FederalDaily - August 29, 2006

Army Corps of Engineers Releases Post-Katrina Plan

Saying last year’s hurricanes sounded a “sobering wakeup call,” the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a new plan, called “12 Actions for Change,” aimed at helping the corps transform its priorities, processes and planning. Released on Aug. 24, the action plan intends to change how the corps prepares for and responds to natural disasters, said Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, commander of the Corps of Engineers. The plan was developed following both internal and external post-Katrina examinations. The 12 Actions encompass three overarching themes: effective implementation of a comprehensive systems approach; effective communication of risk; and enhanced technical expertise and professionalism. To see more, go to: www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/releases/actionsforchange.htm.

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Agents Searching for Pair of Stolen Laptops

Federal investigators are looking to retrieve a pair of laptop computers stolen from government officials in two separate incidents. The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on Aug. 25 said a laptop was stolen from a government-owned vehicle on Aug. 22 in Baltimore. About a month earlier, a laptop computer belonging to DOT’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) was stolen from a government-owned vehicle on July 27 in Doral, Fla. The FMCSA laptop may contain personally identifiable information pertaining to 193 individuals who hold commercial driver's licenses (CDL). This includes individuals from 40 motor carrier companies. At this point, it does not appear that the FMCSA laptop contained any financial or medical information; however, it did contain individual names, dates of birth and CDL numbers, officials said. The OIG computer, which is password-protected, was assigned to a Special Agent in OIG's Miami office, and did not contain financial or medical information. However, it contained personally identifiable information pertaining to approximately 133,000 Florida residents. For more info, go to: FMCSA, www.dot.gov/affairs/fmcsa0406.htm; and OIG, www.oig.dot.gov/datasecurity.jsp.

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Army Reserve Officer Pleads Guilty to Charges

A lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve pleaded guilty Aug. 25 in federal court to two conspiracy charges in a scheme to defraud the Coalition Provisional Authority—South Central Region (CPA-SC) in Al-Hillah, Iraq. Bruce D. Hopfengardner, 46, of Frederick, Va., admitted conspiring to commit wire fraud and to launder funds in connection with a scheme to steal currency designated for the reconstruction of Iraq—and to steer contracts to a contractor in exchange for money and property. According to court documents, beginning in about November 2003, Hopfengardner was assigned as an advisor to the CPA-SC region in Al-Hillah, where he was responsible for managing various construction projects. A federal criminal information alleges that, in connection with those projects, he, Robert Stein and others steered contracts to Philip Bloom—a U.S. citizen operating construction services and security companies in Iraq—in exchange for cars and other items of value. Stein and Bloom already had pleaded guilty to various charges in connection with the enterprise. Hopfengardner faces up to 20 years in prison, a five-year term of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000.

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