A couple of things all the 'experts' in how the government works here seem to have overlooked-
1) 'Quid pro quo' is a lot harder than it seems- it requires Zimmerman to commit a crime, then trust that Nestle will take care of him after. This is pretty rare.
2) Zimmerman does have value to Nestle, though, in the form of knowledge of USFS processes, like the renewal process. If he weren't hired by Nestle I'm sure he would be hired by another company for this knowledge.
3) If any corruption did occur, it was probably in the form of one of Nestle's senators tapping the shoulder of the director of the USFS, leading to direct or indirect pressure to not review the permits. This could be very subtle (i.e. budget is cut, word comes down from on high that something else is highest priority, and if it ain't broke don't fix it).
1) 'Quid pro quo' is a lot harder than it seems- it requires Zimmerman to commit a crime, then trust that Nestle will take care of him after. This is pretty rare.
2) Zimmerman does have value to Nestle, though, in the form of knowledge of USFS processes, like the renewal process. If he weren't hired by Nestle I'm sure he would be hired by another company for this knowledge.
3) If any corruption did occur, it was probably in the form of one of Nestle's senators tapping the shoulder of the director of the USFS, leading to direct or indirect pressure to not review the permits. This could be very subtle (i.e. budget is cut, word comes down from on high that something else is highest priority, and if it ain't broke don't fix it).