Are the former OJJDP Administrator's troubles over in the House's OJJDP probe?

Written by SP Biloxi

Not necessary. Last year, J. Robert Flores, former OJJDP Administrator, violated the ethic rules in grant giving practices according to the Inspector General Glenn Fine's report. Flores was not charged criminally nor civil by the Public Integrity Section ofthe Justice Department. I had wonder if the Oversight Reform Committee was going to closed the case on the OJJDP probe. Wrong. The case can be relooked again. Here is what I found on the Oversight Reform Committee under the catagory of Investigations:

As set forth in House Rule X, clause 4, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform may, at any time, conduct investigations of any matter regardless of whether another standing committee has jurisdiction over the matter.

Not very good for Flores since I reported that Flores recently started an consulting firm. And under the catagory of investigations, the committee listed catagories of many investigations that are current and past that hasn't been closed. Under the catagory of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse, there are alot of investigations from that catagory and the Improper Grantmaking by the OJJDP misappropiated $4.4 million dollars appeared in that catagory. Click here to view the file.

Finally, I wanted to add that I emailed Senator Patrick Leahy last year concerning the OJJDP probe since the Senate committee was asking for answers and written a letter to then Attorney Michael Mukasey. I am not sure if Senator Leahy and the Senate committee will revisit the OJJDP probe again. Here was Senator Leahy's response to me in a email:

From: senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov
To: ******@*******.***
Date: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 12:10:34 PM
Subject: From Senator Patrick Leahy


Dear **********:

Thank you for contacting me about my oversight request regarding Office of Juvenile Justice Prevention grant award policies. I appreciate hearing from you and apologize for the delay of my response.

On June 27, 2008, I sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey asking for information on how the Office of Juvenile Justice Prevention awards its grants after several reports surfaced in the press that the Department of Justice was awarding grants to groups that scored lower than less politically-connected organizations. On July 8, 2008, the Department of Justice replied to my letter informing me that they would provide 15,000 pages of documents that outline the grant process. On July 25, they delivered 14,960 pages that my staff and I have begun to examine in great detail.

Juvenile justice grant programs are essential federal programs that help state and local governments improve their programs to help our nation's youth stay out of trouble and avoid a downward spiral of crime and punishment as they get older. Oversight of these programs is equally important, and that is why I requested these documents and will work to ensure that these important programs are administered properly going forward.

Additionally, last year, I introduced the bipartisan Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2008 with Senators Specter and Kohl. This bill would reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 through 2013 while encouraging states and local governments to keep young offenders out of adult prisons, where studies show they are more likely to learn and act upon criminal behavior. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee on July 31, 2008, but unfortunately, the Senate was unable address the bill before the 110th Congress ended. You can be assured that I will reintroduce this legislation early in the new Congress and build upon the significant progress that was made last year.

I have attached a copy of the Department of Justice's July 8 letter. Unfortunately, I cannot attach the nearly 15,000 documents they later provided, but I will continue to work diligently on this issue and make sure the Office of Juvenile Justice Prevention is administered fairly, regardless of the administration in charge.

Thank you again for your letter. Please keep in touch.

PATRICK LEAHY
United States Senator




Leahy file -

What has former OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores been up to?

Written by Biloxi

It's been nine months since former Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention [OJJDP] Administrator J. Robert Flores was removed from his position and violated ethics rules in grant decision process by the Inspector General in April. You read more on the Juvenile Justice scandal. Click here.

Well, this month, Mr. Flores was the keynote speaker for the 2009 Esperanza award for the Restoration Ministries. You can read the bio of Mr. Flores. The event took place on September 13, 2009. Let me add that it mentioned nothing about the investigation into Flores' grant decision making nor his violations of ethics rules by the Inspector General. But, we do know where Flores is at according to his bio on the Restoration Ministries website:

Currently, Mr. Flores is the President of Hampton Road Strategies, LLC., a consulting and law firm he recently founded. The firm is dedicated to working with small and effective businesses and non-profit organizations that can benefit from sophisticated strategic planning, partnership development, and improved resource management.

Relive those memories of the Juvenile Justice probe on the ABC Nightline with investigator and reporter Brian Ross. Ross interviewed former OJJDP Program Manager and whistleblower Scott B. Peterson. Here's the video:

Who is the mystery person redacted in the subcontractor Russ Reid FAR violation found in OIG report?

Written by Biloxi

It's a gift that keeps on giving in a very unbalanced, very tainted, and corrupted department. As you know, Inspector General Glenn Fine's report on former OJJDP Administrator J Robert Flores was a redacted report [see pic above]. Fine blackened out Special Agent, Special Agent-in-charge, and others in relation to the Flores investigation. What caught my eye that is not discussed in the media is mystery person redacted along with Flores and Flores' chief of staff Michele DeKonty from the report directed an Office of Justice Program (OJP) contractor, ICF International, to subcontract and engagewith a specific company, Russ Reid, which was a violation according to the report.

OIG Report:

OJP's Office of General Counsel referred an additional allegation relating to Flores to the OIG. The allegations was that Flores, OJJDP Chief of Staff Michele DeKonty, and [redacted name] directed an OJP contractor, ICF International, to subcontract with a specific company, Russ Reid, to
provide training to faith-based organizations on sustainability without federal funds. The allegation was that the contract violated the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and OJP Office of Administration Procurement Operating Procedures. The OIG also investigated this allegation.

And Inspector General Fine found no evidence of conflict or enrichment in regards to ICF contract and Russ Reid contract. Pg. 26:

IEF and Russ Reid Contract: There is no evidence of any conflict or enrichment by
anyone, including Mr. Flores, with respect to the ICF contract and subcontract to Russ
Reid. Yet, somehow, the Report concludes that he should have been more sensitive to a
conflict that did not exist. Mr. Flores relied on the advice of career staff, including his
COTR, on the awarding of these contracts. There is no evidence that he was aware that
his COTR had exceeded his authority; indeed there are many emails in which he
defended his COTR because he had assured Mr. Flores that he had properly followed all
rules and regulations. Mr. Flores fully and completely cooperated with the internal
inquiry.

