My May 3, 2009, post titled Bid-Rigging? linked readers to some indicators of bid-rigging, violations of federal anti-trust law.
Here is a recent example of a federal conviction for bid-rigging. The example and this Associated Press news story explains how sham bidding works. Though the guilty plea and conviction was for wire fraud, the crimes involved bribery to win federal government contracts for bullet-proof vests used by US troops and contractors in Iraq.