TX charity raided by FBI to keep government contracts

[rainbow4321]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8HUC1IG0.html


A charity raided by the FBI and other federal agencies earlier this month will be allowed to stay in a program that directs lucrative federal contracts to companies that employ the severely disabled or blind, company officials announced Tuesday.

The National Center for the Employment of the Disabled — NCED_ was raided as part of an ongoing probe into contracts awarded when the company was run by Robert E. "Bob" Jones, who abruptly resigned in March. NCED had been the primary supplier of chemical-warfare suits for the U.S. military.

The company won contracts based on a promise that at least 75 percent of workers filling government orders would be severely disabled. An audit last year concluded that only about 7 percent of NCED employees working on the contracts met the requirements.

In the midst of the investigations several of NCED's contracts were suspended, forcing the company to lay off more than 1,000 workers. The committee's decision does not automatically guarantee the reinstatement of those contracts, but Wardy said it is a positive step. "All agencies have been notified (of the committee's decision) and we anticipate those contracts being reinstated," Wardy said. In the meantime, he said the company expects to lay off as many as 150 more workers later this year.

[nealmhughes]

1. Disgusting.

Simply disgusting.

[Frustratedlady]

2. It would be interesting to know who OWNS the charity/company.

I have a feeling a good many Texas charities or companies(?) of this type are scams or fronts. In these political scandals, how many have already been uncovered? I'm not just picking on Texans, but it sure seems a lot of the corruption of late is coming from that area. Sorry, Texan friends.

[rainbow4321]

3. Here is info about it's CEO--the one who resigned

http://www.aapd-dc.org/News/empissues/HELPinvestigates.htm

The Oregonian analyzed tax forms for Javits-Wagner-O'Day's 50 largest contractors, which together account for about two-thirds of the program's sales. More than a dozen reported executives with pay and benefits exceeding $350,000 in 2004, the most recent year for which complete tax records are available.

The list includes Bill Hudson, president of LC Industries Inc. in Durham, N.C., who made $537,787; John Miller, chief executive of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin, who made $444,405; and Terry Allen Perl, chief executive of The Chimes Inc. in Baltimore, who drew $704,175. The charities said salaries for all three were set by their board members based on pay at similar-sized operations.

The largest Javits-Wagner-O'Day contractor, an El Paso, Texas, company with $276 million in sales to the military and other agencies last year, reports no salary for its president, Robert E. Jones. Instead, the National Center for the Employment of the Disabled said it paid $4 million in 2004 to a management firm controlled by Jones' family trust.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/114723900762350.xml&coll=7

EL PASO, Texas -- Federal investigators from three agencies swept into the headquarters of a large Texas charity for the disabled Tuesday, seizing truckloads of documents and computer data as part of a wide-ranging criminal investigation of the charity's former president, Robert E. "Bob" Jones.

The nonprofit National Center for the Employment of the Disabled until recently was the country's largest participant in a federal jobs program for the severely disabled, winning more than $1 billion in government contracts over 10 years and emerging as the biggest maker of chemical protective suits for the U.S. military.

Lax oversight of the $2.2 billion-a-year jobs program was the focus of a two-day series in March by The Oregonian that also documented how Jones had steered millions of dollars from the charity to for-profit businesses in which he had a personal stake. Jones resigned without comment after the series appeared.

<snip>
The FBI said in a written statement Tuesday that agents had a warrant to search the charity's headquarters, but a judge sealed the affidavit outlining the justification for the warrant. The FBI said 65 agents participated, including some from the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. General Services Administration and U.S. Army's major fraud unit.

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And TX lawmakers passed a resolution praising the company a few years ago---think they will pass one condemning it now? Doubt it...

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlo/78R/billtext/HR01650F.HTM

WHEREAS, The dedication and superior work ethic demonstrated
by the employees of this fine organization are some of the reasons
that the company was selected by the United States Department of
Defense to manufacture chemical and biological protective suits for
United States military personnel; and
WHEREAS, During the recent war in Iraq, every soldier,
airman, and sailor in the theatre of battle received a chemical
protective suit as a part of their standard-issue equipment to
protect them against the use of chemical or biological agents on the
battlefield; these protective suits, created by employees of the
National Center for the Employment of the Disabled, played a vital
role in the safety and peace of mind of every member of the
country's armed forces; now, therefore, be it

[Frustratedlady]

4. Just look at those salaries...

Man, there has to be a lot of that going on right under our noses.

It's probably a good thing they never actually had to depend on the suits.

Thanks for the link.