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10/1/13, "Second ex-EPA official questioned over taking car discount, pushing for bonuses for friend," Washington Post, Bernstein and Marimow
"Another high-ranking former employee of the Environmental Protection
Agency came under fire Tuesday as members of Congress grilled him about
accepting an $8,000 discount on a Mercedes-Benz allegedly arranged by a
lobbyist and friend who did business with the EPA.
Robert Brenner, a former deputy assistant administrator in the
EPA Office of Air and Radiation, acknowledged that he accepted the
discount from the lobbyist, identified as Patrick M. Raher. During
questioning, Brenner also said he had recommended another close friend
and subordinate, John C. Beale, for a second round of lucrative
“retention bonuses” three years after Beale bought out Brenner’s share
of a Cape Cod, Mass., home they owned....
Beale actually collected the bonuses for 22 years
because of EPA mistakes....
Brenner’s admissions came during a hearing held by the House
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which was investigating
how Beale pleaded guilty Friday
to collecting pay, bonuses and travel reimbursements while he
vacationed, visited relatives or stayed home and told superiors that he
was working for the CIA.
But Beale invoked his Fifth Amendment
privilege against self-incrimination when the committee chairman, Rep.
Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), began questioning him Tuesday. Lawmakers then
spent more than two hours blasting EPA managers and peppering Brenner
about his own actions.
“Simply put, Mr. Beale was a con artist, and the American taxpayers were his mark,” said Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.).
New
information on Beale surfaced at Tuesday’s hearing, including that he
charged the EPA $14,000 for first-class airfare to London — instead of
$1,000 for a coach ticket — and $1,066 per night for four nights in a
hotel there."...via Junk Science
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