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MISMANAGEMENT ALLEGED AT VA'S BOSTON OFFICE --
Under fire from federal investigators for
allegedly
mismanaging approximately $5.4 million and
awarding
multiple project contracts without putting the
jobs out to bid.
Background on this story here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/
nfJUN07/nf062807-9.htm
The VAOIG report mentioned in this story is
available for viewing or download here...
http://www.va.gov/oig/52/reports/
VAOIG-06-00931-139.pdf
And, for more information, read the press
release from Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), Ranking Minority Member on the
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs...here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/
hcva07/hcva062707-1.htm
Today's story here...
http://www.boston.com/
news/local/articles/2007/07/29/mismanage
ment_alleged_at_vas_local_office/
Story below:
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Mismanagement alleged at VA's local office
Audit cites bid violations
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
The VA Boston Healthcare System has come under fire from federal
Veterans Administration investigators for allegedly mismanaging
approximately $5.4 million and awarding multiple project contracts
without putting the jobs out to bid, as required by law.
An audit by the federal inspector general for the US Department of
Veterans Affairs alleges that six VA employees made changes to contracts
without authorization, ignored legal review requirements, and illegally
used expired funds to pay for contracted work.
The alleged mismanagement occurred between 2002 and 2006, according to
the VA inspector general's office, and several of the contracts were for
maintenance and repairs at the Brockton VA campus.
"The abuses that have taken place in the VA's contracting system are an
embarrassment and a waste of taxpayer funds," said US Representative
Ginny Brown-Waite, a Florida Republican, in a statement from the House
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, which held a hearing on the issue June
27.
In one example cited in the audit report, a $67,600 contract for
roofing-repair work at the Brockton campus evolved into a multijob
contract that included façade restoration, window replacement, and
roofing repairs on six Brockton campus buildings, according to the
inspector general's report. All of those jobs, totaling $1.4 million,
were added to the vendor's original contract and never put out to bid.
In another example, a contract to repair the entrance roadway at the
West Roxbury VA medical center was awarded to an unnamed vendor in
September 2002. Two years later, when the Brockton VA needed a
water-filtration system installed, the job was simply tacked onto the
vendor's September 2002 contract, according to the inspector general's
report. There was no attempt to put it out to bid.
The VA has not released the names of the six employees. Officials are
awaiting the results of the followup investigation by the VA New England
Healthcare System. After that investigation is completed, the director
of the New England VA will then decide what, if any, actions will be
taken against the six. The names of the vendors also have not been
released.
The accused staffers are long-term career employees with no prior record
of misconduct, according to Sandra Wunschel, communications officer for
VA New England Healthcare System. One of the administrators targeted in
the probe has been suspended from doing any work with contracts until
the investigation is complete, she said.
"These events occurred some time ago, and since then there has been
reorganization of these functions," Wunschel said. The local
administrative investigation "started with an anonymous allegation," she
said. "We want to make sure we have all the facts."
The VA Boston Healthcare System has six outpatient clinics in the
Greater Boston area, and medical centers in Brockton, Jamaica Plain, and
West Roxbury. The anonymous tipster alleged that the VA Boston
Healthcare System had mismanaged funds and made improper changes to
contracts. Acting on that tip, the VA inspector general's office
conducted an audit and released its report on May 31.
Belinda J. Finn, assistant inspector for auditing at the VA's Office of
Inspector General, told the congressional panel meeting on June 27 that
the two senior administrators in the VA Boston Healthcare System
collaborated with four other employees to carry out this scheme quietly,
by adding jobs to old contracts without proper approvals, and then not
entering those changes into the VA's maintenance project database.
By doing this, the VA Boston Healthcare System, Finn said, "avoided
competition requirements and had no assurance that the prices paid were
fair and reasonable."
The complete inspector general's report can be viewed online at va.gov/oig.
Emily Sweeney can be reached at
esweeney@globe.com.
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Larry Scott --