So who is Russ Reid company? Russ Reid company is one of the nation's largest marketing and communications firm serving nonprofit organizations. See here. And Russ Reid company have lobbyists working for the firm. See here. And here.

And what about the mystery person involved in the violation? According to the OIG report, the mystery person is a male, he was relieved of his duties [meaning fired] by OJP in February 2009, and currently works for the Department of Homeland Security:

During our investigation we learned that [redacted name] was relieved of COTR duties by OJP as a result of this incident, [redacted name] left the Department in February 2009. He is now employed at theDepartment of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection. This report should be included in [redacted name] personnel file and OJP should consider providing notice of [redacted name]misconduct to the Department of Homeland Security.

My question is why is this person still working for the government? This is more of a hand slap to this person and not actually holding him accountable for his actions in the OJP division. More importantly, has OJP place a misconduct notice in this mystery person's file? If so, is the Department of Homeland Security going to keep or fire this mystery person?

Definitely, Attorney General Eric Holder has a lot on his plate to clean up the Justice Department. And the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention should be high on his list to do.

OIG report: Procedures used of the OJJDP to award discretionary grants in FY2007

Pic above is a memo dated March 20, 2009 from Acting Attorney General Laurie O Robinson that was requested to implement a policy for AAG for OJP (Office of Justice Program) and OJJDP Administrator to maintain records supporting their decisions and approvals in the grant-decision process.

Written by Biloxi

This report [which was overlooked in the media] by the Inspector General Glenn Fine gives in-depth of how he concluded the former OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores violated the ethics rules on grant-making. Fine examined many interviews and a number of grants to conclude the findings on Flores and the improper procedures with the OJJDP. Click here to read report. Here is one example of from Fine's report:

Results in Brief
Congress provided OJJDP nearly $330 million for FY 2007 operations
and awards, with about $113 million reserved for grants to juvenile justice
initiatives and mentoring programs.

In April 2007, Congress approved DOJ’s spend plan, which allocated OJJDP funds to broadly defined programs. The spend plan did not specify how OJP or OJJDPwould choose award recipients.

In February and March 2007, Administrator Flores recommended placing nearly all of the $113 million reserved for juvenile justice and mentoring programs up for competition – a proposal that Assistant Attorney General Schofield ultimately rejected.

Schofield told us that she decided to use invitational awards to ensure that continuing and deserving programs would receive funds. Schofield further asserted that she and her staff only gave
invitational awards to organizations that had demonstrated a strong record of performance and results.

Once OJP made these invitational awards, less than $40 million of the $113 million remained for OJJDP to award via six competitive solicitation announcements. OJJDP waited until after Congress approved OJP’s spend plan in April 2007 before drafting many of its competitive juvenile justice and mentoring solicitations.

Consequently, OJJDP did not announce several competitive grant programs until May 2007, which was more than halfway through the fiscal year. The late program announcements reduced the
amount of time organizations had to apply for grant funds. In fact, solicitations initially remained open for only an average of 17 days.

We believe that this abbreviated application period did not provide sufficient
time for many prospective applicants to complete all the steps necessary to
submit a grant application.

And Fine's conclusion:

During our interviews, Flores reiterated the reasons
for his award recommendations, but told us he did not maintain any record
to support his decisions.

In our view, Administrator Flores and Assistant Attorney General
Schofield did not adequately document the reasons for their respective
award recommendations and decisions.

So neither Flores or his boss maintain any record or documentations on grant-making decisions and recommendations. It is hard to believe of no documentations from an Administrator of 6 years. But, of course Flores' agenda as OJJDP Administrator was to spread then President Bush's religious and political agenda, the Faith-Based Initiative.

Fine pointed out from his report: Executive Order 13279. In the report, Executive Order 13279 (2002) directed heads of other federal agencies that
provide services to children and others in need to encourage the participation of faith-based and community organizations in receiving federal financial assistance (E.O. 13279). Flores' nomination of OJJDP Administrator was sent to the Senate on May 23, 2001. Flores was confirmed on April 12, 2002. Bush issued Executive Order 13279 on December 12, 2002, nine months after Flores was confirmed.

Here was an excerpt:

Section 1. Definitions. For purposes of this order:

(a) ‘‘Federal financial assistance’’ means assistance that non-Federal entities
receive or administer in the form of grants, contracts, loans, loan guarantees,
property, cooperative agreements, food commodities, direct appropriations,
or other assistance, but does not include a tax credit, deduction, or exemption.

(viii) services for the prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency
and substance abuse, services for the prevention of crime and the provision
of assistance to the victims and the families of criminal offenders, and
services related to intervention in, and prevention of, domestic violence;

The pic above is from Fine's report of examining the award recipients from the National Juvenile Justice Programs and Mentoring recipients. Two of the award recipients that I have looked close at are Best Friends Foundation and National Organization of Concerned Black Men.

According to Sexuality Information and Education Council in U.S. website:

Community-based organizations in Washington, DC received $793,538 in federal funds for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Fiscal Year of 2008. There were Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) and Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) grantees.
There was one CBAE grantee in Washington, DC: Best Friends Foundation. and one AFLA grantee in Washington, DC: National Organization of Concerned Black Men.

Best Friends Foundation received $550,000. The length of the grant is for five years:2008–2013.National Organization of Concerned Black Men received $243,538. The length of the grant was for five years: 2004–2009.National Organization of Concerned Black Men provides out-of-school enrichment and prevention programs to African American children from disadvantaged communities throughout the country. And here was Flores gave Best Friends' special treatment:

In the summer of 2008, controversy erupted over the Best Friends Foundation’s grant award of $1.1 million from the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice.10 During the grant review, the Foundation’s grant was ranked 53rd out of 104 total applications. It was noted during the review that the organization refused to participate in Mathematica’s congressionally-mandated study to determine the effectiveness of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.

Flores created a new grant category to ensure the Foundation received an award despite the grant’s poor review. This new category was titled, “Utilizing school based outreach efforts directed at preventing high-risk activity (out-of-wedlock pregnancy)”according to Sexuality Information and Education Council in U.S. website.

