Information technology (IT) services comprise one of the top categories of contract spending in the Federal Government. The cost of contractor-supplied IT products and services is predicted to reach $116 billion by fiscal year 2024. Recently, Federal agencies have been encouraged to use agency-wide and shared services contracts to increase efficiency and consolidate buying power, among other benefits.
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On March 18, 2021, James Tassin, a marsh buggy operator, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana to violating the Clean Water Act. In September 2016, Tassin negligently struck a pipeline and discharged a harmful quantity of oil into a navigable water and adjoining shorelines. The discharge affected natural resources under the exclusive management authority of the United States.
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04.01.2021
On March 16, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a criminal complaint charging Stuart Conklin, a former signal inspector for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Long Island Railroad (LIRR), with knowingly and willfully making a false entry in an inspection report maintained by LIRR in part to comply with rules and regulations enforced by FRA. As alleged in the complaint, on May 25, 2019, the front of an eastbound train sideswiped the rear of a westbound train resulting in a collision that led to the derailment of both trains.
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04.01.2021
What We Looked At
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04.01.2021
On March 15, 2021, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) debarred Nathaniel Lorenz, ACME Powerwashing Inc. (ACME), and SE Brett Inc. (SEB) from participating in Federal procurement and non-procurement transactions for a period of 3 years. On May 2, 2019, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, Lorenz, owner of ACME and SEB, was sentenced to 18 months of incarceration and $600,000 in restitution.
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03.31.2021
On March 9, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey sentenced Matthew Dingley to 30 months of incarceration, 3 years of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and $1,000 in restitution. On October 5, 2020, Dingley pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with flight crewmembers and attendants based on a January 9, 2020, incident in which Dingley, a passenger aboard a United Airlines flight, interfered with a flight attendant’s ability to perform her duties by physically striking and intimidating her.
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03.31.2021
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is initiating an audit of the Build America Bureau’s oversight and management of Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) credit assistance agreements. As of April 2020, the Build America Bureau had financed 87 TIFIA loans totaling $33.3 billion. The TIFIA program provides loans and other types of credit assistance to eligible applicants—including State departments of transportation, transit operators, special authorities, local governments, and private entities—for the construction of surface transportation projects.
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03.30.2021
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly known as “drones,” are rapidly growing in number in the National Airspace System. Currently, there is only limited infrastructure to manage small UAS operating in low-altitude airspace (below 400 feet) where the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not provide air traffic services. Congress directed FAA to develop and establish a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) system and initiate a UTM pilot program to support low-altitude UAS operations.
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03.29.2021
On March 10, 2021, the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island sentenced Michael Chaves, owner of CAT Transportation Inc., to 30 months of incarceration, 3 years of supervised release, and a $1,000 special assessment. Chaves falsified Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) registration documents using the identification of another individual without the individual’s knowledge to show no affiliation with another company that was under a Federal out-of-service order. Chaves also generated false documents to show compliance with FMCSA rules and regulations.
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03.23.2021
Pursuant to the Government Corporation Control Act of 1945, as amended, we are initiating an audit of the Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation’s (GLS) financial statements for fiscal years 2021 and 2020. The objective of this audit will be to express an opinion on whether GLS’s financial statements are fairly presented, in all material respects, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
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03.17.2021