A prominent lobbyist with close ties to Democratic Congressman John Murtha is closing his firm, weeks after federal prosecutors raided his office and his home. Paul Magliocchetti’s firm, the PMA Group, is one of the ten largest lobbying firms in Washington. The New York Times says Magliocchetti helped pioneer the lucrative specialty of helping contractors lobby for military earmarks, pet spending items that members of the panel insert in annual spending bills. Magliocchetti is very close to Murtha, chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Since 1998, employees of PMA have contributed nearly $8 million to members on the House defense spending panel and $2.4 million to Murtha.