Notice that Best Friends was ranked 53 and National Organization of Concerned Black Men was ranked 19. NOCBM received less than half of grant money than Best Friends. Yet both were Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage grantees

Inspector General Fine made a recommendations to OJP to implement policies grant decision makers, AAG, and OJJDP Administrator maintain records to support their decisions and approvals of the awards and gave OJP goals to implement such action:

Pg. 82

Resolved. We recommended that OJP implement a policy to ensure
that award decision makers, including the Assistant Attorney General
for OJP and the OJJDP Administrator, maintain records supporting their
selections or approvals of OJJDP invitational awards. OJP agreed and
stated that it has implemented the requirements of the Associate
Attorney General’s May 2008 memorandum requiring that, beginning
in FY 2008, documentation be maintained to support all discretionary
funding recommendations and decisions. As part of its response, OJP
provided a memorandum, dated March 10, 2009, from OJP’s Acting
Assistant Attorney General to OJP bureaus and program offices
directing them to continue documenting all discretionary funding
recommendations and decisions as set forth in the May 2008
memorandum. Further, by September 30, 2009, OJJDP will develop
and implement an internal guidance manual that will include
procedures for supporting and maintaining evidence of its selections or
approval of award decisions. This recommendation can be closed
when OJJDP provides us its FY 2008 and 2009 discretionary funding
recommendations and decisions explaining the award selections made,
the reasons for the selections, and the policy consideration on which
the selections were based, as well as its updated guidance manual.

It is my hope that OJP will heed to the Inspector General's recommendations, have a plan of action, and move forward to restore the faith and integrity lost in the OJJDP in the past six years.

Fonseca-Samaritan's Purse connection

Written by Biloxi

I'm still diving in the Inspector General Glenn Fine report again. I saw this piece of information that certainly connects the dots to why former OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores hired Hector Rene Fonseca.

Last week, Washington Post wrote that Flores told the inspector general that he had hired Fonseca, a former Columbian military official, because of his ties to the faith-based community through a group called Samaritan's Purse. Well, it happens that Fonseca's wife, Deborah Moss Fonseca, was the government relations representative for Samaritan's Purse International. Coincidence? I don't think so.

I wrote last year in an article concerning Mr. Fonseca's wife, Deborah DeMoss-Fonseca's strong political backgrounds and ties to Senator Jesse Helms and his wife's political ties and career in Latin American affairs for political and faith-based initative agenda. Let's connect the dots:

In March 2, 1999, Mr. Fonseca testified to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, Narcotics and Terrorism as a eyewitness to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Mitch in Central America.

Here is an excerpt of the transcript from the subcommittee chairman:

"Rene is here as a private citizen. He does not represent the Honduran government. He is a businessman who owns and operates several companies in several Central American countries."

According to the transcript of the hearing, it listed Fonseca's occupation as President of Consultants International in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Now why would a businessman of several companies in Central America take a day job contracting for the OJJDP division? In addition, Fonseca added in his testimony about his wife's work in Central America:

Mr. Fonseca: "Mr. Chairman, I thank you for inviting me to testify today about the devastating Hurricane Mitch which destroyed so much of Central America, particularly in Honduras, my home country. It is an honor for me to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for more than one reason. As you have mentioned, I would have not met my wife Deborah DeMoss if this committee had not had so much important work to do in Central America back in the 1980's."

"My wife Deborah is the director of Samaritan's Purse in Honduras, so I am more familiar with their substantial commitment, particularly in the areas of housing, medical brigades, and community social services. I highly commend both these institutions to implement certain projects in the country." And let me add that the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was Senator Jesse Helms, Deborah DeMoss Fonseca's former boss and Fonseca and his wife were married in 1994.

Samaritan's Purse organization was one of the major relief organizations to aid victims the Hurricane Mitch. Deborah Moss Fonseca was the government relations representative for Samaritan's Purse International.

Former President Bush wasn't the person to initiatively push for faith-based initiative agenda into foreign aid. It was the late Senator Jesse Helms, Ms. Fonseca's boss.

In an article in the Washington Times in January 2001, Helms proposed the concept of "compassionate conservatism" to foreign aid. He recommended that the new Bush administration shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and shift assistance abroad through private and faith-based organizations. In March 2001, USAID has provided almost $10 million to a certain number of U.S. non-governmental organizations in grant for "construction of temporary shelter and for the purchase and distribution of relief commodities." One of the recipient of the grants was Samaritan's Purse.

In addition, in October 2004, Samaritan Purse won another grant award from Bush's $15 billion Emergency plan for AIDS Relief. The political influences of Deborah Moss-Fonseca not only flowed into the USAID but into OJJDP.

According to the DeMoss Group website, a public relations firm that focus on faith-based organizations and enterprises, one of their clients happens to be Victory Outreach, a church-oriented Christian ministry organization that Flores was pushed through for a grant.

So, for Flores to say to the inspector general that he hired Fonseca because his ties to the faith-based community Samaritan's Purse. Flores certainly told a fib. He left out the part that Fonseca's wife was the director of Samaritan's Purse in Honduras, the country where Fonseca is from. I wouldn't think that Hector Rene Fonseca got the job at OJJDP on his own. So, this Flores-Fonseca agreement worked out at that time. Everyone tried to get what they wanted. Certainly Flores' motto with his political and religious buddies in his six-year tenure was 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mines.'

Flores' ethics violation was reviewed by investigators whose office is under investigation.

Written by Biloxi

Last week, Inspector General Glenn Fine found that former OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores had violated federal ethics rules in awarding hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money to favored companies and individuals for political and religious ties to the Bush Administration. Click here. But, NY attorney and editor for Harper Magazine, Scott Horton, added this interesting nugget:

So what’s the Justice Department’s reaction to this? No charges will be brought. Seems that’s been the consistent Justice Department reaction to every established allegation of gross corruption involving political appointees at the Department since 2001. And who at Justice made that determination? That would be the Public Integrity Section, whose leadership is itself now the target of a criminal investigation by a special prosecutor. Maybe this decision needs to be reviewed by someone who actually knows something about public integrity.

Well, the Public Integrity Section isn't exactly credible to decide whether to press charges against Flores. Remember former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens' case? Judge Emmet Sullivan, judge in Stevens' case, exposed that six prosecutors involved in the case committed prosecutorial misconduct and withheld evidence. Click here to read more. Judge Sullivan had now launched a criminal investigation into those six prosecutors. And one of the six prosecutors being investigated is the head chief of the Public Integrity Section.

