Posted on 10/12/2006 8:17:06 PM PDT by The KG9 Kid
WASHINGTON - The man who recently departed as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ordered his staff to help with his nephew's high school homework, wasting the agency's time and violating ethics rules, an inquiry found Wednesday.
The nephew's project — a documentary about the ATF that took 10 months to complete — was one of a half-dozen examples of lapses in judgment Carl J. Truscott committed before he resigned in August, says the report by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine.
The report found that only the high school project demonstrated mismanagement by Truscott, whose employees accused him of wasting federal funds, taking costly trips and creating a hostile work environment.
Still, investigators described themselves as troubled by Truscott's leadership, hiring practices and financial decisions, including his plan to spend $100,000 on gym equipment for the ATF's new headquarters.
The most damning conclusions were saved for the homework episode.
"Significant ATF resources were used to assist Truscott's nephew on a high school project," the report found. "By directing and authorizing the use of ATF resources in his nephew's high school class project, we believe that Truscott violated several ethical regulations."
An estimated 20 ATF employees were pulled in to help with the documentary, spending dozens of hours on research, pulling film footage from the agency's library and setting up interviews with Truscott and other officials in Washington and Philadelphia.
The nephew received an 'A' on the project, the report noted.
Moreover, the report found, Truscott "failed to fully accept responsibility for the project by minimizing the extent of ATF resources that were committed to it" and tried to justify his staff's help as a form of community outreach.
Truscott could not be reached for comment Wednesday. But in a Sept. 25 letter to Fine, responding to a draft copy of the report, Truscott acknowledged that he should have placed appropriate limits on the resources that could be used in support of the project."
In his letter, Truscott also lashed back at the critical report, which he called negative in tone and based on allegations from anonymous sources who second-guessed his judgment.
Fine opened the investigation after he and Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch received an anonymous letter dated Jan. 20, 2006.
It contended that Truscott had horribly mismanaged federal dollars in a variety of ways, including demanding a larger security detail than needed, making unnecessary upgrades to the new ATF headquarters building project, and taking expensive trips to London, New York City, Boston, and Ottawa on the agency's bill. The letter also complained that Truscott created a hostile work environment by directing two staffers to serve lunch to him and his guests.
Fine's investigation substantiated the charges and chided Truscott for poor judgment, but it added, "We did not find that these financial decisions constituted misconduct."
A person close to the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday the allegations may have been made by Truscott's top deputies, who were facing reassignment as part of an agency reorganization.
E-mails dated Jan. 15 — five days before the anonymous letter was sent to Fine — show Truscott telling ATF Deputy Director Edgar Domenech the changes would come "as early as this week."
Fine received another anonymous letter Sept. 22 from a group that described itself as concerned ATF employees. The group argued that three ATF assistant directors also were mismanaging agency funds by commuting to work in government-owned cars, promoting relatives and arranging weeklong conferences for employees at resorts like the Hard Rock Casino in Los Vegas.
It was not immediately clear whether Fine's office was investigating the newest allegations.
Report of Investigation Concerning Alleged Mismanagement and Misconduct by Carl J. Truscott, Former Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Special Report, October 2006
SEPTEMBER 22, 2006
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 950 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON, DC 20530
DEAR INSPECTOR GENERAL,
EMPLOYEES AT THE BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS, AND EXPLOSIVES HAVE LONG BEEN DISTURBED WITH THE ACTIONS OF SOME OF OUR EXECUTIVES. THE TIME HAS COME TO SHARE THESE CONCERNS WITH YOU FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION. FOR THE GOOD OF OUR BUREAU, WE IMPLORE YOU TO SEEK ANSWERS TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS SURROUNDING WASTE, MISMANAGEMENT, AND ABUSE OF POWER BY TOP GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS:
>ARE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR BOUCHARD AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CHASE VIOLATING DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE RULES BY USING GOVERNMENT-OWNED VEHICLES TO COMMUTE FROM HOME TO WORK IN DEFIANCE OF A POLICY THAT PROHIBITS THE USE OF TAXPAYER FUNDED VEHICLES FOR SUCH PERSONAL USE?
>IS IT A GROSS WASTE OF TAXPAYER MONEY FOR THESE ASSISTANT DIRECTORS TO DRIVE LUXURIOUS NEW GOVERNMENT VEHICLES FOR PERSONAL USE WHILE AGENTS DRIVE MUCH OLDER AND HIGH MILEAGE CARS TO GET THE JOB DONE?
>IS IT AN EXTRAVAGANT EXPENDITURE OF TAXPAYER MONEY FOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR BOUCHARD TO ARRANGE WEEK-LONG CONFERENCES FOR OVER 30 OF HIS EMPLOYEES AT PLACES SUCH AS LAS VEGAS HARD ROCK CASINO AND SEA ISLAND GOLF AND TENNIS RESORT WHILE FIELD AGENTS LACK ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT? DID THESE CONFERENCES COST TAXPAYERS $30,000? $50,000?
>IS IT AN EXTRAVAGANT EXPENDITURE OF TAXPAYER MONEY FOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR RADEN TO ARRANGE A TRIP OF ALMOST TWO WEEKS FOR NEARLY A DOZEN OF HIS EMPLOYEES TO ATTEND A CONFERENCE IN GERMANY THAT DID NOT DEMAND SUCH EXTENSIVE GOVERNMENT RESOURCES? DID THIS TRIP COST TAXPAYERS $20,000? $40,000?
