February 26, 2007
Contact: Naomi Seligman Steiner - 202.408.5565 / press@citizensforethics.org
27 Feb 2007 // Washington, DC – Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales today requesting that the Department of Justice investigate Lawrence M. Small, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, for possible criminal violations stemming from his accumulation of nearly $90,000 in unauthorized expenses between 2000 and 2005.
According to a recent story in The Washington Post, the Smithsonian’s acting inspector general found that Mr. Small’s most serious transgressions involved payments for his house, a flight on a charter aircraft and misusing Smithsonian funds for personal expenses.
For example, in violation of an agreement requiring Mr. Small to submit properly documented housing expenses for reimbursement, Mr. Small calculated his housing expenses using a hypothetical mortgage interest rate of 8.32% for a 30-year fixed mortgage, despite the fact that home loans in 2005 averaged an interest rate of only 5.87%.
Mr. Small also used a charter aircraft to take him to and from a meeting in San Antonio in 2001 at a cost of $14,509, which the IG found “excessive” because commercial flights were available.
In addition, Mr. Small charged hundreds of dollars for personal meals as well as his wife’s membership in a private club to the Smithsonian.
Federal law prohibits anyone employed by an organization receiving federal funds from stealing property from that organization. The Smithsonian receives 70% of its funding from the federal government.
CREW also asked the Attorney General to investigate whether the Board of Regents broke any laws by facilitating Mr. Small’s illegal conduct.
Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, said today, "Mr. Small has treated the Smithsonian bank account like his own personal slush fund and the Board of Regents hasn’t stopped him. CREW urges Attorney General Gonzales to immediately initiate an investigation into Mr. Small’s egregious conduct and into the Board of Regents’ shameful, and perhaps illegal, inaction."
CREW’s letter to Attorney General Gonzales and related documents are available on CREW’s website.
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Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions.
For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Naomi Seligman Steiner at 202.408.5565/nseligman@citizensforethics.org.