And those prosecutors that are being investigated in the Stevens case are from the same tainted office who decided not to charge Flores: The Public Integrity Section. I agree with Horton. Someone else from another department needs to review and decide whether Flores should be charged but, not from an office that is currently under investigation and hasn't live up to the word "public integrity."

Did former OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores lie to the Oversight Committee hearing last year?

Written by Biloxi

That is a question that should be answered. To recap from yesterday, Inspector General for the Justice Dept., Glenn Fine released his final report on former OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores' investigation [Click here to read IG report].. Fine concluded that Flores violated the ethics rules in grant making. As you may recall, Flores steered 55% of $8.4 million dollars of grant money to organizations such as World Golf Foundation, Best Friends Foundation, and so on that had political and religious influences for the Bush Administration. And there is more:

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.

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.

And of course, according to ABC News last year, Fine was looking into Flores’ hiring of a Honduran ex-colonel Hector Rene Fonseca who ran for President in Honduras and whom Flores attended church, and was hired through a $450.00 per-day contract. Well, it was revealed yesterday by Fine is that Fonseca was making $281k a year which is a lot more than the $450 per day contract claim.

According to investigators, The department's public integrity section declined to pursue civil or criminal charges against Flores after ethics watchdogs forwarded their findings. Now that investigators won't pursue charges against charges, the question should Congress pursue purjury charges if Flores lied to Congress in his testmony last year? Let's examine:

In December 5, 2007, Flores testified to the Senate committee about the JJDPA [Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act]. Unfortunately, last year, Senator Patrick Leahy wrote a letter to then Attorney General Michael Mukasey on missing documents that were not given and one of the documents were Flores' missing answers to the Senate committee in the 2007 Senate hearing. The full text of Leahy’s letter to Mukasey is available here online.

In addition, Flores gave inconsistent answers in his testimony to the Oversight Committee hearing last year. Here is one example: the exchange between Rep. Diane Watson and Flores.

On page 46 of the Oversight and Reform Committee hearing

transcript

with Flores last year:

Rep. Diane Watson:

I am concerned that you say very little about
integrating minorities, disproportionate minority contact and
improving juvenile detention and the correction centers. Too
many of our youth, African American youth and Hispanic youth
in our city end up in lockups.

I want you to explain to me why you haven't set as a
priority and you have--well, I say you didn't share that with
your staff. You just came up with this set, as I understand.
So how do you explain veering off and putting your own targets in place rather than the criteria of DOJ?

Mr. FLORES. Ma'am, Congresswoman, I would first say a
couple things. Gangs are an incredibly high priority for the
Department and for my office. In Los Angeles, we have had a
long-term relationship with the mayor's office since my
tenure to really focus on gangs. In fact, it has been so
successful it was the model that was recommended by Connie
Rice for the mayor's office to adopt. The last that I know
is that the mayor's office is in the process of funding, to
the tune of $150 million, more or less, the in essence
replication- -

Rep. Diane WATSON. Can I just interrupt you? I am looking at
the list, and I am sure you have that list, and it says
disproportionate minority contact and improved juvenile
detention and correction centers. I made reference to it
when I opened. I don't see it on your list of priorities. I
don't know what you put in place. You said you worked with
the mayor. Is that the mayor of Los Angeles?

Mr. FLORES. Yes, ma'am.

Rep. Diane WATSON. Okay. Well, I don't see it reflected in
your priorities. I am looking at, on the other side of this
paper, your priorities. I think you have the same list that
I have. So can you explain why there is not an emphasis, or
are you referring to something that was already there? These
are different priorities.

This testimony is really crucial to look at because Youth Today exposed a couple of weeks ago news of OJJDP's buried suicide study during the Flores years. Now, under Flores' leadership, a report on Disproportionate Minority Contact was buried. Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) refers to the disproportionate number of minority youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system.

Also, Shay C Bilchik, former OJJDP Administrator and now Research professor director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University Public Policy Institute, had pointed out a need for a transparent process in the grant decision making in the OJJDP. In Youth Today, Mr. Bilchik said, "If you are going to have credibility with your field, they need to know that you have this peer review process, this independent input on the quality of the applications." He went on to say that "as for decisions made by staff, directors need to be sure they 'are transparent, and that you are establishing those criteria and documenting' your reasons for awarding and not awarding grants." Mr. Bilchik’s statement on the peer review process very much differs from Mr. Flores’ testimony to the Oversight Committee. Mr. Flores said: “I believe that peer review only evaluates the competence of the organization to do the work-not whether the work should be done or whether a grant should be awarded. The peer review process cannot be used to determine the value of one grant against another because the panels do not see all of the applications, are unaware of what else may be proposed, and what other programs of a similar nature have already been or may be funded. Simply put, the peer reviewers lack the information necessary to make such judgments.”

“To be clear, there is no prohibition against using internal peer review and in the case of the National Programs Solicitation, my career Deputy Administrator for Programs recommended it in light of tight deadlines and the ability of career staff to carry it out. I agreed with the recommendation and directed that they proceed. Peer review helps to inform the process and is not a substitute for the process. As set forth in the solicitation, peer review scores were meant to be advisory only.”

All eyes should be on current Attorney General Eric Holder since the investigators won't pursue charges into Flores. In Holder's confirmation for Attorney General, Holder was asked questions to answer in writing by the Senate committee. Here is a nugget:

Question 6 from Sen. Feingold:

Holder: If confirmed, I hope to restore the Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to its former role as a leader in advancing these and other innovations. I also plan to give priority to juvenile justice and delinquency prevention issues in a number of ways: First, I will work with the President to identify a strong leader for OJJDP Administrator.

Second, I will work with the new Administrator to reinvigorate the important work of OJJDP, especially in the area of delinquency.

Third, I will ensure that OJJDP’s professional staff is given senior leadership support within the Department.

Fourth, the Department will reach out to constituent organizations to elicit their views on what we can and should be doing.

Finally, we will make it a priority to work with Congress on reauthorization of the JJDPA Act.

