FederalDaily.com > OSC Awards FAA Whistleblower

FederalDaily - October 11, 2005

OSC Awards FAA Whistleblower

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) announced last week its selection of Anne Whiteman, an 18-year air traffic controller at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), as a recipient of the Special Counsel’s Public Servant Award. She disclosed to OSC that air traffic controllers and management at the DFW Terminal Radar Approach Control routinely covered up serious operational errors, in violation of a Federal Aviation Administration order. An investigation by the Department of Transportation inspector general confirmed that air traffic controllers and management systemically covered up operational errors. Operational errors at DFW are now reported and investigated in a timely manner. All personnel involved in the cover-up of operational errors were disciplined and all air traffic controllers were required to undergo training and recertification. Whiteman is the fifth federal employee to receive this non-monetary award.

Government Leases Too Much Property

For the past several years, GAO has designated federal property a high-risk area. GAO said the government relies on costly leased space. Also, it has excess and deteriorated property, unreliable real property data, and there are challenges associated with protecting these assets from terrorism. GAO said many of the assets in the government’s vast portfolio of real property are in “an alarming state of deterioration” and agencies have estimated restoration and repair needs to be in the tens of billions of dollars. Also, a heavy reliance on costly leasing, instead of ownership, to meet new space needs is a pervasive and ongoing problem, according to GAO. The federal government owns and leases about 3.3 billion square feet of building floor area in roughly a half-million buildings worldwide, of which more than 380 million square feet are leased. Because in the short term, leases appear cheaper than owning, agencies have opted to lease, even if it is more expensive in the long term. For example, the Patent and Trademark Office’s operating lease for long-term space needs was estimated to cost $48 million more than construction and $38 million more than lease-purchase. To view the GAO report, go to www.gao.gov/new.items/d06136t.pdf.

ICE Targets Aliens Working on Military Bases

Three language instructors working at Fort Bragg’s Army Special Operations Command were arrested last week. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the arrest of two Indonesian nationals and a Senegalese national who were working as contract language instructors at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. The complaints allege that two of the men used counterfeit Resident Alien Cards and made false statements to gain employment with BIB Consultants, Inc., which is a Florida-based company that provides contract language instruction services to U.S. Special Forces and other U.S. military personnel at Fort Bragg. The third man was in the U.S. illegally. ICE said it has been making an effort to target and remove illegal aliens working at sensitive sites around the nation, including airports, seaports, nuclear plants, chemical plants and defense facilities. To read about other recent cases, go to www.ice.gov/graphics/news/newsreleases/articles/051005raleigh.htm.

Border Patrol Agent Arrested for Cocaine Smuggling

A former Border Patrol agent, Robert Espino, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for his role in a scheme to smuggle cocaine through the Border Patrol’s Sierra Blanca checkpoint without inspection, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week. “Even though we know that corruption exists in many parts of our country, it is still shocking to find a federal agent helping the criminals in exchange for dirty money,” said U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton. In addition to the prison term, the judge ordered that Espino pay a $1,000 fine and be placed under supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term. In May 2005, Espino pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. At least three other Border Patrol agents have been implicated in the same scheme.