Jim McElhatton

Oldest postal retirees get most costly of payouts

More than 100 U.S. Postal Service employees over 90 years old are collecting workers compensation - a fact one U.S. senator calls troubling, arguing that workers ought to be moved to retirement rolls from which payouts would be less expensive. Published December 26, 2010

Senate approves Hylton as marshal

The Senate has confirmed President Obama's pick for U.S. marshal despite opposition from criminal justice and watchdog groups upset about the nominee's ties to the private prison industry. Published December 23, 2010

Postal Service quietly taps new ethics officer

The U.S. Postal Service has named a new top ethics officer in the aftermath of a series of embarrassing disclosures about a former key executive at the agency who was permitted to earn more than a quarter-million dollars in outside income and who was accused of steering contracts to former business associates. Published December 22, 2010

Metro pays driver during 13-year leave

One day last summer, a man wearing a bus driver's uniform showed himself into the offices of the general counsel for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, where he served court papers on a receptionist. Published December 20, 2010

Metro engineers lacked licenses

The lack of required engineering certification didn't prevent three high-level engineering managers from getting jobs at Washington's $2.2 billion transit operation. Published December 14, 2010

Mayor-elect’s aide faulted in dismissal of Amtrak IG

A little noticed congressional report raised sharp questions about Amtrak executive Lorraine Green — head of D.C. Mayor-elect Vincent Gray's campaign and transition teams — in connection with the controversial dismissal of a longtime former Amtrak inspector general. Published December 12, 2010

Commerce Committee defends Amtrak executives

The Senate Commerce Committee is defending two top Amtrak executives whom Republicans want investigated for failing to tell Congress about the removal of longtime Amtrak Inspector General Fred Weiderhold. Published December 9, 2010

SEC porn peepers’ names to be kept secret

A federal judge has ruled in favor of protecting the identities of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission employees caught surfing for pornography on their government computers, saying privacy interests win over the public's right to know. Published December 8, 2010

Clinton fundraiser to plead to fraud

A prominent New York financial manager plans to plead guilty to making false statements to federal election regulators involving tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. Published December 5, 2010

Financial exec to plead guilty in Clinton fundraising scheme

A prominent New York financial manager plans to plead guilty to making false statements to federal election regulators involving tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. Published December 3, 2010

Postal Service seen ‘vital’ to U.S. economy

On the day before he was set to take over as the nation's 73rd U.S. postmaster general, Patrick R. Donahoe sought to explain to a Senate panel how he plans to reverse a string of multibillion-dollar annual losses and lift the Postal Service out of the worst financial crisis in its history. Published December 2, 2010

Critics of Marshals pick vow fight in Senate

Critics of President Obama's nominee for director of the U.S. Marshals Service vowed to take their fight to the full Senate after a key committee Wednesday backed Justice Department veteran Stacia M. Hylton for the job despite concerns from watchdog groups about her ties to the private prison industry. Published December 1, 2010

D.C. Dept. of Parks and Rec fails to conduct checks

A D.C. government agency that received nearly $1 million a year to provide child care services under the federal "Head Start" program failed to conduct background checks on its employees, including workers previously convicted of drug and other felony offenses, a federal audit released Monday found. Published November 29, 2010

USPS to tie pay, bonuses to finances

Outgoing U.S. Postmaster John E. Potter, who earned nearly a quarter-million dollars in incentive pay in 2010 on top of a $273,000 salary, is telling fellow Postal Service executives that from now on bonuses and salary increases will be tied to the agency's financial condition. Published November 24, 2010

Appeals court derails use of GPS in case

A sharply-divided federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that police can't use GPS to track a suspect's vehicle without a warrant, rejecting a bid by the Justice Department to have the life sentence of a convicted drug dealer reinstated. Published November 22, 2010

Obama team gets OK to pay Biden debt

Federal election regulators on Thursday ruled that President Obama's campaign can transfer money to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s short-lived 2008 presidential campaign, which doesn't have enough in the bank to pay off more than $200,000 in election fines. Published November 18, 2010

AFGE union joins foes of nominee for marshals post

The nation's largest federal employees union is railing against President Obama's choice to lead the U.S. Marshals Service, saying Justice Department veteran Stacia Hylton's recent six-figure consulting deal with a private prison company makes her "ill-suited" for the job. Published November 18, 2010

Marshals Service nominee answers critics’ conflict-of-interest charge

President Obama's nominee for U.S. marshal responded to mounting criticism Wednesday over her financial ties to a private prison company that does tens of millions of dollars in work for the U.S. government, telling a Senate panel that federal ethics officials cleared her recent consulting work for corrections giant Geo Group. Published November 17, 2010

Retiring postmaster gets another big payday amid financial crisis

Outgoing U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter earned nearly $800,000 last year - an increase of more than $60,000 over the previous year - as the U.S. Postal Service faces the worst financial crisis in its history. Published November 16, 2010

Corruption charges spread in Prince George’s

The shadow of corruption over Prince George's County government widened Monday with indictments against two county police officers and others on charges of trafficking bootleg cigarettes and alcohol, just days after County Executive Jack B. Johnson's arrest on charges of trying to conceal tens thousands of dollars in suspected payoffs from a developer. Published November 15, 2010