Lavish conference forces out agency chief
A file photo of General Services Administration Administrator Martha N. Johnson speaking during a news conference. Credit: Getty Images, 2010
WASHINGTON -- The head of the General Services Administration resigned after an inquiry found the agency lavished $44 daily breakfasts on employees and spent $6,325 on commemorative coins for a meeting at a Las Vegas area resort.
The $823,000 conference, taxpayer-funded, in October 2010 at the M Resort Spa Casino in Henderson, Nev., also involved $8,130 to print "yearbooks" for participants and $5 each for "Mini Monte Cristo sandwiches," according to the agency's inspector general. The breakfasts cost almost four times the government's $12 allowance for the morning meal in Las Vegas.
"Reports of an internal conference in which taxpayer dollars were squandered led me to launch internal reviews, take disciplinary personnel action and institute tough new controls to ensure this incident is not repeated," GSA chief Martha Johnson said in a resignation letter. "I feel I must step aside as administrator so that the agency can move forward . . . with a fresh leadership."
The GSA manages and rents property for government agencies and obtains equipment and services.
The acting administrator of Region 9 for the western United States instructed planners to make the 2010 conference in Nevada "over the top," the inspector general said.
Where will Heuermann serve sentence? ... Prostitution, money laundering ring on LI ... Correction officer sexual assault ... Mets fire manager
Where will Heuermann serve sentence? ... Prostitution, money laundering ring on LI ... Correction officer sexual assault ... Mets fire manager