Two questions should be asked:

1. Is Holder going to hold Flores accountable? And will he hold his promise to his answer to Sen. Feingold and hire a strong leader to fill the position of the OJJDP Administator?

2. Is the Oversight Committee going to look into possible perjury in Flores' testimony?


If nothing is done, rest assured the Bar Association should look into Inspector General's report findings of Flores' violation of the ethics rules of grant making and suspend his license.

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;

More from Washington Post.

OIG releases report on improvement of grant management process.

Special Reports
Improving the Grant Management Process, February 2009


PDF

However, the Glenn Fine, Inspector General doesn't address former OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores' conduct in the grant making process scandal last year nor his findings into Flores' criminal investigation into alleged illegal hiring of a contractor [Hector Rene Fonseca] and his business expenses. Will still continue to follow.

OJJDP to Youth Today on buried suicide report: Can't find anything as to exactly why it was held up.

Investigative reporter John Kelly followed up with OJJDP on why former OJJDP administrator J. Robert Flores buried suicide report.

Youth Today:

We sought OJJDP's reaction to that assertion from Acting Administrator Jeff Slowikowski. In an e-mail on Feb. 10 requesting the interview with Slowikowski, we posed four specific points we wanted to discuss:

1) Why was the suicide report released yesterday held at OJJDP since 2004?

2) Why was the study abruptly not approved in December after being set for publication?

3) Was it Bob Flores' call to hold and then cancel approval for release of the study?

4) Why did Slowikowski decide to publish it once he became acting administrator?

Last week, OJJDP Spokeswoman Kara McCarthy told us that Flores had signed off on publishing the report; Slowikowski is the name on the report because it was issued after he took over, she said.

That still left the larger question. What was the holdup?

This is the response that came back yesterday, via McCarthy:

"It went through the review process and it was published, it just took longer than should be expected. But the people who were involved in it are not here anymore. So I can't find anything as to exactly why it was held up."

"It took longer than should be expected?" And that is the OJJDP's explanation? The current OJJDP is explaining why the publication took long to published this year but not answering the question to why the suicide report was buried and not published under Flores' leadership. It is my hope that OJJDP department is completely restored with leadership and integrity. Flores is gone but the damage to that agency is still there.

Another buried study at OJJDP: First, suicide study, now DMC.

Page 46 of the Oversight and Reform Committee hearing with Flores last year:

Rep.Diane Watson:

I am concerned that you say very little about
integrating minorities, disproportionate minority contact and
improving juvenile detention and the correction centers. Too
many of our youth, African American youth and Hispanic youth
in our city end up in lockups.

I want you to explain to me why you haven't set as a
priority and you have--well, I say you didn't share that with
your staff. You just came up with this set, as I understand.
So how do you explain veering off and putting your own targets in place rather than the criteria of DOJ?

Mr. FLORES. Ma'am, Congresswoman, I would first say a
couple things. Gangs are an incredibly high priority for the
Department and for my office. In Los Angeles, we have had a
long-term relationship with the mayor's office since my
tenure to really focus on gangs. In fact, it has been so
successful it was the model that was recommended by Connie
Rice for the mayor's office to adopt. The last that I know
is that the mayor's office is in the process of funding, to
the tune of $150 million, more or less, the in essence
replication- -

Rep. Diane WATSON. Can I just interrupt you? I am looking at
the list, and I am sure you have that list, and it says
disproportionate minority contact and improved juvenile
detention and correction centers. I made reference to it
when I opened. I don't see it on your list of priorities. I
don't know what you put in place. You said you worked with
the mayor. Is that the mayor of Los Angeles?

Mr. FLORES. Yes, ma'am.

Rep. Diane WATSON. Okay. Well, I don't see it reflected in
your priorities. I am looking at, on the other side of this
paper, your priorities. I think you have the same list that
I have. So can you explain why there is not an emphasis, or
are you referring to something that was already there? These
are different priorities.

It is my only hope that the AG Eric Holder investigates further into former OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores into what other studies that Flores buried or covered up that prevented rehabilitation for juveniles in his six years of tenure.

Youth Today exposed last week news of OJJDP's buried suicide study during the Flores years. Now, under Flores' leadership, a report on Disproportionate Minority Contact was buried. By the way, Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) refers to the disproportionate number of minority youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system.

Youth Today:

OJJDP contracted for Center for Children's Law and Policy (CCLP) Executive Director Mark Soler and his DMC policy director Lisa Garry to write a report on Disproportionate Minority Contact, which was supposed to be part of the most recent DMC Technical Assistance Manual, published in 2006. While the report was mostly instructive rather than revelatory - it focused on how to start DMC work in local communities and how to help move public opinion toward progressive DMC positions - sources tell us it included a section on addressing DMC issues with public officials.

When it was not included in the manual, sources say, the authors were told by OJJDP that it would become its own separate bulletin or report.

OJJDP doesn't provide an explanation on why this report was buried.

Click here to read on the Juvenile Justice scandal on Justice League blog.

Big stone wall: Many Bush ex-officials refuse to cooperate with DOJ probes.

While many of the Bush ex-officials are stonewalling DOJ probes such as USA firings, politization in the Civil Division, and so on, a little nugget from TPMmuckraker:

Another investigation by the Justice Department's Inspector General has focused on misconduct by J. Robert Flores, the Bush administration's former administrator of the Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Although little known outside the Justice Department, the OJJDP doles out more than a quarter of a billion in federal grants each year [or more than 50% of the federal grants according to the Oversight Committee's findings] to decrease the number of juveniles in dangerous facilities and to prevent juvenile delinquency. Flores came under investigation by the Inspector General for allegedly setting aside federal laws and government regulations to award federal grants to political allies of the Bush White House and for also allegedly using federal travel funds to play golf.

During that investigation, Flores' then-chief of staff, Michele DeKonty, took the Fifth Amendment rather than answer questions from Congress about the awarding of federal grants for political reasons, and similarly refused to be interviewed by the Justice Department's Inspector General -- leading to her immediate firing by then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

The Inspector General's probe has reportedly since transformed into a criminal investigation. DeKonty's attorney, David H. Laufman, declined to comment for this article as to whether his client has since cooperated with the criminal inquiry.