>IS IT A MISUSE OF AUTHORITY AND RESOURCES FOR DEPUTY DIRECTOR DOMENECH TO WASTE TAXPAYER MONEY BY ORDERING THE DIRECTOR’S SECURITY PERSONNEL TO PROVIDE HIM CHAUFFERED LIMOUSINE SERVICE FROM WORK TO HOME, ALTHOUGH SECURITY APPARENTLY WAS NOT NEEDED FROM HOME TO WORK, AS ACTING DIRECTOR?
>HAS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CHASE WASTED TAXPAYER MONEY BY TRAVELING, WITH HIS SPOUSE, ALL THE WAY ACROSS COUNTRY TO LOS ANGELES FOR A ATF RETIREMENT SEMINAR THAT IS OFFERED WITHIN HIS DUTY STATION OF WASHINGTON, D.C.?
>IS DEPUTY DIRECTOR DOMENECH VIOLATING ANTI-NEPOTISM LAWS FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS (5 USC 3110) BY ARRANGING FOR HIS WIFE TO BE PROMOTED FROM A SECRETARIAL POSITION TO A SENIOR PROGRAM ANALYST? BY ARRANGING FOR HIS SISTER IN LAW TO BE PROMOTED FROM A FIELD AGENT IN NEW YORK TO THE AGENT IN CHARGE OF THE PORTLAND, OREGON OFFICE AND HAVING TAXPAYERS PAY THE EXPENSES FOR THIS MOVE BACK HOME? BY ARRANGING FOR HIS NIECE TO BE HIRED AS AN INSPECTOR IN FLORIDA, THEN NORTH CAROLINA?
>DOES DEPUTY DIRECTOR DOMENECH VIOLATE MERIT SYSTEM PRINCIPLES BY REGULARLY PRACTICING FAVORITISM IN MAKING PERSONNEL SELECTIONS BASED ON FRIENDSHIP AND FACTORS OTHER THAN MERIT? DOES HE CREATE AN INTIMIDATING, HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT BY RETALIATING AGAINST THOSE HE PERSONALLY DISLIKES THROUGH UNDESIRABLE, FORCED REASSIGNMENTS AND TRANSFERS?
>IS IT A CONFLICT OF INTEREST FOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR RADEN TO SPEND A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF TIME IN FLORIDA AND CANADA BEING ENTERTAINED BY A TECHNOLOGY VENDOR WHILE APPROVING TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS WITH THEM?
>IS IT AN ABUSE OF AUTHORITY AND WASTE OF TAXPAYER MONEY FOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR BOUCHARD TO ARRANGE WITH OTHER ASSISTANT DIRECTORS A CHANGE IN POLICY THAT ALLOWED HIS SON TO BE HIRED AS A PAID SUMMER INTERN ON GOVERNMENT SALARY WHILE OTHER ATF PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS GO UNFILLED DUE TO BUDGET CONSTRAINTS?
>IS IT AN EXTRAVAGANT EXPENDITURE FOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CHASE TO USE TAXPAYER MONEY TO PURCHASE A WORLD GLOBE FOR SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS WITH GOVERNMENT RESOURCES SIMPLY TO DECORATE HIS OFFICE? WAS THIS GLOBE USED TO PINPOINT WHERE HE WOULD TAKE NEEDLESS TRIPS TO CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS AROUND THE WORLD TO PLACES LIKE FRANCE, HUNGARY, AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL LOCATIONS?
>IS IT UNETHICAL CONDUCT FOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR RADEN TO REPRESENT ATF AT FUNCTIONS AND EVENTS WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL?
THESE ARE BUT A SAMPLE OF KEY EXECUTIVES ABUSING THEIR POSITIONS AND TAXPAYER MONEY THAT WE HAVE WITNESSED OVER THE LAST 3 YEARS. AS YOU INVESTIGATE THESE EXAMPLES, YOU WILL FIND MANY MORE LIKE THEM. FOR THE GOOD OF OUR BUREAU AND ITS FUTURE, PLEASE STOP THIS IMPROPER BEHAVIOR AND MISMANAGEMENT BEFORE IT FURTHER ERODES MORALE HERE AND THREATENS THE FUTURE OF ATF.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, ATFers United against Mismanagement and Misconduct (ATFUMM)
We need to put the ATF on the chopping block.
News articles from the clinton years say that the BATF was on the point of being abolished and its remnants folded into the FBI when they decided to save their reputation by staging the raid at Waco.
Exactly how that managed to save their reputation has always escaped me.
The world is much safer with these people helping kids with their homework. I think more of it should be encouraged.
End all misconduct at the ATF.
Resign.
Love,
L
POS
What do they do besides burn Christians alive on orders from the likes of Janet Reno?
"The world is much safer with these people helping kids with their homework. I think more of it should be encouraged."
Truscott "failed to fully accept responsibility for the project by minimizing the extent of ATF resources that were committed to it" and tried to justify his staff's help as a form of community outreach.
"Community Outreach" is it? At least those "reached out to" in the population otherwise known as his family fared better than those in the populations at Ruby Ridge and Waco.
Give it to the police auxiliary and stop wasting our goddamn money
ATF and New Orleans Police Set Up Gun Violence Hotline to Fight Violent Crime
Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Browning, New Orleans Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Warren Riley announced that New Orleanians will now have an ATF firearms hotline to assist their police and city in the battle against gun violence
It's got some amazing testimony in there. A rare insight into what a top FED.GOV bureaucrat in Washington thinks they're entitled to for running an alphabet agency.
God only knows what other abuses go on regularly.
You have got to be effin kidding, what kind of name is that?
These people are born into this thing, worse than the Mafia.
Waco murderers. Bums. Crooks.
They also made life hell for the Weavers in Idaho.
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