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 releases semiannual report to Congress; OJJDP investigation still pending.

Here is OIG Glenn Fine's report to Congress on December 2, 2008 for April 1, 2008-September 30, 2008 PDF.

On page 32, the review into OJJDP policies is still pending:

OJJDP’s Grant and Contract Award
Procedures

The OIG is reviewing the policies and
procedures used by OJJDP to solicit, assess, and
award discretionary grants in FY 2007. This
audit stems from allegations that the OJJDP
Administrator and his executive staff bypassed
several highly rated proposals for the National
Juvenile Justice Program in favor of lower-rated
ones.

Also, on page 42, grant management is mentioned in the report as on of the top management and performance challenges:

The OIG has created a list of top management
and performance challenges in the Department
annually since 1998, initially in response to
congressional requests but in recent years as
part of the Department’s annual Performance
and Accountability Report.

Top Management and Performance
Challenges in the Department of
Justice – 2008
1. Counterterrorism
2. Sharing of Intelligence and Law
Enforcement Information
3. Information Technology Planning,
Implementation, and Security
4. Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
5. Restoring Confidence in the Department of
Justice
6. Violent Crime
7. Cybercrime
8. Grant Management
9. Detention and Incarceration
10. Financial Management and Systems

Detailed information about these management
and performance challenges can be found online
at http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/challenges/index.htm.

OIG findings on top management, grant management, and performance challenges in the DOJ.

On pages 16-17 of the Office of Inspector General's report:

8. Grant Management:

Concerns about the integrity of the Department’s grant award process
during the past year focused renewed attention on the Department’s efforts to effectively manage the billions of dollars it awards in grants each year.

For at least the past 8 years, the OIG has identified grant management as a significant challenge for the Department, not only in terms of making timely awards of grant funds, but also in maintaining proper oversight over grantees to ensure the funds are used as intended.

In addition, we initiated an audit to evaluate OJJDP’s grant making procedures. In FY 2007, Congress provided more than $100 million to OJJDP without earmarks and provided OJJDP an opportunity to solicit competitive proposals for new grant projects from the juvenile justice community. The ongoing OIG audit will examine how OJJDP announces competitive award programs, reviews applications for funding, and selects awardees.

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