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talking points for him to use in the interviews. And, as if that were not enough, after thenephew completed the video and received an “A” grade for it, Truscott continued toallow him to make requests to the ATF for suggestions on improving the video. Oneemployee reported spending four or five days complying with the nephew’s requests.The IG was unable to tally the total number of employees and hours that weredevoted to Truscott’s nephew, but estimated that at least 20 ATF employees wereinvolved. The IG determined that Truscott violated government regulations prohibitingfederal employees from using their office for private gain, wasting government resources,and influencing subordinates to waste government resources. (Office of the InspectorGeneral, Report of Investigation Concerning Alleged Mismanagement and Misconductby Carl J. Truscott, Former Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms andExplosives.SES Official’s Involvement with Subordinate Leads to RetirementThe Inspector General found that an SES official engaged in an intimaterelationship with a subordinate, provided her preferential treatment when selecting her fora new position, and misused Government resources and official time. The official retiredbefore the IG completed his report. The IG report indicated that the official’srelationship with a subordinate adversely affected the workplace, violated therequirements for members of the Senior Executive Service, and constituted conduct thatwas prejudicial to the Government. Witnesses noted that the official failed to hold hisparamour accountable for her professional responsibilities, and when confronted by otheremployees, became verbally abusing, vengeful, and angry. The official also served as theselecting official, who selected his subordinate for promotion, while engaged in anintimate relationship with her, thereby violating the Merit system principles and engagingin a prohibited personal practice.Affair with Assistant Leads to Employee RemovalA Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense was terminated wheninvestigators discovered that he had engaged in a romantic relationship with a DoDcontractor who had served as his executive assistant. The executive assistant claimed thatthe end of their affair and the official’s subsequent persistence had led her to leave her8

position. When questioned by investigators regarding the affair, the Deputy Assistantinitially lied as to the nature of the relationship.Although charges of sexual harassment could not be substantiated, the InspectorGeneral found the Deputy Assistant’s behavior to be incompatible with the standards ofconduct established for DoD employees and members of the Senior Executive Service.The Office of the Secretary of Defense promptly initiated actions to terminate the DeputyAssistant.DEA Agent - Misuse of PositionA DEA agent whose responsibilities included fleet management and authorizationof repairs of Government vehicles had attempted to obtain free repair services for hispersonal vehicles from two vendors. The agent also insinuated to the vendors that thecost of repairing his personal vehicles could be recouped as part of the charges for repairsto Government vehicles. After these allegations were substantiated, the agent wasdismissed from DEA.Improper Use of PositionThe Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)investigated allegations that a Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney prepared anotherperson's application for a visa with a cover memorandum on DOJ stationery. The DOJattorney also included one of his DOJ business cards in the submission. The foreignindividual was seeking a visa in order to enter the country to perform certain functionsfor a non-profit organization. The DOJ attorney told OPR that he did not intend to gainpreferential treatment for the visa applicant by identifying himself as a DOJ attorney, butbelieved his actions were consistent with what DOJ employees are permitted to do onbehalf of non-profit organizations.OPR concluded that the actions of the DOJ attorney were improper, but notintentionally so. Section 2635.703 of the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees ofthe Executive Branch prohibits employees from using their position or title for purposesof endorsement.9

“You obviously don't know who I am.”The son of a bureau director was denied a rental car because he was too young.Outraged, his father wrote a scathing letter (on Agency letterhead) to the president of therental car company, and sent it off in a U.S. postage-paid envelope. The president of thecompany was not amused and returned his scathing response to the head of the Agency.As a result of his action, the Bureau Director was treated to a four-hour ethics session anda fine for personal use of official postage."But, Judge, I didn't get anything!"An offshore safety inspector found much of the Government’s equipment to be inneed of repairs to meet safety standards. He then referred the business to his brother-inlaw's repair shop. The rig operators smelled a rat and called the FBI. They discoveredthat, in return for each referral, the brother-in-law was treating the inspector to an eveningwith a lady of dubious morals.The case was brought to trial. In his defense, the inspector claimed that he hadnot received a "thing of value" in return for the referral. The judge didn't buy it - andneither did his wife.Use of Contractor TimeAllegations were made against a Department of Defense (DoD) official regardinghis use of contractor employees. The official directed two US Government contractors toentertain an acquaintance he met at a conference in Europe on his behalf. They weredirected to take the person out to lunch as well as out on the town the following evening.The contractors rightly believed that the request was improper and as a result told theDoD official that they “had other plans.” The DoD official told them to “cancel them.”The contractors eventually took the acquaintance out that evening for several hours.After an investigation, it was determined that the DoD official had acted inviolation of 5 CFR 2635.704 by utilizing contractors’ time improperly. His supervisorcounseled him and the proper reimbursements were made.10

