| FORMER ARIZONA
VETERANS DEPT. CHIEF INDICTED
Faces eight felony charges, including
four counts of conflict of interest, one count of fraudulent
schemes and practices, two counts of misuse of public monies, and
one count of violation of procurement code.
NOTE from Larry Scott, VA
Watchdog dot Org ... For background on the problems
surrounding Patrick Chorpenning, use our search engine ... here
...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.
php?q=chorpenning&op=and
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Former Arizona
veterans services head indicted
By Amanda Lee Myers
The Associated Press
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/318277.php
PHOENIX — The former
director of the Arizona Department of Veterans Services has been
charged with allegedly misusing public money, sidestepping state
procurement rules and using his position to hire his wife and son,
according to an indictment announced Thursday.
The indictment of
Patrick Chorpenning Sr., 62, was announced by Arizona
 Attorney
General Terry Goddard and came after a more than two-year
investigation by the Office of the Auditor General.
Chorpenning faces
eight felony charges, including four counts of conflict of
interest, one count of fraudulent schemes and practices, two
counts of misuse of public monies, and one count of violation of
procurement code.
His phone number is
unlisted, and calls made to two lawyers who have represented him
were not returned.
The auditor general’s
investigation found that Chorpenning authorized the use of more
than $1 million in possible violation of several state laws,
including creating unadvertised positions for his son and wife.
His wife received
more than $114,000 from the department for managing the nursing
home’s redecorating projects, while his son got nearly $216,000 to
apply for federal grants on the department’s behalf, according to
the report by the auditor general’s office.
The report says at
least $786,000 in nursing home renovations coordinated by
Chorpenning’s wife and portions of her and his son’s salaries came
from the Veterans’ Home Fund, which pays for the operation of
Arizona’s State Veteran Home.
As the renovations
were going on and while his wife got a 35 percent raise, the
report says Chorpenning directed the nursing home’s administrator
to cut spending on operations, including decreasing food and
dietary staffing, limiting overtime and prohibiting the purchase
of nursing home equipment.
“The nursing home
administrator stated that it was his belief that Mr. Chorpenning
stopped acting in the interest of the veterans, and certainly the
nursing home’s veterans, and started funneling department monies
to his personal friends and family members,” according to the
report.
The report also says
that Chorpenning improperly gifted more than $288,000 in public
monies to individuals and private corporations,
 authorized
more than $38,000 over four years for gifts and end-of-year
banquets for department employees, and circumvented procurement
rules by buying more than $382,000 in media and advertising
services that were never completely procured.
“These allegations
represent a serious misuse not only of public money but of a
critical public interest,” Goddard said in a news release. “We owe
it to (veterans) to ensure the services and benefits they have
earned are never inappropriately diverted.”
Chorpenning, a
Vietnam veteran, was director of the department from 1999 until
concerns surfaced over neglect and mismanagement at the nursing
home led to his resignation in March 2007. The facility was fined
thousands of dollars after an inspection found patients left in
soiled undergarments and smoking cigarettes while unsupervised,
among other violations.
At a May 2007
legislative hearing to defend himself, Chorpenning said he was
thrown “under the train” by then-Gov. Janet Napolitano in response
to overblown problems at the nursing home.
“There’s a comedy of
errors here that have really mushroomed into taking 40 years of
public services on my part and destroying it,” Chorpenning said at
the time. “I would never do anything to put veterans in harm’s
way.”
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TOPICS:
veterans, veterans' benefits, VA, Department of Veterans' Affairs,
Arizona Department of Veterans Services, indictment
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