IG Report: Former OJJDP Administrator Flores violated ethics rules in grant-making.

Click here to read IG report.

Also, Flores' Chief of Staff, Michele DeKonty is also under investigation and IG concluded misconduct by IG. I will write on this breaking news soon.

Here is the highlights from IG's report:

The Office of the AAG for OJP forwarded its findings to the 010, which undertook this further
investigation.

The following allegations were in the initial complaint received by the OIG:

• The circumstances of Fonseca's contract suggest that Fonseca was operating under a prohibited "personal services" contract with OJJDP's Administrator, Robert Flores; and

• Fonseca's contract amounted to waste and misuse of funds because he did not produce material
related to juvenile justice programming. During an OIG interview of a witness who requested confidentiality, the following further allegations were raised:

• Flores misused his authority as Administrator by mishandling the award of discretionary grant funds for fiscal year (FY) 2007 in that some of the highest rated grant applications were not selected for funding by Flores while lower scoring applications were funded.


Flores asked career staff to babysit his children on a number of occasions when he brought them to the office.

• Flores requested his Special Assistant to work on his resume.
• Flores went to Las Vegas to deliver a speech at a conference of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, but he did not make the speech.


The OIG investigation substantiated the allegation that Flores did not follow appropriate contracting procedures in the hiring of Rene Fonseca as a consultant for OJJDP. Flores, through OJJDP employees, directed OJP contractors Aspen and DB Consulting to hire Fonseca as a consultant after his other efforts to hire Fonseca were denied. Fonseca was paid about $281,000 by OJJDP from November 2004 to July 2007. Our investigation concluded that Fonseca's contract constituted a personal services contract prohibited by the FAR, Part 37.104, because he was assigned deliverables by Flores in addition to those specified under his contract, he reported directly to Flores, and was supervised directly by Flores rather than by his employer, the prime contractor.

The OIG investigated the allegation that Fonseca's contract amounted to waste and misuse of funds. We concluded that the documentation of Fonseca's work was not sufficient, particularly in view of his rate of compensation and the duration of his contract. However, the OIG could not conclude based on the evidence we were able to uncover, that Fonseca's contract was a misuse of OJJDP funds. However, our investigation was not complete because Fonseca refused to be interviewed by us, and we could not compel his cooperation.

We substantiated the allegation that Flores did not pay for a round of golf he played with an OJJDP grantee until over two years after playing the round. Federal regulations prohibit government employees from accepting from a prohibited source gifts in excess of $20. See Accepting Gifts, 5 CFR 2635.202-204.

This report should be included in Flores's personnel file and his violation of the gift regulations should be considered if he seeks federal employment in the future;

This report should be included in DeKonty's personnel file and her misconduct should be considered if she seeks federal employment in the future;

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