yep, the bushco tune just keeps lingering
By KEVIN McGILL NEW ORLEANS - A former supervisor in the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service, which regulates oil and gas operations on leased federal property, was sentenced by a federal judge on Tuesday to one year probation and fines totaling $3,000.
Donald Howard, 59, of Destrehan had pleaded guilty in November to failing to report that an oil industry contractor paid for a hunting trip he took in 2004 - a trip worth almost $2,500 according to court records. He faces sentencing Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Howard was fired from the MMS in January 2007, according to a spokeswoman.
Tuesday's sentencing follows months of scandal at MMS and the Interior Department.
In reports last September, the department's Inspector General chronicled a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" at an MMS office in Denver from 2002 to 2006. That office, which has around 50 employees, is responsible for marketing billions of dollars worth of oil and natural gas that energy companies barter to the government in lieu of cash royalty payments for drilling offshore.
Last November, more than half a dozen workers at the office were disciplined - and several were fired - because of the scandal in which some workers partied, had sex and used drugs with oil and gas industry representatives, as well as accepting gifts from them.
U.S. Attorney Jim Letten of New Orleans would not say whether Howard's case was the result of the same investigation but did say the probe that led to charges against Howard "flowed" from information provided by Interior's Inspector General. In Las Vegas on Monday, a retired Interior Department official named in a September Inspector General's report about lavish gifts and rigged contracts at MMS was sentenced to probation and a $2,000 fine for violating federal conflict of interest rules.
Last week, new Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called for a complete review of ethical misconduct and reforms at the Interior Department, raising the possibility that investigations closed by the Bush administration may be reopened.
By KEVIN McGILL NEW ORLEANS - A former supervisor in the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service, which regulates oil and gas operations on leased federal property, was sentenced by a federal judge on Tuesday to one year probation and fines totaling $3,000.
Donald Howard, 59, of Destrehan had pleaded guilty in November to failing to report that an oil industry contractor paid for a hunting trip he took in 2004 - a trip worth almost $2,500 according to court records. He faces sentencing Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Howard was fired from the MMS in January 2007, according to a spokeswoman.
Tuesday's sentencing follows months of scandal at MMS and the Interior Department.
In reports last September, the department's Inspector General chronicled a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" at an MMS office in Denver from 2002 to 2006. That office, which has around 50 employees, is responsible for marketing billions of dollars worth of oil and natural gas that energy companies barter to the government in lieu of cash royalty payments for drilling offshore.
Last November, more than half a dozen workers at the office were disciplined - and several were fired - because of the scandal in which some workers partied, had sex and used drugs with oil and gas industry representatives, as well as accepting gifts from them.
U.S. Attorney Jim Letten of New Orleans would not say whether Howard's case was the result of the same investigation but did say the probe that led to charges against Howard "flowed" from information provided by Interior's Inspector General. In Las Vegas on Monday, a retired Interior Department official named in a September Inspector General's report about lavish gifts and rigged contracts at MMS was sentenced to probation and a $2,000 fine for violating federal conflict of interest rules.
Last week, new Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called for a complete review of ethical misconduct and reforms at the Interior Department, raising the possibility that investigations closed by the Bush administration may be reopened.