for his son, plastic surgery for his wife, a burial plot for his mother, prostitutes for his employees, and, for him, a $100,000 American-flag belt buckle encrusted with rubies, sapphires and diamonds" list of things David Brooks had his company, and, by extension, the U.S. military and, by extension, your tax dollars pay for.

Most shocking: Brooks is from Long Island.

[NYT. By A "to the G" Sulzberger the Younger, no less! Pic via]