LegiStorm: Transparency's Sidekick

It appears that The Fleecing of American Taxpayers lives on at the Social Security Administration based on this July 15, 2009 article from the Federal Times below. Mr. Johnson outlined some serious allegations concerning alleged misuse of tax dollars by the SSA IG, Patrick P. O'Carroll living it up in sunny San Diego in November 2008. I admit I was at this conference and found nothing wrong with it with the exception that I was told by my Deputy Commissioner that my attendance was mandatory. The only problem SSA Commissioner Astrue failed to take into consideration was the "timing" and "political fallout" from holding such a conference in the midst of dire economic hardships the country is going through right now. Poor exercise of Judgement may cost him his job. Commissioner Astrue would have been better off postponing the conference until the economic picture of the country had improved. Oh and by the way -- that independent watchdog the Congress put in place to watch over your tax dollars and make sure Agency heads are held accountable -- I believe they call it the Inspector General Office. Well, lo and behold, SSA IG O'Carroll was present at the beautiful Phoenix, AZ resort at the invitation of Commissioner Astrue. Kind of makes you wonder -- who is SSA Subcommittee Chairman Tanner going to call on to do an independent accounting of the conference expenses and production when the IG appears to have been tainted himself. _____________________________________________ SSA defends choice of retreat venue By REBECCA NEAL - Federal Times July 15, 2009 Some House lawmakers are demanding answers from the Social Security Administration after the agency held a training retreat earlier this month at the Waldorf-Astoria’s Arizona Biltmore resort, but the agency contends the conference was appropriate. About 650 GS-12s through GS-14s attended the $70,000 conference in Phoenix earlier this month to learn better management skills, said SSA spokesman Mark Lassiter. “This was a legitimate training conference,” Lassiter said. “It was what you might expect at any other conference, government or otherwise.” But leading members of two House and Ways Committee panels are accusing the agency leadership of being tone-deaf in holding the retreat at such a posh resort at a time of high unemployment and record government deficits. “At a time when millions of Americans are out of work and having to do more with less, and when the SSA has received significant new funding to address near record backlogs after longstanding funding requests made before our subcommittees, it is essential that great care be taken to use administrative funding wisely, in a way that brings the most value to the American people SSA serves,” the members wrote in a July 10 letter to SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue. Reps. John Tanner, D-Tenn., and Sam Johnson, R-Texas, who are the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Social Security subcommittee; and John Linder, R-Ga., who is the top Republican on the income security and family support subcommittee, wrote the letter. The lawmakers asked Astrue to provide by July 17: • Details of costs for travel, rooms, meals, speakers, entertainment, conference room rental and equipment charges. • The number of official hours SSA employees used traveling and attending the conference, as well as the number of employees who attended and their job titles. • The process used to select the retreat location, including “whether government contracting rules were followed and whether the hotel housing the conference was the lowest bidder.” Agency spokesman Lassiter said the agency would reply by making a case that the conference was necessary. The management conference was open to managers in SSA’s San Francisco region, comprised of American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada and Saipan. The $700,000 for the conference was budgeted in SSA’s fiscal 2009 budget under training, Lassiter said. He said the agency put the conference out for competitive bidding and the Arizona Biltmore was the best value. “It was by far the lowest bidder. I was told it wasn’t even close,” he said. The government daily hotel rate in Phoenix is $96 and the Arizona Biltmore offered SSA a daily rate of $85. The last conference of this size the San Francisco region held was in 2001, Lassiter said. Workshops held included: “eServices in SSA,” a look at new online forms and programs for customers; “Leading at a Higher Level: SES Career Development,” featuring five speakers discussing career advancement; and “Multigenerational Communication: What You Need to Know to Effectively Manage Four Generations at Work,” on managing a diverse workforce. The lawmakers also asked SSA to account for money spent to purchase video-conference units and asked what the advantages and disadvantages were to conducting the training in person in Phoenix instead of using the video-conference equipment. SSA has purchased video-conference units costing as much as $24,000, the letter said. Lassiter said SSA performs most training using teleconferencing but exceptions are made in certain cases. The regional commissioner felt an in-person conference instead of teleconferencing was important because 50 percent of the managers in the region have two years or less of management experience and need training and networking opportunities, Lassiter said. “I don’t think anyone would suggest that it isn’t necessary to occasionally have face-to-face training where managers and leadership can hear directly from the commissioner,” Lassiter said.

Interesting

PLEASE RESPOND TO MY PRIVATE EMAIL ACCOUNT AT: djoh1226@comcast.net

The Social Security Administration, Inspector General, Patrick P. O'Carroll, Jr., on Thursday, November 13, 2008, completed a fleecing of the American taxpayers with the completion of an unnecessary $67,000 Managers' Conference meeting that was held in San Diego, CA from November 10-12, 2008. All of OIG's Office of Investigations Senior Managers from SES to GS-15s were ordered by O'Carroll to attend the meeting, including the Deputy Inspector General, James A. Kissko -- which numbered close to 30 senior officials from each of the 10 OIG Regional Field Divisions and headquarters.

The senior officials stayed at the luxury W Hotel, Category 5 rated, in downtown San Diego located at 421 W B St San Diego, CA 92101 (619) 398-3092. The per diem rate for the San Diego area is between $210-$203 a day, which includes meals and hotel. The total per diem charged to Taxpayers for each OIG senior managers was $267 per person, which does not include car rentals, mileage and airline tickets. Don't forget the renting of the meeting rooms, and snacks which includes hefty hotel service charges -- all totaled to $67,000.

