In documents filed with the federal district court in Manhattan this morning, Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) for the first time included evidence of bribery in the $18 billion judgment against the company levied by an Ecuadoran court nearly two years ago. Chevron today presented a declaration from a former Ecuadorian judge who says he and another former judge effectively allowed the plaintiffs’ attorneys to write the 188-page judgement against Chevron in exchange for $500,000.

In July another federal judge declared that another “ghostwriting” scandal “unquestionably” occurred in the preparation of a report by a court-appointed expert.

Chevron is not off the hook completely, however, according to a report in Forbes. The former Ecuadorian judge who made the declaration filed today has received $38,000 from Chevron to pay for physical evidence he has turned over and to pay the former judge’s family $10,000 a month for living expenses and $2,000 a month for housing, insurance and legal fees.

The Forbes article is available here and offers a good summary of the twists and turns of this massive litigation.

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