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Saturday, March 13, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Latest Procurement News
Posted: Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 9:22AM
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KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TAGS
"Governance", "Risk Management"
George W. Bush's top procurement official jailed
The most senior procurement official in George W. Bush's administration has been jailed for a year for failing to disclose the full details of his relationship with an influential lobbyist. Former General Services Administration (GSA) Chief of Staff David H. Safavian was sentenced to one year in prison for obstruction of justice and making false statements in connection with the investigation into the activities of former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The Department of Justice announced that, in addition to the prison term, Safavian was also sentenced to two years of supervised release by the US court.
The sentencing follows on from Safavian being found guilty by a federal jury in June 2006 of obstruction of justice and making false statements. However, the verdicts were later vacated by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and remanded for a new trial. A federal jury once again convicted Safavian of one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements on December 19, 2008.
The jury in the second trial heard evidence that while Safavian assisted Abramoff in connection with the lobbyist's attempts to acquire GSA-controlled properties, Abramoff took Safavian on a luxury golf trip to Scotland and to London. The jury found that over the span of three years, Safavian made false statements in an attempt to conceal the fact that around the time of the golf trip he aided Abramoff with business before the GSA.
Safavian's efforts to cover up the assistance he provided Abramoff continued after he left the GSA in November 2004 to become the Administrator for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy at the Office of Management and Budget. The jury found that in May 2005, Safavian made false statements to an FBI Special Agent investigating Abramoff's lobbying activities.
Abramoff pleaded guilty in January 2006 to charges of conspiracy, honest services mail fraud and tax evasion and was sentenced in September 2008 to four years in prison in addition to the 22 months he served prior to the sentencing date.
To date, 20 individuals, including lobbyists and public officials, have pleaded guilty, been convicted at trial, or are awaiting trial in connection with the ongoing investigation into the activities of Abramoff and his associates.
Procurement Tags - Risk Management, Governance
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