In 2005, Thompson was on a panel considering competitive bids for a state travel contract worth up to $250,000 annually over three years. The contract was awarded to Adelman Travel, whose bid was lower than the other finalist, Omega Travel of
Virginia, although Omega's bid scored higher on a point formula used by the department. It emerged that during the 2006 re-election campaign of
Democratic Gov.
Jim Doyle, two Adelman executives including owner Craig Adelman had each contributed $10,000 to the Doyle campaign, even though in previous years, including Doyle's first gubernatorial campaign, they had never given more than $1,000. In January 2006, Thompson was
indicted on charges that she steered the contract to Adelman as a reward for its campaign contributions. According to the indictment, Thompson "intentionally inflated her scores for Adelman and suggested that other committee members do the same." After Omega still came out ahead, the indictment said, Thompson convinced the panel to do a "best and final" bid round between just the two companies, which Adelman won. Thompson was indicted on two felony counts, misapplication of funds and fraud. Later that month, Gov. Doyle cancelled the Adelman contract, but the campaign did not return the contributions. In June 2006, a federal jury convicted Thompson of both felony counts. According to
United States Attorney Steven Biskupic, although there was no "pay to play" deal alleged, the contributions were part of an overall scheme that constituted
honest services fraud. Trial testimony showed that Doyle and his aide Marc Marotta had meetings and phone contacts with Adelman executives during the bidding period; according to Doyle's top aide Steve Bablitch, no connection with the Governor was shown at trial. Members of the committee also testified that Thompson had told them that the contract needed to go to Adelman for "political reasons." Doyle and Marotta were not charged. According to Doyle, Thompson acted on her own, and prosecutor Biskupic said the case was about "Georgia Thompson and Georgia Thompson alone." Thompson had resigned her position before Doyle could fire her. Although Thompson faced a maximum of 20 years in federal prison, she was sentenced by U.S. District Judge
Rudolph T. Randa to 18 months.{{cite news The Court of Appeals issued its written opinion in
United States v. Thompson on April 20, 2007. The Wisconsin Department of Administration also announced that Thompson had been reinstated at her old salary but in a different job, and she would receive back pay dating from her resignation. She would also be eligible for reimbursement for legal expenses, but she would have to file a claim.{{cite news == Awards and recognition ==