Jim McElhatton

VA gives no bid deal to company in contract steering probe

The Department of Veterans Affairs gave a no-bid contract worth up to $9.2 million to a company on the same day VA investigators blasted its lack of experience in a contract steering scandal that has ensnared a top Treasury Department official. Published December 17, 2014

Treasury Department probes hiring of VA official under investigation for misconduct

The Treasury Department's inspector general is looking into why the department hired a woman already under federal investigation for steering millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to a friend's company, and why she misled investigators who were looking into the matter. Published December 16, 2014

Treasury procurement executive steered contracts to friends while at VA

The Treasury Department's new top procurement executive steered millions of dollars worth of work to friends when she was a senior official at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and then obstructed investigators looking into the matter, the inspector general said in a report made public Monday. Published December 15, 2014

Corruption, bribery rampant in government contracting, key witness in case says

Even before he competed for his first government job, the key witness in the largest bribery case in federal contracting history said an associate warned him that he'd have to "pay to play," according to a recent jailhouse letter. Published December 14, 2014

Veterans Affairs contracting scandals to be investigated

The chairman of a House investigative subcommittee overseeing the Veterans Affairs Department says lawmakers are planning a series of hearings in the new Congress next year to investigate ongoing VA contracting scandals. Published December 9, 2014

Anonymous hacking attack lands British rock guitarist in jail

Geoffrey "Jake" Commander, a rock guitarist who has played with the Electric Light Orchestra, George Harrison and Elton John, among others, walked unnoticed through the halls of the U.S. District Court in Alexandria early Friday afternoon. Published December 7, 2014

VA ensnared in costly lawsuit after teaming up with shady contractor

The Department of Veterans Affairs pushed ahead on a construction project even after learning that its project manager was under FBI investigation and had been fired from a previous job for embezzlement — a decision that's now entangled the agency in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit. Published December 4, 2014

FBI evidence goes unwatched in D.C. field office

More than four decades ago, tens of millions of dollars in heroin slowly began disappearing from the evidence room of the New York City Police Department, swapped for baking powder by corrupt officers in one of the biggest misconduct episodes in city history. Published December 2, 2014

Ashton Carter rumored front-runner for Defense Secretary

The White House offered high praise but refused Tuesday to confirm multiple reports that Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is President Obama's choice to replace his recently ousted boss Chuck Hagel as head of the Pentagon. Published December 2, 2014

Ashton Carter required ethics waiver to join Obama administration

Ashton Carter, frontrunner to be the next Defense secretary, needed a special waiver to join the Pentagon back in 2009 because of his history of working for the defense contracting industry. Published December 2, 2014

FBI lax evidence-handling controls call convictions into question

The FBI's evidence-handling controls are so lax that the agency didn't have video cameras in its Washington field office evidence room, according to court documents that lawyers say could be used to call into question any number of convictions. Published December 1, 2014

Appeals court holds VA secretary in contempt

A federal appeals court is holding the Veterans Affairs secretary in contempt after the department spent nearly two years ignoring a court order to process paperwork for a veteran's disability claim. Published December 1, 2014

Congress defended FedBid, the disgraced contractor ousted by the VA

FedBid, the politically connected contractor ousted by the VA, has benefited from a cadre of congressional allies who stepped in to defend the company and pressure the department to keep using its services, even as a top procurement officer was warning against it. Published November 27, 2014

Veterans Affairs office making no-bid purchases

A Veteran Affairs office that oversees hundreds of millions of dollars in projects in Washington, Maryland and Virginia has failed to document why the agency is making no-bid purchases — a form of procurement the Obama administration has railed against publicly. Published November 26, 2014

Former CEO pleads guilty in massive contractor kickback case

A Virginia-based company with defense and intelligence agency contracts paid a $300,000 fine Tuesday and its former president pleaded guilty to paying bribes to an Army procurement official who was recently sent to prison for taking kickbacks. Published November 25, 2014

VA cuts ties to reverse-auction contractor FedBid amid scandals

The Department of Veterans Affairs has cut its ties to a politically connected contractor weeks after an investigation found officials for the company, FedBid, plotted to "assassinate" the character of one of the VA's top acquisition officials in 2012. Published November 20, 2014

KBR contractor probed by Senate, House over documents silencing whistleblowers

Top Senate and House Democrats pressed government contractor KBR on Thursday over new documents they said show that the company has tried to silence whistleblowers who wanted to report on bad practices at the contractor. Published November 20, 2014

Taxpayers charged for Afghan project months after KBR contract terminated

Government contractor KBR continued charging taxpayers for work on a multimillion-dollar construction project in Afghanistan for nine months after the contract was terminated, according to an internal military report disclosed amid a bitter feud between the company and military auditors. Published November 18, 2014

Franklin Frye, D.C. psychiatric patient, may be released after 40 years

A federal judge has ordered that a D.C. man who has spent more than four decades inside a city-run psychiatric hospital after being charged with stealing a $20 necklace be released into a community residential facility if he complies with a few key orders. Published November 16, 2014

Veterans Affairs construction delays cost taypayers millions, probe finds

Veterans Affairs officials in Maryland, Virginia and the District have squandered millions of dollars in taxpayer money by mismanaging construction contracts, according to internal department records that showed some of the contracts were delayed so long that money was paid out and the contracts expired before any work was even done. Published November 13, 2014