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GSA executive suspected of misuse of funds Justice Dept. asked to launch inquiry Apr. 13, 2012 10:52 PM Washington Post WASHINGTON - The inspector general for the General Services Administration this week asked the Justice Department to conduct a criminal investigation into the activities of the senior official at the center of a Las Vegas spending scandal, officials said. Jeffrey Neely, a career senior executive who hosted a four-day training conference for 300 managers and staff members that cost $823,000, took various electronic items for his personal use from a GSA storeroom, congressional and other officials familiar with the referral said. Inspector General Brian Miller also has asked prosecutors to review possible contracting improprieties and other violations in connection with the conference, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the referral is not public. Officials said Neely took gifts purchased for an employee rewards program in the San Francisco-based Pacific Rim region, where he has been placed on administrative leave from his role as acting regional commissioner. The gifts included an iPod and speakers, a GPS device, camera and Sony eReader, according to government sources. Miller has turned over to prosecutors what he says is evidence that Neely, 57, and his staff approved numerous contracts that were not competitively bid, as federal rules require, officials said. The sole-source deals were services that included, according to a recent inspector general's report, $59,000 to an audio-visual company, a $12,500 commission to an outside event planner and $75,000 to a company that led GSA staff members in a bike-building event. |