GSAs fun in Hawaii sun on tax bucks - New York Post

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GSAs fun in Hawaii sun on tax bucks - New York Post Apr 12th 2012, 05:46 Nothing like getting lei'd on the taxpayer's dime! Five free-wheeling federal workers got a seven-day government-paid Hawaiian junket — and all they had to do to take the trip was attend a one-hour ribbon-cutting ceremony for newly leased FBI office space in the Aloha State, a lawmaker said. The all-expenses paid vacation for General Services Administration officials apparently included snorkeling, an unidentified colleague of the party-hearty bureaucrats told investigators. The junket "was just one of those trips" where the workers "left on a Saturday and returned on a Friday," the employee told investigators for the GSA inspector general, according to a transcript released by House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.). When asked if his buddies worked hard, the employee replied, "I doubt it." That colleague said he'd heard "stories" of officials "going snorkeling in the morning," according to the transcript. Meanwhile, it was also revealed the GSA — already under fire for its lavish spending at an $823,000 Las-Vegas-area bacchanal — paid as much as $330,000 to move one employee from Denver to Hawaii, according to another interview with an employee. The transplanted worker quit a year after being reassigned. The Denver-to-Hawaii move was just one of many that the agency spent "millions" on in the past two years, the employee told the GSA's inspector general, according to the transcript obtained by The Associated Press. The person in charge of the costly relocation process was dubbed the "Prince" in GSA circles. Perks for those transferred were certainly fit for a king. They included temporary quarters, groceries, laundry, a vehicle, household goods, funds to cover the closing costs on a new home — and even buying the former house if the employee can't sell it. The agency's administrator, Martha Johnson, resigned last week after the GSA's inspector general revealed the wild spending on her watch. gshields@nypost.com This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.

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