Multi-Year Investigation Reveals Widespread Waste & Misconduct at Highest Echelon of Marshals Service
Oversight found waste, nepotism, lax accountability & whistleblower retaliation
WASHINGTON – Following a
nearly four-year investigation that included reports from more than 100 current
and former employees at the U.S. Marshals Service, Senate Judiciary Committee
Chairman Chuck Grassley today released
a memo summarizing findings of a culture of misconduct by senior agency
officials. The alleged wrongdoing includes inappropriate hiring practices and
nepotism, the misuse of funds for lavish office furnishings, ethics violations,
lax accountability and poor management that resulted in thousands of employees
working with expired or nearly-expired body armor.
“In early 2015, under the Obama Administration, the committee heard from a handful of whistleblowers who exposed dubious spending at the Marshals Service and raised questions about suspicious hiring arrangements by high-ranking officials. Unfortunately, this was only the tip of the iceberg. As our investigation progressed, we found a culture of mismanagement, abuse of authority and lax accountability that started clear at the top and has set a terrible standard for other employees across the agency. Poor leadership and pervasive misconduct cripples morale and corrodes trust of employees tasked with apprehending criminals and keeping communities safe. This culture must change.
“It’s rare to have so many whistleblowers from the rank and file of an agency come forward to express concern. Unfortunately, some faced retaliation for raising the alarm. New leadership has begun to address these issues, and I urge them to take seriously concerns raised by employees. Restoring faith in this important agency is going to require hard work and input from all levels of the Marshals Service,” Grassley said.
The
21-page memo and accompanying 400-plus pages of exhibits highlight numerous
accountability failures by high-ranking officials, including:
·
Wasteful
spending on lavish office furnishings, contracts and costly, but rarely-used
facilities,
·
Inappropriate
hiring practices, such as favoritism and nepotism,
·
The
use of subordinates to fill out applications for senior executive service
positons,
·
The
use of paid and unpaid leave to allow for full retirement benefits of
individuals facing substantiated claims of misconduct,
·
Insufficient
sanctions for the forging of a judge’s signature on hundreds of subpoenas,
·
Insufficient
sanctions for sexual harassment and solicitation of prostitutes,
·
Mismanagement
of critical safety equipment that left operational employees with expired body
armor,
·
Whistleblower
retaliation,
·
Lack
of candor to federal investigators, and
·
Misleading,
erroneous and incomplete responses to Congress.
The
memo makes several recommendations to address issues raised by the
investigation. They include:
·
Training
and policies to better protect whistleblowers,
·
Restrictions
on the use of paid and unpaid leave to avoid termination when facing
substantiated claims of misconduct,
·
Improvements
to the management of cyclical safety equipment, such as body armor, and
·
Improved
cooperation with oversight authorities such as the Office of Special Counsel
and Congress.
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