IG O'Carroll justified the trip as a TRAINING CONFERENCE in conjunction with the November 8-12, 2008 International Chiefs of Police Annual Convention, which was held in San Diego. The majority of the Senior Managers in the field argued that there was no need for convening such a conference when all of the Federal agencies are under a Continuing Resolution, and particularly when these managers can't get their people into critical training because the IG says we don't have enough money to go around.

The trip was totally unnecessary and a waste of taxpayers money. Also, why would you schedule a manager's conference in the middle of a Federal holiday, Veterans Day (11/11)?

IG O'Carroll is under investigation by the Presidential Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE), Integrity Committee Chairman, Kenneth Kaiser. How do I know this? I was the one who submitted a package to the United States Attorney General for the Maryland District and Senator Charles Grassley, outlining a pattern of corruption and malfeasance committed by Mr. O'Carroll, and the former IG, James G. Huse, Jr. Mr. O'Carroll is expected to submit his resignation by the end of December 2008, according to sources in SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue's office.

PLEASE SEE THE OUTLINE BELOW OF THE DOCUMENT I SENT TO THE PARTIES MENTIONED. If you are interested in having EXCLUSIVE ACCESS to this information, I would be more than happy to have a conference call with you to discuss further.

DANNY R. JOHNSON /Senior Public Affairs Specialist SSA-OIG/Office of Investigations
Baltimore, MD 21235
(410) 966-7261 - office phone
(301) 535-8832 - cell phone
djoh1226@comcast.net private email



From: djoh1226@comcast.net
To: Mary.Conway2@ic.fbi.gov
Cc: Emilia_DiSanto@finance-rep.senate.gov
Subject: Re: CONFIDENTIAL: PCIE Integrity Committee's SSA OIG Inquiry
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:13:43 +0000
Ms. Conway,
Thank you responding to my request for the PCIE Integrity Committee's mailing address. Please note that I FEDEX an overnight priority package on April 21 and you should receive it by 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 22. The FEDEX confirmation/tracking number is 865338814227. I have also "cc" U.S. Senator Charles Grassley and the U.S. Attorney for the Maryland District as a courtesy since they were so helpful to me and have more of an interest in this investigation as anyone. U.S. Senator Ben Cardin was notified under separate cover.

The package contains disturbing documentation of illegal and unethical activities being committed by the SSA OIG. The acts have been occurring for years without the Inspector General or any of his senior management officials being held accountable for their actions. The document is divided into sections A-J in the following order/subject matter:

Section A
Copy of the 12/31/2007 ‘John Doe’ Email Sent to Danny Johnson from a former SSA OIG Employee. The ‘John Doe’ Email went to the Washington Post, SSA Commissioner and Key Staffers, and the House Oversight Committee.

Section B
Copy of the Original 04/02/2007 and 04/18/2007 Documents Danny Johnson sent to USAO for Maryland District.

Section C
Copies of 01/08 and 01/09/2008 Faxes Sent to USAO Maryland District Detailing SSA OIG Officials Harassment/Intimidation of Danny Johnson.

Section D
Copy of Email from Danny Johnson to His Attorney, Mr. Robert P. Waldeck, and USAO Public Affairs Specialist, Ms. Marcia Murphy, Regarding SSA OIG Harassment and Intimidation.

Section E
Copy of 10/18/2007 Letter from Danny Johnson to OSC Investigations and Prosecution Division Outlining Evidence of Witness Tampering by SSA IG Patrick P. O’Carroll, Jr. and Senior OIG Officials.

Section F
Copy of Email from former SSA OIG Information Technology Specialist, Mr. Rich Ackerman, who was Forced to Retire Because of Persistent Harassment and Intimidation from Senior OIG Officials. Mr. Ackerman outlines how $500,000 of taxpayers’ dollars was wasted without any accountability or oversight.

Section G
Copy of 04/12/2007 Letter from SSA FOIA Officer Responding to former SSA OIG Special Agent, Mr. David Bruce’s 02/06/2007 FOIA Request.
The purpose of this letter is to show how SSA has to depend on SSA OIG FOIA Officer, Mr. Jonathan Lasher, for language involving OIG files. Mr. Lasher’s position is to ensure that no outside inquiries into OIG alleged malfeasance becomes public.

Section H
Copy of 04/19/2007 Letter from Danny Johnson to Honorable Speaker of the House, Steny Hoyer.

Section I
Warning: Extremely Graphic Pictures
Copies of Emails containing Soft Pornographic and Racially Insensitive Pictures and Images sent by SSA OIG Quality Assurance and Professional Responsibility Special Agent in Charge, Mr. James Skip Lacey.

Section J
Signed Copy of former SSA OIG Special Agent, Mr. David Bruce’s, 01/14/2008 Letter to U.S. Senator Charles Grassley and U.S. Senator Benjamin Cardin -- Granting SSA OIG Public Affairs Specialist, Mr. Danny Johnson, and Mr. Bruce’s former Attorney, Mr. Robert P. Waldeck, the Privilege to Freely Discuss his OSC and MSPB Case on his Behalf.

Please feel free to contact if there is a need for clarifications. I will be on leave status beginning Friday, April 25 through Friday, May 2. However, I will be checking my private emails and office phone calls on a daily basic. Feel free to contact me at any of the sources below. Thank you for your time and consideration investigating this matter.

DANNY R. JOHNSON
(410) 966-7261 - office phone
(301) 535-8832 - cell phone
djoh1226@comcast.net private email