Former high-level officials in a Maryland department responsible for doling out tens of millions of dollars in transportation projects accepted money from, or later worked for, companies awarded lucrative taxpayer-funded projects, according to a state audit. A senior manager in the State Highway Administration, who ran an out-of-state company promoting sporting events, sought money from contractors for a golf tournament before handing out public dollars to the same companies, the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits concluded.
Legislative Auditor Bruce Myers also wrote in the report that highway administration officials “did not ensure firms complied with state ethics laws regarding the hiring and subsequent involvement of former SHA employees.”
According to the auditor, another SHA manager helped arrange a $16 million contract for an engineering firm, which then gave him a job just 12 days after he retired from the government post. State policy prohibits a former employee from having “direct or indirect interest” in a contract for at least one year after employment.
The probe was started after a series of complaints left on a fraud tip line about conflicts of interest within the highway administration. And the revelations immediately drew the attention of the state’s top elected official.
“There appears to have been certainly ethical lapses, and there … may well have been some corners cut in the procurement process that are unacceptable and that need to be addressed and that we need to tighten up,” said Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley.
The incidents have been referred to the Maryland attorney general, who could pursue criminal charges. Neither employees nor the firms in question were named in the report. O’Malley said the employees and companies no longer are associated with the state.
The audit also found that SHA officials directed firms to reallocate contract funds toward unrelated projects and hide overspending — thus evading scrutiny by the Maryland Board of Public Works.
Based on that finding, state auditors say they have expanded their investigation and plan to release a follow-up report in the “near future.”
