John Rendon of the Rendon Group likes to quote gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson's remark: "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Jeff Stein thinks this is probably an apt characterization of Rendon's current PR work for the Pentagon. In a profile of Rendon's past work for clients such as the Kuwaiti Royal Family, the embattled Colombian Army and the CIA, Stein paints a picture of corruption and ineptitude. Accoding to a former CIA agent who worked with Rendon's effort to topple Saddam Hussein, the operation was "a $150 million rip-off," in which the money actually "went to consultants in Washington -- millions, and millions, and millions of dollars."