The California Department of Justice concealed tens of millions of dollars worth of contracts with lobbyists, consultants, legal firms -- even couriers and parking garages -- in violation of its own confidentiality rules, an Associated Press investigation has found.

An internal agency review, conducted at AP's request, found information on scores of contracts, many of them no-bid contracts, were erroneously labeled ``confidential'' and omitted from computerized state records, shielding the agreements from public view.