No surprise here
By: Jonetta Rose Barras
Examiner Columnist
March 15, 2009
Yusuf Acar, the technology manager facing allegations of fraud, was consistently promoted by his boss, Vivek Kundra, receiving with each move increasing authority over sensitive information and operating with little supervision, according to government sources familiar with activities inside the Office of the Chief Technology Officer, or OCTO.
“Vivek promoted the guy three times in the last year,” said one of at least five knowledgeable government and business sources who, like the others I spoke with, requested anonymity, citing ongoing investigations.
Last week, the FBI arrested Acar, charging him with conspiring with contractor Sushil Bansal to defraud the government by signing phony purchase orders and approving pay for “ghost” workers. Kundra, who recently left the District government to accept a post in the Obama administration, hasn’t been identified as suspect. But, he has been placed on administrative leave.
“[Acar] was God,” another government source said, noting the tech security shop was “small” and “secretive,” monitoring “every keystroke, every tech message, e-mail.”
“It’s not just the bribery charge but also the fact that the entire system is vulnerable that’s what worries me,” the source added.
The raid shouldn’t have surprised anyone. A 2007 report by the General Accountability Office found a lack of controls in the city’s contracting and procurement. The District’s auditor and inspector general documented contracting waste and abuse including within OCTO. Fraud couldn’t have been too far behind.
“There has been a pattern in existence since Suzanne [Peck],” yet another government source said.
Over the years, I reported in this space on Peck’s management practices. She relied heavily on outside consultants who racked up millions of dollars in billable hours but who, in several cases, failed to deliver acceptable products. In 2004 she was criticized for overspending by more than $4 million the budget to implement a computerized management system. The next year, an audit by the inspector general found that OCTO “obtained and authorized the services of contractors, without valid written contracts.”
At one point, the council had to provide post-approval for more than a dozen contracts. In 2006, the city auditor released a report on Peck’s hiring of Kim Agosto, the niece of her chief of operations, and Pedro Agosto — Kim’s husband. Peck approved the payment of moving expenses for the Agostos, violating city personnel rules, according to the auditor, who urged the District seek repayment (as reported in The Examiner on May 11, 2006). There also were reports that employees were allowed to form companies. Some of those companies successfully won OCTO contracts; it was municipal incest.
Despite critical audits, little action was taken against Peck. She appeared untouchable, perhaps protected by her political contributions. In 2006 alone, she made the maximum contributions of $500 to D.C. Councilman Jim Graham and school board candidates Robert Bobb and Carolyn Graham. She gave $1,000 or more to at-large Councilman David Catania, Kathy Patterson, who was running for council chairwoman, and Adrian M. Fenty’s campaign for mayor.
The culture Peck created was unchanged by Kundra, said businesses sources who interacted with the agency.
“Vivek continued the model that Suzanne created,” said one source, citing as one example a case in which an OCTO employee created a company. Both the business owner and the business’ employees simultaneously worked for the District.
That system appears to be at the crux of current concerns. Acar allegedly hired Bansal, a former OCTO employee, to provide workers for the agency. There were none. Still, Bansal was paid; some of that money allegedly was returned to Acar.
Fenty said his office was cooperating with the investigations but that OCTO “will continue maintaining and supporting the District’s technology operations.”
That may not work.
“There are so many fingers involved in all this, the system is fundamentally broken,” a government source said. “They have got to fix this.”
First step: rescinding OCTO’s independent contracting authority.
Jonetta Rose Barras, an author and political analyst, can be reached at Rosebook1@aol.com.
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