Author says former OJJDP Administrator buried suicide report

by SP Biloxi

Youth Today reports that Lindsay Hayes, a project director for the NCIA, handed a report to former OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores on a study of juveniles who committed suicide while in confinement in winter of 2004. In the study, it showed that more than a third of the 110 suicide deaths that occurred between 1995 and 1999 weren't known to the supervising or licensing state agency. Flores did nothing on Hayes' report in five years nor disclosed to Hayes why.

Now this report called Characteristics of Juvenile Suicide in Confinement is now available online and has become Acting Administrator Jeff Slowikowski 's problem. Reporter John Kelly of Youth Today reports:

OJJDP published the study and made it available on its website today.
Among the major findings in the report:

*More than one state agency was unaware of suicides at private juvenile facilities with which it held a contract.

*More than half of suicides at juvenile detention centers occurred within six days of a juvenile's commitment to the facility, and only 35 percent in detention centers had been provided a mental health assessment before the suicide.

Because the issue was so important, Hayes said, OJJDP allowed NCIA to post an unofficial version of the study on its website. Shortly thereafter, he met with OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores.

"He said they were going to make it a bulletin, publish the full report and fast track it," Hayes said. "But then, [the report] just sat there."

Hayes said he called regularly to check on the report and was not called back, and ultimately "moved on to other things."

But Hayes's frustration grew, as recent consulting jobs with juvenile facilities made him realize how preventable many suicides were. He became "so infuriated" with Flores, he said, that in summer of 2008, "I wrote a fairly nasty letter to him."

A day or two later, Hayes got an email from OJJDP staff saying the study had been approved and was in the publication stage, with an expected release date of 2008.

Then last December, Hayes said, he got an e-mail saying the study was no longer approved. But in January, after Flores left the agency, he was told by OJJDP that the publication would be released, five years after its submission.

"I have a sense that Flores' hands were all over this," Hayes said, and that "senior staff were supportive of what I was doing."

I found Hayes' 2006 report [Click here]. Mr. Flores clearly ignored Hayes' study. It read:

May 1, 2006
Further Information
Juvenile Suicide in Confinement: A National Survey will appear as an OJJDP publication in the near future. The full report, however, can be be accessed through the NCIA website:
http://www.ncianet.org/cjjsl.cfm


The House committee need to probe this matter as Flores is still under investigation into the grant decision making process, illegal hiring of a contractor, and questionable business expenses. Now, Flores knowingly and willingly ignored a key study which he chose to not disclose this to juvenile detention centers to rehabilitate the youth.

More importantly, Flores lied to the House committee on his leadership role as the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Administrator and violated the mission statement the agency.

If I were the Senate committee, I would comb through Flores' 2007 testimony to the committee to see if Flores committed perjury given the light of this new scandal.

Flores is out! Jeff Slowikowski be acting OJJDP Administrator.

Yup, J. Robert Flores left the building on Wednesday. More like the DOJ had to quietly sneak Flores out before people start questioning.

Source: Youth Today

Jeff Slowikowski, the associate administrator of the demonstration programs division, will become the acting administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). He replaces outgoing Administrator J. Robert Flores, who left the agency yesterday[Wednesday].

Slowikowski joined OJJDP in 1990 after a graduate fellowship at the Schaefer Center for Public Policy in Baltimore. He has managed projects including the development of OJJDP's Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders and Pulling America's Communities Together.

Slowikowski was an auxiliary police officer with the Baltimore County Police Department for four years, where he worked in the Crime Analysis Unit and assisted staff in the development of the Baltimore Police Department's local crime report and subsequent data submissions to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report.

He will be a "supervisory official" until Jan. 21st, which is the first date that acting administrators can be named, according to OJJDP spokeswoman Kara McCarthy.

As a reminder, Slowikowski told the Oversight and Reform committee that Flores and Michele DeKonty, Flores' Chief of Staff who later was fired because she pleaded the 5th and was a no show to the House committee's hearing in June 2008 "then directed program staff to help the World Golf Foundation in preparing its application." "It was made clear to me that we had to ... work with World Golf and make sure that they got their application in," he told the committee, according to a memo.Click here for more info.

And I notice that the OJJDP Administrator info on the OJJDP website is gone. Click here. I hope the Oversight and Reform committee, OIG, and Senate Judiciary committee continues to Flores' probe despite he left the agency.

Senator Leahy's response to the Senate committee's oversight request regarding OJJDP grant award policies.

[pic above] is a July 8, 2008 letter from Keith B. Nelson,Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General to Senator Patrick Leahy.

In a response from Senator Patrick Leahy who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, Mr. Leahy shares with me in an email on Tuesday on the status of the Senate committee's oversight request from the Attorney General Michaal Mukasey regarding the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention grant award policies:

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov

To: *******@****.com
Sent: Tue, 13 Jan 2009
Subject: From Senator Patrick Leahy

Dear ********:

Thank you for contacting me about my oversight request regarding Office
of Juvenile Justice Prevention grant award policies. I appreciate
hearing from you and apologize for the delay of my response.

On June 27, 2008, I sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey
asking for information on how the Office of Juvenile Justice Prevention
awards its grants after several reports surfaced in the press that the
Department of Justice was awarding grants to groups that scored lower
than less politically-connected organizations. On July 8, 2008, the
Department of Justice replied to my letter informing me that they would
provide 15,000 pages of documents that outline the grant process. On
July 25, they delivered 14,960 pages that my staff and I have begun to
examine in great detail.

Juvenile justice grant programs are essential federal programs that help
state and local governments improve their programs to help our nation's
youth stay out of trouble and avoid a downward spiral of crime and
punishment as they get older. Oversight of these programs is equally
important, and that is why I requested these documents and will work to
ensure that these important programs are administered properly going
forward.

Additionally, last year, I introduced the bipartisan Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2008 with Senators Specter and Kohl. This bill would reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 through 2013 while encouraging states and local governments to keep young offenders out of adult prisons, where studies show they are more likely to learn and act upon criminal behavior. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee on July 31, 2008, but unfortunately, the Senate was unable address the bill before the 110th
Congress ended. You can be assured that I will reintroduce this legislation early in the new Congress and build upon the significant progress that was made last year.

