More Iraq Waste, Fraud and Abuse Detailed

Audit Finds Millions Wasted in Iraq Reconstruction Contract

Monday 28 July 2008

»

by: Agence France-Presse

 

Washington – Millions of dollars were likely wasted on a $900 million army contract to build courthouses, prisons, police and other security facilities in Iraq, an audit released Monday has found.

    The audit by the congressionally appointed Special Inspector General for Iraq, Stuart Bowen, found that the contractor, Parsons Delaware Inc., completed only about a third of 53 planned construction projects.

    ”Although the failure to complete some of the work is understandable because of its complex nature and the unstable security environment in Iraq, millions of dollars in waste are likely associated with incomplete, terminated and abandoned projects under this contract,” the audit report said.

    The contract was one of a dozen design-build construction contracts awarded by the army in 2004 to restore Iraq’s infrastructure in broad areas such as security and justice, water, oil, electricity and transportation.

    Parsons was supposed to build police and civil defense training areas, two prisons, two courthouses, fire stations, and border control facilities.

    The report said more than $142 million, or nearly 43 percent of the funds disbursed so far, “were spent on projects that were either terminated or cancelled, although a number of the projects were subsequently completed.”

    Repeated construction delays prompted the government to cancel the construction of two partially built prisons, one at Nasiriyah and the other at Khan Bani Saad, the audit said.

    The Nasiriyah prison was later completed by another contractor, but the facility at Khan Bani Saad was turned over half finished to the Iraqi government which has no plans to use it, the audit said.

    It said about $40 million has been spent on the Khan Bani Saad prison.

    ”At this point the entire amount disbursed for this project may ultimately be wasted because the government of Iraq currently has no plans for completing or using this facility,” the audit said.

    The audit said there were “significant weaknesses” in the government’s oversight of the contract, which created “an environment that was conducive to waste and inefficiency.”

From:  www.truthout.org

 

More Disclosure of Discrimination in Justice Department

 

This should not have been allowed to happen, and most certainly should not be allowed to continue.  -GFS

——————————————————————

Justice Report Finds Aides Illegally Discriminated Against Career Hires Who Weren’t Republican

Monday 28 July 2008

 

by: Lara Jakes Jordon, The Associated Press

 

 Washington – Top aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales broke the law by letting politics influence the hiring of career prosecutors and immigration judges at the Justice Department, says an internal report released Monday.

    Gonzales was largely unaware of the hiring decisions by two of his most trusted aides, according to the report by Justice’s Office of Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility.

    But it singles out his former White House liaison, Monica Goodling, for violating federal law and Justice Department policy by discriminating against job applicants who weren’t Republican or conservative loyalists.

    ”Goodling improperly subjected candidates for certain career positions to the same politically based evaluation she used on candidates for political positions,” the report concluded.

    In one instance, Justice investigators found, Goodling objected to hiring an assistant prosecutor in Washington because “judging from his resume, he appeared to be a liberal Democrat.”

    In another, she rejected an experienced terror prosecutor to work on counterterror issues at a Justice Department headquarters office “because of his wife’s political affiliations,” the report found. It also found she rejected at least one job applicant who was rumored to be a lesbian.

    Goodling’s attorney, John Dowd, declined comment Monday. Attempts to reach her were not immediately successful.

    Additionally, a majority of immigration judge candidates considered by former Gonzales chief of staff Kyle Sampson were recommended by the White House’s political affairs office – including one name forwarded by then-top adviser Karl Rove. Sampson told investigators that he did not consider those jobs to be protected from political considerations.

    His lawyer, Brad Berenson, described those hiring decisions as an honest mistake and said that Sampson “immediately agreed with the recommendation to put a stop to this process” when he first learned he may have been wrong.

    The federal government makes a distinction between so-called “career” appointees and “political” appointees, and the long-accepted custom has been that career workers are not hired on the basis of political affiliation or allegiance.

    The 140-page report does not indicate whether Goodling or Sampson could face any charges. None of those involved in the discriminatory hiring still work at Justice, meaning they will avoid any departmental penalties.

    However, Justice investigators said that bar associations that license lawyers have asked about the report’s findings on Goodling – indicating she could be sanctioned there, potentially including losing her ability to practice law.

    Congressional investigators said they also were considering asking the Justice Department to pursue perjury charges against Goodling, Sampson and possibly Gonzales as a result of their spoken or written congressional testimony during House and Senate investigations last year. Lying to Congress is a crime.

    Democrats said the report affirms their charges of White House meddling in the hiring and firing of Justice Department employees.

    ”The cost to our nation of these apparent crimes was severe, as qualified individuals were rejected for key positions in the fight against terrorism and other critical department jobs for no reason other than political whim,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich.

    ”The report also indicates that Monica Goodling, Kyle Sampson, and Alberto Gonzales may have lied to the Congress about these matters,” Conyers added. “I have directed my staff to closely review this matter and to consider whether a criminal referral for perjury is needed.”

    Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said “it is crystal clear that the law was broken” by the political hiring process.

    ”But since it is unlikely that Monica Goodling acted on her own,” Schumer added, “the question is, how many others were involved.”

    In their report, Justice investigators sought to find whether Republican politics were driving hiring polices at the nation’s premier law enforcement agency whose appointees are expected to be selected on a nonpartisan basis. The investigation is one of several that examine accusations that Bush administration politics drove prosecution, policy and employment decisions within the Justice Department.

    Those accusations were initially spurred by the firings of nine U.S. attorneys in late 2006 and culminated with Gonzales’ resignation under fire as attorney general last September.

    Gonzales, who has kept a low profile since leaving the department said in a statement that “political considerations should play no part in the hiring of career officials at the Department of Justice. …I agree with the report’s recommendations.” His attorney, George Terwilliger, defended Gonzales by saying “it’s simply not possible for any Cabinet officer to be completely aware of and micromanage the activities of staffers, particularly where they don’t inform him of what’s going on.”

    The man who replaced Gonzales, Attorney General Michael Mukasey, said he is “of course disturbed” by the findings.

    ”I have said many times, both to members of the public and to department employees, it is neither permissible nor acceptable to consider political affiliations in the hiring of career department employees,” Mukasey said in a statement shortly after the report was released Monday morning. “And I have acted, and will continue to act, to ensure that my words are translated into reality so that the conduct described in this report does not occur again at the department.”

    Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said the report indicates that the effort to politicize federal law enforcement was not just the actions of a few “bad apples,” but administration policy.

    He called it “a clear indication of the untoward political influence of the Bush administration on traditionally nonpolitical appointments.”

    ———

    Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.

    ———

    The DOJ report can be found at: http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/s0807/final.pdf

»

POGO’s Letter to Boeing Regarding Airtech International Fraud

This came in the mail today.  I post it to share it with all of you.  -GFS

 

____________________________________________________________________

July 22, 2008

 

POGO Letter to the Boeing Company regarding Airtech International Inc.’s product substitution

 

Related: POGO Letter to the U.S. Air Force Suspension and Debarment Office, July 22, 2008.

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 22, 2008

 

 

Boeing Corporate Offices

100 North Riverside

Chicago, Illinois 60606

 

Boeing Commercial Airplanes

P. O. Box 3707

Seattle, Washington 98124

 

Boeing Integrated Defense Systems

P. O. Box 516

St. Louis, Missouri 63166

 

 

Re: Airtech International, Inc.

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

My organization, the Project On Government Oversight, revealed in May that The Boeing Company, along with other aerospace manufacturers, was being supplied with bogus materials by a composite materials supplier called Airtech International, Inc.  See: http://www.pogo.org/p/transportation/ta-080522-faa.html

 

As you know, your company requires strict compliance with its materials specifications.  Many of Boeing’s specifications state that suppliers cannot change material after qualification unless material is re-qualified. For example, attached are numerous Boeing specifications which state that a supplier cannot change material, its source, or the methods of manufacture after the material is qualified without a re-qualification of the material. [Attachment A]

 

Airtech, on a vast scale, has supplied bogus materials or changed the manufacturer or manufacturing process without proper notification to its customers, according to a 2006 Army Criminal Investigation Command letter to the Air Force, which states, “At one time or another, Airtech has supplied some fours of nonconforming product to every aircraft manufacturer in the world.”  Boeing is explicitly stated as a company which Airtech defrauds. Also, as stated by the Army letter, “Airtech at its own discretion, routinely changes the composition, the manufacturer or the manufacturing process of products without disclosure to its customer, which in most case would require requalification of the product.”  [Attachment B]

 

One of the greatest risks is that “These products are originally qualified for safety concerns. Changes to the products or processes could result in contaminations to the end product, which could result in the loss of parts or safety issues if the part is put into use,” according to the Army.  Specifically, instances of product substitution were confirmed at Vought Aircraft on its subcontract work on manufacturing of the longeron accessory compartment in the Boeing C-17 program for the U.S. Air Force.   [Attachment B]

 

Does the Army Criminal Investigation Command letter concern Boeing since it was concluded that Airtech, on a vast scale, is falsifying certifications on shipment to you and your subcontractors?

 

Why is Airtech still an approved Boeing supplier if they are changing material after qualification?

 

On your specifications [Attachment C], release film, flash tapes and peel plys are considered contact material and, in some cases, peel ply is a secondary bonding material on both composite parts and metal bond parts. Does Boeing consider this a safety concern since, as stated by the Army, if contaminants are left on the finished part due to substitution, this can ultimately contribute to composite delamination or other safety or maintenance issues?

 

If you have any questions or request assistance or further information, do not hesitate to contact me at 202-347-1122.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Nick Schwellenbach

Investigator

Project On Government Oversight

 

To See Attachments, go to document at www.pogo.org.  Support Project On Government Oversight!