Hundreds of billions of dollars will be sent out by the federal government over the next few years as part of the stimulus plan passed by Congress a few weeks ago, and some question how well it will be spent.  ProPublica’s Michael Grabell has an eye-opening story up today detailing the hurdles faced by regulators and watchdog groups who are tasked with preventing fraud and abuse:

Though most of the money will flow through states, some of the projects will be managed by local and regional authorities that have proliferated in recent decades but get little scrutiny. Obscure federal agencies that have mismanaged funds in the past will now have billions to spend. And relentlessly, fraud experts say, the common huckster will try to make a buck by rigging a bid or overbilling the government.

Grabell’s main example is a shopping mall complex in New Jersey called Xanadu, but he names several others, including a somewhat obscure USDA program designed to expand broadband access to rural parts of the country.  In 2005, a report by the inspector general found that the program had been abused, paying for broadband lines in affulent suburbs near Houston, Texas.  The broadband program’s budget will be increased from $300 million to $2.5 billion next year.