I have attached a copy of the Department of Justice's July 8 letter. Unfortunately, I cannot attach the nearly 15,000 documents they later provided, but I will continue to work diligently on this issue and make sure the Office of Juvenile Justice Prevention is administered fairly,
regardless of the administration in charge.

Thank you again for your letter. Please keep in touch.

Patrick Leahy http://leahy.senate.gov/images/Frank200.jpg
PATRICK LEAHY
United States Senator

To catch up on OJJDP Administator J. Robert Flores probe and the Juvenile Justice scandal, click here.

OJJDP Administrator Flores reflects on 6 years of failure progress in Juvenile Justice.

Fore!

And Flores left the part out on ignoring his staff in grant decision making and steering more than 50% of $8.4 million of grant money to certain individuals and organizations to well connected Bush Administration's religious and political agenda. Let's not forget the increase of gang problems, juvenile arrests, and ignoring the juveniles that most need the grant money for rehabilitation during his tenure. No apologies. No accepting responsibility. Zip. Nada.

OJJDP News:

As my tenure at OJJDP draws to a close, I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on the accomplishments of the Office since I began as Administrator in April 2002. A leader is only as good as his team and, first and foremost, I want to thank the dedicated men and women in OJJDP and all of our partners in the field for their hard work and commitment to improving the lives of youth in this country.

These past 6½ years with OJJDP have been both challenging and rewarding.

Together we have made outstanding achievements in the field of juvenile justice and improved conditions for the children of this country. We have made progress in difficult areas such as reducing youth gang activity, improving child safety, building new tools to enable States to make significant reductions in disproportionate minority contact, fulfilling trust responsibilities with tribal communities, and increased partnerships and collaboration between Federal agencies in addressing the needs of youth who often receive services from multiple social service providers across multiple sectors.

Faith-based and small community organizations play an important role in everything from mentoring youth in detention to helping gang-involved youth. My efforts to reach out to this extensive resource and include them in our mission have yielded great dividends. Their work demonstrates the power we can harness from people who live and work in the communities where need is greatest. We need every hand at the tasks before us and this work demonstrates that these partners can add invaluable aid that should be continued in years to come.

While challenges lie ahead, we can and should recognize where we have succeeded and work to expand and export those programs and practices that have demonstrated positive results. In that same way, we must also be willing to abandon those efforts that are not successful.

Overall, OJJDP's efforts remained focused on the goals of the Office in a period of change, by addressing new challenges—from youth gangs to child prostitution—in ways that advanced the basic responsibilities of the Office. What follows is a brief chronology highlighting our accomplishments. As our time together draws to a close, I hope you are as proud of these achievements as I am.

Former OJJDP Administrator Shay Bilchik wouldn't name a person that he endorses as Flores' replacement.

As there is less than 10 days left under Obama is sworn in as the next 44th President of the U.S., current OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores will be unemployed soon fron his position as he is still currently under investigation his grant decision making practices, alleged illegal hiring of employee for a contractual position, and questionable business trips.

Former OJJDP Administrator Shay Bilchik, who now runs the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown, appeared on this week the JJ Matters radio show. According to youthtoday.org, reporter John Kelly shared some insights on Bichik's recommendations on the next OJJDP Administrator under the Obama Administration:

He[Bilchik] wouldn't name a particular person he endorses for OJJDP Administrator, but here is what he thought the person should be like: not afraid to meet and work with people who do not agree with him or her, committed to bringing the agency's focus back to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act requirements, and with experience running a fairly large JJ agency at some point. In other words, Vinny Schiraldi? Bilchik mentioned a few other good candidates to JJ Today though, and likely will have the chance to give a list to someone in President-elect Obama's leadership circle.

Vincent Schiraldiv is the director, D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. Sounds like a good candidate. Or maybe Charles Ogletree? Ogletree taught both Barack and Michelle Obama at Harvard. He is an advocate on civil rights and race. And Ogletree is the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section JuvenileJustice Committee who co-chaired townhall meeting a couple of months ago in a panel discussions on improving the juvenile justice system under the next Administration.Click here to view the panel topics.

Whoever replaces J. Robert Flores as OJJDP Administrator, it is my only hope that entire OJJDP and grant decision making process are restored with integrity, trust, transparency and great leadership.

Here is Bilchik's interview on JJ Matters radio show:

OJJDP scandal, political connections and quid pro quo.

Written by Biloxi
December 15, 2008

As we hear so much in the news last week of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's arrest from trying to auction President-elect Obama' Senate seat to the high bidder in exchange for political favors and financial gain, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Deliquency Prevention scandal with OJJDP administrator J. Robert Flores is not too far fetch to say that this was a scandal that was quid pro quo.

Quid pro quo or "something for something" "this for that," "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours" has now become the word to use in many of the brooding scandals of political corruption. In the case of J. Robert Flores' probe, we know that Flores ignored his staff's decisions in the grant process and awarded grants to certain individuals of organization with political and religious connections to the Bush Administration. But, what about J. Robert Flores, himself? Has anyone wonder if Flores, himself, got mutual benefits for awarding these individuals? A quid pro quo? Let's examine.

There were five groups that were not recommended for grant funding but which received funding from Flores:

(1) the Best Friends Foundation, an abstinence-only organization, which
ranked 53 out of 104.
.
(2) the World Golf Foundation, which ranked 47 out of 104.

(3) Urban Strategies, a consulting firm, and Victory Outreach, a faith-based organization, which ranked 42 out of 104.

(4) Enough Is Enough, an anti-Internet pornography organization, which ranked 33 out of 104.

(5) the Latino Coalition for Faith and Community Initiatives, another faith-based organization, which ranked 26 out of 104.

Best Friends Foundation

Elayne Bennett, president and founder of Best Friends, happens to be close friends with Flores. Bennett is the wife of Bill Bennett. According to Waxman's website, documents and interviews show that while the grant was being developed and competed, Flores had multiple contacts with Ms. Bennett, including free attendance to a $500 per-plate Best Friends Foundation fundraiser for himself and his wife. In an email from former OJJDP employee and whistleblower Scott Peterson yesterday, he didn't attend the Best Friends Foundation fundraiser but Flores "brought his wife and special assistant and her husband" to the event. By the way,prior to attending the fundraising event,Flores requested an opinion from the Office of General Counsel, which approved his attendance. According to Waxman, Best Friends submitted an application on June 11,2007. On July 17,2007, Flores awarded Best Friends the grant for $1,124,000. A week later, on July 24,2007, Flores participated in a summit held by the Best Friends Foundation at a Washington hotel.

