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Sex, Drugs, Corruption and Graft

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Anonymous

Guest
Its a good thing we had a "good old boy" party man in the White House and Republican appointees running this thing- Hard telling what else the Dems could have got involved in... :???: :wink: :lol:

I don't think from Bush on down they even know what ethics in government is :(

Interior Dept. Officials Embroiled in Energy Ethics Scandal

By Derek Kravitz and Mary Pat Flaherty
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, September 10, 2008; 5:33 PM

Government officials in charge of collecting billions of dollars worth of royalties from oil and gas companies accepted lavish gifts, steered contracts to favored firms and engaged in illicit sex with employees of the energy companies, federal investigators reported today.

Investigators from the Interior Department's inspector general's office said more than a dozen employees, including the former director of the oil royalty program, accepted gifts including ski trips, sports tickets and golf outings. The report alleges that the former director, Gregory W. Smith, also arranged side deals that personally netted him more than $30,000.

The report contains fresh allegations about the culture and practices at the beleaguered royalty-in-kind program of Interior's Minerals Management Service, which last year collected more than $4 billion worth of oil and natural gas from companies given contracts to tap energy on federal and Indian lands and offshore. The revelations come as Congress is set to consider opening up federal lands in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge and offshore of Florida for drilling.

The program, based near Denver, has been under multiple investigations since 2006 by the Interior Department's secretary, its inspector general, the Justice Department and Congress for alleged mismanagement and conflicts of interest.

In the report released today, investigators said they "discovered a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity." Nineteen oil marketers and other employees in the office are accused of having personal, and sometimes sexual, relationships with representatives from a group of favorite oil and gas companies from 2002 through 2006. Many of those identified told investigators that they didn't think ethics rules applied to them because of their "unique" role in the agency and that they needed to socialize with industry representatives for "market intelligence." Those identified have been recommended for internal administrative action.

The energy company employees came from Shell, Chevron, Hess and Gary-Williams Energy Co.

Smith, 56, resigned last year. The report alleges that in addition to potential conflicts of interest, Smith had inappropriate personal relationships with at least two subordinates and is alleged to have bought cocaine from another government employee in his office.

Smith, who now works for a private oil company, did not respond to requests for comment. His lawyer, Stephen Peters, said he has not read the report, but said the allegations about drug use and sexual liaisons "sound very much embellished and fabricated without having studied the reports. Greg Smith was a very loyal and dedicated employee" who increased revenue under his watch.

Investigators referred their findings to federal prosecutors, who did not charge Smith with any criminal wrongdoing. The Justice Department declined to comment on the decision not to charge Smith.

Justice officials also declined to comment on their decision not to pursue a criminal case against Lucy Querques Denett, the former associate director of the Minerals Management Service, who the inspector general's report alleges improperly arranged a million-dollar deal for two retired employees.

One of those two retired employees, Jimmy W. Mayberry, pleaded guilty last month to a federal conflict-of-interest charge related to the investigation. He is to be sentenced in November and, as part of a plea agreement, will likely receive probation. Another employee, Milton K. Dial, has been under criminal investigation for similar conflict-of-interest allegations, according to two sources with knowledge of the criminal matter.

According to the report, Mayberry discussed with Denett how he could be "brought back to work" for the agency after his retirement in January 2003.

Before he left, Mayberry created a new, independent contracting position, which would be subject to competitive bidding. Court documents said he then created the requirements that would be used to select the contractor, created a consulting firm out of his Texas home and was awarded the $150,000 contract himself in June 2003. He later hired Dial, the report says.

In subsequent years, Mayberry's firm won contracts totaling another $758,000.

Mayberry and Dial did not return phone calls seeking comment. Mayberry's attorney, Danny C. Onorato, declined to comment.

Rep. Nick J. Rahall (D-W.Va.), the chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, said the findings "are so outlandish that this whole IG report reads like a script from a television miniseries -- and one that can't air during family viewing time." Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), the chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, called the report "extremely troubling," adding that "this investigation raises very serious questions about management and organization at the Interior Department."

The royalty-in-kind program, which started as a small pilot project a decade ago, has been touted as a way to simplify the way oil and gas companies pay for the right to drill on federal land and offshore. Instead of calculating the profit from a well, they can simply give the government one-sixth to one-eighth of whatever they take from the ground.

