Mr. Pataki, who has been criticized for filling top jobs with patronage appointees who have questionable qualifications, said in a statement that he had directed his commissioners to start eliminating political positions, including those at top levels.

Meanwhile, the information vacuum was being filled by "experts" who came forward, some with questionable qualifications.

Some of the cosmetic clinics, which were price-orientated and which used these cheap implants, employed surgeons with questionable qualifications.

Beyond questionable qualifications, this system also led to the problem that if a boy held more than one office there would be a vacancy on the Board.

It is also a haven for junior-college transfers with questionable academic qualifications.

The report, however, makes clear that people around Mr. Clinton knew that Mr. Huang had questionable qualifications for his Government and political jobs.

In fact, while criticism has often focused on the questionable academic qualifications of many teachers, the report found that school administrators typically had substantially lower scores on the Graduate Record Examination than the teachers they supervise.

But some say the response is symptomatic of a culture where municipal jobs are often doled out to friends, even those with questionable qualifications.

Yet Mr. Martinez's questionable qualifications are only part of this story.

Three leading members of President Duarte's party, who declined to be identified, said in interviews that the senior Duarte has permitted the creation of a corrupt party machine managed by inefficient bureaucrats with questionable qualifications.