And what did Flores do for Best Friends Foundation in return for awarding them funding? From an email exchange from Holly C. Bauer of Best Friends Foundation to Flores, Ms. Bauer sent him an article covering the National Youth Summit in which Flores was on the panel for discussion. I find this nugget in the email of the article:

"According to Bennett, the Youth Leadership Summit is a good way to ernpower teens. lt is also a good use of the panelists' time, many of whom fìnancially support Best Friends. One of the panelists, Judge Robert Flores of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, urged participants to strive to be men and women of honor and character. He said that the definition of honor is doing the right thing even if no one would know othervise."

Financially support Best Friends? Did Flores personally support Best Friends financially. If so, when? It is evident J. Robert Flores loved Best Friends so much he's even highlighted on their "endorsements" page!

World Golf Foundation

According to Waxman's website, Flores told the Oversight Committee that he traveled to Florida in February 2006 to visit individuals associated with the World Golf Foundation and play golf after Flores and his then chief of staff, Michelle DeKonty, met with a World Golf Foundation official in June 2007. Both Flores and DeKonty directed DOJ officials to assist the group in submitting its grant application. Regina Schofield, former assistant Attorney General and Flores' boss, told the Committee staff that Flores had a prior relationship with the World Golf Foundation:
"I gathered that he had been invited to speak at a number of their meetings, conferences. I don't know what their forums were, but I think he had been invited to speak a number of times and felt a familiarity with them."
Interesting that she didn't know much information on Flores' speaking engagements with the organization. Flores did play round of golf in February 12, 2006, according to document of Flores' receipt. But, the committee found that Flores paid$159.00 for the round of golf on June 18, 2008, one day before he testified to the Oversight Committee. He waits two years to pay for a round of golf? Was this quid pro quo? Makes you wonder.

Victory Outreach

Certainly this grant funding is quid pro quo. The funding was to the President of Urban Strategies is Lisa Cummins, who formerly worked in the White House Office for Faith Based Initiatives. According to DOJ documents, there were electronic meeting requests circulated
inviting Flores to meetings with Ms. Cummins and the directors of Victory Outreach. After the award of the grant, on September 24, 2007, Ms. Cummins met Flores at a White House Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, after which he asked his staff to meet with Ms. Cummins to work on a revised budget proposal. Cummins wrote:
"As we discussed, a portion of this program is being funded through OJJDP, both via past earmark funding as well as future competitive grants. Given direct and indirect dollars of OJJDP support, is this a project Bob could participate in as an expert regarding protecting children online, law enforcementefforts, programs etc?"

Enough is Enough

Flores approved a grant for the organization on July 17,2007.
The Enough is Enough group appeared to had several contacts with . Flores. According to document, on March 2,2007, Ms. Donna Rice Hughes invited Flores and his wife to Enough Is Enough's annual "Heart-to-Heart" fundraising dinner. The documents didn't indicate whether Flores attended the event. And who is Donna Rice Hughes? Hughes was appointed in 1999 by then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott to a congressional panel that studied child pornography. She later received recognition from the National Law Center for Children and Families, a conservative group that supports anti-pornography laws. That was where Flores was employed prior Bush appointed him as OJJDP Administrator. And Hughes was known for the 1987 sex scandal that ended the second presidential campaign of Gary Hart.

Latino Coalition for Faith and Community Initiatives


According to Waxman's documents, there may be connections between the Latino Coalition and Urban Strategies and Victory Outreach.
Flores awarded the Latino Coalition $1.2 million grant. The Latino Coalition application stated that the Coalition would use the funds
to support the work of twelve local faith-based organizations, including three affiliates from Victory Outreach. Lisa Cummins was instrumental in helping the Latino Coalition secure federal grants, according to a report issued by the Baylor University Institute of Religion. According to Latino Coalition website, "Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center working closely with the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to evaluate Juvenile Justice programs in the U.S." Currently, The Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center (JJEC) is no longer available.
Click here.

There still hasn't been any word from the Office of Inspector General on the probe into Flores' hiring of an ex-Honduran General Hector Rene Fonseca as a contractor. I wrote an article a couple of months on Flores' connection to.Fonseca's wife Deborah Demoss Fonseca, a GOP contributor and former aide to former Senator Jesse Helms. Here is more of a deeper connection:

Before his OJJDP Administrator appointment, Flores was Vice President and Senior Counsel at the National Law Center for Children and Families, a rightwing pressure group founded by the National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families (formerly the National Coalition
Against Pornography). The Arthur S. DeMoss Foundation, one of the key foundations backing the religious far right, heavily funded the coalition. National Coalition for the Protection of Families and Children is mentioned on the DeMoss Foundation website that they serve. Click here.

We can only hope that the Oversight Committee and Senate committee continue the probe into the OJJDP scandal as President George Bush leaves office on January 20, 2009. Although Flores will no longer hold the position as OJJDP Administrator after President-elected Obama takes office, it is my hope that Flores' quid pro quo and abuse of power is held accountable. And if Inspector General Glenn Fine report finds that Flores did indeed illegally hired Fonseca and Flores' business expenses were inappropriate, I do hope that the State Bar Association is notified to suspend his license to practice law and charged with violation of the code of ethics.

Here is the Standard of Conduct for DOJ employees from the DOJ website:
Conflicts of Interest. Employees may not engage in outside activities that create or appear to create a conflict of interest with their official duties. Such a conflict exists when the outside activity would: (1) require the recusal of the employee from significant aspects of his or her official duties (5 C.F.R. § 2635.802(b)); (2) create an appearance that the employee's official duties were performed in a biased or less than impartial manner (5 C.F.R. § 2635.502); or (3) create an appearance of official sanction or endorsement (5 C.F.R. § 2635.702(b)).

And I guess Flores missed that part in the DOJ manual.