Revenues rose quickly, from $1.5 billion in 2004 to $4.3 billion last fiscal year. But its growth occurred "in an environment with relatively unstructured in-house oversight," the congressional Royalty Policy Committee found, according to a report it released in December. Investigators say companies were allowed to revise their billion-dollar bids for projects indiscriminately; government workers routinely failed to seek out legal advice on complicated deals; and the agency used outdated computers and a $150 million software program that resulted in royalty money going uncollected.

Lee Ellen Helfrich, an attorney who represented states and tribes entitled to a cut of the royalties, said it was nearly impossible to get accurate numbers from the agency. When asked for the details, "they kept hemming and hawing," she said.

In late 2006 questions arose over its handling of leases written in 1998 and 1999, which allowed major oil companies drilling in the Gulf of Mexico to avoid billions of dollars in royalty payments.

Former Interior Department auditors accused the agency of failing to bill companies for drilling. "We weren't allowed to audit them. It was kind of disturbing," said Bobby L. Maxwell, a former auditor who sued the federal government for not collecting oil and gas royalties. "You couldn't really see what was going on."

The current director of the Minerals Management Service, Randall B. Luthi, said today that he takes the report "very seriously" and added that the small number of people implicated in the report, "does not represent a culture" inside an agency that has about 1,700 employees. The royalty in kind program where the lapses cited in the report occurred has about 50 employees.

In a press conference, Luthi said the harm done was to "public trust" and said "I do not believe Americans have lost financially" as a result of the alleged activities. However, in a later interview, he acknowledged "it is too early to tell" whether financial considerations might have been given to companies who gave favors to federal employees but said the contracts will be audited.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
“Well, here’s a great scandal. Federal investigators say that members of the Bush administration who were in charge of overseeing billions of dollars in oil royalties received gifts and had illicit sex with oil company employees. They actually had sex with the oil company employees. You know, when the Republicans said, ‘drill everywhere,’ I had no idea.” -Jay Leno

“And yesterday, Senator Larry Craig, you all remember Larry Craig, America’s favorite restroom enthusiast. Well, he, somehow, he got a Minnesota court to hear an appeal of his case involving soliciting gay sex in an airport men’s room. Unfortunately, the court recessed for a ten-minute bathroom break, and he got arrested again.” -Jay Leno

“No, Larry Craig’s lawyer yesterday told a three-judge panel in Minnesota that the foot tapping in a men’s room must be protected under the first amendment right to free speech. Boy, the Republicans using the Constitution? When was the last time you saw that happen?” -Jay Leno
 

hopalong

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
“Well, here’s a great scandal. Federal investigators say that members of the Bush administration who were in charge of overseeing billions of dollars in oil royalties received gifts and had illicit sex with oil company employees. They actually had sex with the oil company employees. You know, when the Republicans said, ‘drill everywhere,’ I had no idea.” -Jay Leno

“And yesterday, Senator Larry Craig, you all remember Larry Craig, America’s favorite restroom enthusiast. Well, he, somehow, he got a Minnesota court to hear an appeal of his case involving soliciting gay sex in an airport men’s room. Unfortunately, the court recessed for a ten-minute bathroom break, and he got arrested again.” -Jay Leno

“No, Larry Craig’s lawyer yesterday told a three-judge panel in Minnesota that the foot tapping in a men’s room must be protected under the first amendment right to free speech. Boy, the Republicans using the Constitution? When was the last time you saw that happen?” -Jay Leno

Hey oldtimer my 8 yr old grand daughter found those jokes 3 days ago what is taking you so long??
 

TexasBred

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
“Well, here’s a great scandal. Federal investigators say that members of the Bush administration who were in charge of overseeing billions of dollars in oil royalties received gifts and had illicit sex with oil company employees. They actually had sex with the oil company employees. You know, when the Republicans said, ‘drill everywhere,’ I had no idea.” -Jay Leno

“And yesterday, Senator Larry Craig, you all remember Larry Craig, America’s favorite restroom enthusiast. Well, he, somehow, he got a Minnesota court to hear an appeal of his case involving soliciting gay sex in an airport men’s room. Unfortunately, the court recessed for a ten-minute bathroom break, and he got arrested again.” -Jay Leno

“No, Larry Craig’s lawyer yesterday told a three-judge panel in Minnesota that the foot tapping in a men’s room must be protected under the first amendment right to free speech. Boy, the Republicans using the Constitution? When was the last time you saw that happen?” -Jay Leno

Over 14,000 post of this crap from OT...wow...that's lots of cuttin' and pastin' and still not one original thought.
 
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