Veterans Affairs Supervisors Push for Friends to be HiredA review found in two instances that Department of Veterans Affairs medicalcenter supervisors recommended the hiring of close personal friends without divulgingthe relationship to human resources staff members. The review team recommended thatdisciplinary action be taken.Interior Official Altered Reports and Leaked Confidential InformationThe Interior Department’s Inspector General found that a senior official hadrepeatedly altered scientific field reports to lessen the protections for imperiled speciesand ease the impact on landowners. The investigation also revealed the official, whoworks in Fish and Wildlife Services, misused her position by disclosing confidentialinformation to private groups seeking to affect policy decisions. The Inspector Generalreferred the case to the Department Head for “potential administrative action.”(The Seattle Times, March 30, 2007)Bribery (18 U.S.C. § 201-Type Violations)My Oath of Office for Your Cold Hard CashA U.S. Foreign Service officer, who worked in the U.S. Consulate in Ho ChiMinh City, Vietnam, was responsible for issuing visas after reviewing applications andconducting interviews. He conspired with U.S. and Vietnamese citizens to recruitcustomers who would pay 15,000 to 70,000 in exchange for non-immigrant visas fromVietnam to the U.S. He accepted over 3 million in bribes and allowed nearly 500foreign nationals to enter the U.S. He pleaded guilty to bribery and agreed to pay at least 6 million in a money judgment and faces up to 24 years in prison.The GodfatherA former Department of Defense employee used to refer to himself as “TheGodfather” because of his ability to influence the awarding of construction contracts.However, like all great crime bosses, this employee was arrested for extorting a 10,000bribe. The Godfather accepted a 10,000 installment of a 40,000 bribe from an11

undercover agent in an attempt to secure a flooring contract. The Godfather was takeninto custody.Lucrative ContractingA former Army officer had found a lucrative gig: accepting cash payments forfacilitating contracting between Iraqis and the U.S. government during a deployment toBaghdad. This particular officer accepted 37,500 in cash payment for these“facilitations.” The officer was sentenced to prison, three years of supervised release,and was required to pay 37,500 restitution to the U.S. Government.Bribe for a BulldozerA retired military employee plead guilty to taking bribes in exchange for turning a blindeye while others stole heavy equipment from the base for resale. The man admitted to allowingitems such as cranes, bulldozers, and front-end loaders to be taken from the base. As part of hisplea agreement, the employee agreed to forfeit the bribe proceeds, as well as to pay full restitutionto the Department of Defense.Fraud, Conspiracy, and Bribery Oh My!Criminal charges put a computer contractor out of business and landedgovernment employees in jail. Two civilian employees at a Military Depot, along withthe contractor’s government sales manager, were convicted on various conspiracy andbribery charges for defrauding the U.S. Government under multiple contracts in return forcash and merchandise. The employees were part of a scheme in which they usedgovernment funds to purchase laptops and recycled computer components from thecontractor’s sales manager at inflated prices, and split the overcharged amounts amongthemselves. One employee received prison time, three years probation, and was orderedto pay 30,000 in restitution. The other employee was sentenced to 22 months in jail,three years of probation, and ordered to pay 18,000. The sales manager received asimilar sentence. The computer contractor was indicted on nine felony counts andsubjected to asset forfeiture of approximately 7.8 million. The charges were laterwithdrawn after the company filed for bankruptcy. The investigation also resulted12

in five other individuals charged with prison time and ordered to pay a combined 127,000 in restitution.One Thing Leads to AnotherA misuse of government resources investigation hit unexpected pay dirt when ituncovered a contractor procurement and bribery scheme. Investigators responding to ahotline tip substantiated a misuse of funds claim when they found a civilian utilitiesmanager at a Military command rented a 350-ton crane to move electrical generatorsseven days before it was needed; costing the government 35,000. The investigation alsouncovered a complicated contract bid rigging, bribery and kickback operation involvingthe utilities manager and a Service contractor. The manager manipulated and solesourced work to the contractor; reportedly to drive business to the contractor in order totransition to a job with them after his government job. The manager used governmentfunds to purchase expensive tools, plasma TVs, and laptop computers that turned upmissing. He also allowed the contractor to use government personnel, tools, andequipment to do the contractor’s work. He submitted false invoices on behalf of thecontractor, resulting in a 1.3 million loss to the government. As a result of a plea dealfor cooperation in additional procurement investigations, the manager was sentenced to15 months in prison and debarred from government contracting for four years. Thisinvestigation touched off five separate criminal investigations against other contractors inthat Military Service regarding allegations of bid rigging.Bribery and Fraud Lands Program Manager in JailA Program Manager (PM) that was responsible for administering computercontracts received kickbacks and ran his own business defrauding the Government. ThePM negotiated a deal with a contractor that raised the price of computer storageequipment by 500 a unit. The increase was for “additional services” that weresupposedly needed to resolve a defect in the equipment. An investigation determined thatthese services were unnecessary, and that the 500 was paid to a shell company owned bythe PM’s wife.The 500 per unit was just the start. He also used a business that he controlled topurchase generic equipment and resell it to the Government as a name brand product far13

