LAWS BEARING UPON BIDS FOR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS ARE INTENDED TO REQUIRE COMPETITIVE BIDDING SO THAT THE GOVERNMENT WILL OBTAIN A SERVICE OR PRODUCE AT THE LOWEST MARKET PRICE. WHEN COLLUSIVE BIDDING OCCURS, COMPANIES JOINTLY SCHEME TO DISTRIBUTE BUSINESS AMONG THEMSELVES AT A HIGHER PRICE THAN WOULD RESULT FROM TRUE COMPETITIVE BIDDING. IN THE CASE DESCRIBED HERE, DESCRIPTIVE AND INFERENTIAL STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WAS APPLIED TO THE BID DATA. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS SUMMARIZE THE DATA IN A CONVENIENT FORM; INFERENTIAL STATISTICS USE THE DATA TO DRAW INFERENCES ABOUT HYPOTHESES OR PARAMETER ESTIMATES. NEITHER TECHNIQUE, HOWEVER, CAN SUBSTITUTE FOR EVIDENCE THAT LINKS THE ACTORS TO COLLUSIVE ACTS. THE ANALYTIC TECHNIQUES REPORTED CAN PROVIDE INVESTIGATORS WITH LEADS GENERATED BY THE HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIOS OF WHAT HAPPENED, WHEN IT HAPPENED, AND BY WHICH FIRMS. THEY CAN BE USED TO CONVINCE A JUDGE TO ISSUE WARRANTS AND SUBPOENAS AND DEMONSTRATE PROBABLE CAUSE TO A GRAND JURY FOR THE SECURING OF INDICTMENTS. THEY CAN ALSO BE USEFUL IN RULING OUT COLLUSIVE BEHAVIOR SO AS TO AVOID A FRUITLESS INVESTIGATION. GRAPHIC DATA, NOTES, AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)