http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/washington/11royalty.html?hp“A culture of ethical failure” besets the agency, Mr. Devaney wrote in a cover memo.
The reports portray a dysfunctional organization that has been riddled with conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior and a free-for-all atmosphere for much of the Bush administration’s watch.
The culture of the organization “appeared to be devoid of both the ethical standards and internal controls sufficient to protect the integrity of this vital revenue-producing program,” one report said.
At least one former employee named in the report, Jimmy W. Mayberry, pleaded guilty to a felony conflict-of-interest charge in August and faces a potential sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
In late 2002, while he was about to retire from the government, Mr. Mayberry drafted a “statement of work” for a consulting contract to perform essentially identical functions to his own job. He then retired, started a company, and in June 2003 won the contract with the help of his former supervisor and another friend at the agency.
The report found that 19 officials — about one-third of the program’s staff — accepted gratuities from oil companies, which was prohibited because they conducted official business with the industry. Eight of the 19 accepted gifts that exceeded maximum limits for gifts for government employees — no more than $20 for any one item and no more than $50 from any source per year.
While most of the oil companies allowed investigators to interview their employees, the cover letter noted, one major firm, Chevron, would not cooperate. A spokesman for Chevron said he would check into the case but did not immediately provide an explanation.
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