above market rate. These endeavors proved to be quite lucrative, and the PM profitedabout 3.2 million on the schemes. The profit was short-lived, however, as the PM wasindicted for bribery and fraud. He was sentenced to five years in prison, required torepay the 3.2 million and charged a 2,400 fine.Contracting Official in Afghanistan Pleads Guilty to BriberyA Government employee at Bagram Airfield, pled guilty to accepting bribes inexchange for awarding Government contracts. The employee was responsible forevaluating trucking contractors and assigning each contractor days of work each monthbased on their performance. The employee was approached by a contractor andultimately accepted a wireless telephone and 20,000 a month in exchange for assigningan extra day of work each month to that contractor. He also made a similar deal withanother contractor for 15,000 a month. In all, the employee received about 87,000. Hewas sentenced to forty months in prison and three years of supervised release.Major WrongdoingA retired Army Major, Christopher H. Murray, pled guilty to charges of briberyand making a false statement arising from his activities at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.In 2005 and 2006, while serving as a contracting specialist at Camp Arijan,Murray received approximately 225,000 in bribes from DOD contractors. In return, herecommended the award of contracts for various goods and services. Murray alsoadmitted that he received an additional 20,000 in bribes from a DOD contractor inexchange for the award of a construction contract. Murray’s misconduct continued as hemade false statements to federal agents investigating his conduct. Murray’s sentencing ispending, but the maximum penalty for each of four bribery counts is 15 years in prisonand a 250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for making a false statement is five years inprison and a 250,000 fine.In another bribery case at Camp Arifjan, another Army Major, James Momon, Jr.,accepted cash bribes from five DOD contracting firms that supplied bottled water andother goods and services to bases in Kuwait. Momon, a contracting officer at the camp,awarded contracts and Blanket Purchase Agreement calls to those contractors, receiving14

5.8 million as payment for his actions. Momon pled guilty to bribery and conspiracy tocommit bribery. His sentencing is pending, but, like Murray, Momon faces up to 15years in prison and a 250,000 fine for each bribery count, as well as five years in prisonfor the conspiracy count. Momon has also agreed to pay 5.8 million in restitution.Inhibiting VictoryA Major in the U.S. Army Reserve pled guilty to conspiracy and bribery chargesrelated to DOD contracts at Camp Victory, Iraq. According to the charging document,Theresa Jeanne Baker received money and other items, including a Harley Davidsonmotorcycle, from a defense contractor, Raman Corporation, and a former employee ofanother defense contractor, Elie Samir Chidiac. In return, Baker conveyed sensitiveinformation and fraudulently awarded contracts to the contractor. Baker also canceledcontracts that were awarded to third party contractors and fraudulently re-awarded themto Chidiac. Baker’s sentencing is pending, but the maximum penalty for each of Baker’stwo bribery counts is 15 years in prison and the greater of a 250,000 fine and three timesthe monetary equivalent of the thing of value received. Baker was also charged with twocounts of conspiracy. Each count comes with a maximum penalty of five years in prisonand a 250,000 fine.Courting TroubleA former official of the U.S. Tax Court, Fred Fernando Timbol Jr., was sentencedto 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release in connection with a briberyconspiracy.Timbol was a facilities services officer in the Facilities Management Section ofthe U.S. Tax Court. Timbol was responsible for assisting in the award of contracts tocontractors who provided maintenance, construction, and other related service to theCourt. Timbol admitted to soliciting and accepting over 12,000 from a governmentcontractor in exchange for rigging the award of at lea

The Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure is intended to sensitize Federal employees to the reach and impact of Federal ethics statutes and regulations. It is best used to supplement personal verification of those statutes and regulations. It should not be interpreted as a binding or auth