What is the real relationship between certain senior naval officials and their retired counterparts working for Coopers and Lybrand? Was it innocent as Department of Defense Inspector General Audit Report 94-113 claims, or was it really criminal? Ten million dollars was spent to employ them, but even the Inspector General found no measurable value in the resultant product
President Reagan described Inspector Generals as "junk yard dogs" that take a bite out of crime. This is the case of the "whimpering puppy". I was forced to help prepare a contract that did not follow any of the established rules. I never had any biases one way or the other when I first entered this case; I have, however, been convinced by my extensive research that this series of improperly issued contracts was not just a mistake that was cured by teaching people the rules, but rather a deliberate criminal enterprise that pressured anyone who opposed it. Naval Academy Professor James Barry's 1996 Washington Post op-ed article "Adrift in Annapolis" quoted some of his Midshipman students as saying that the difference between Midshipmen (and Naval officers) and the Mafia was "we wear uniforms". I took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and DOMESTIC, and I consider senior officers who think first of their personal pocketbook and ignore their own oath of office to be DOMESTIC ENEMIES. I did not see any one take a bribe; I was not offered one, but the behavior I am describing here shows a clear pattern of probable bribery. I ask you to join my challenge to the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, the Justice Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to leave no stone unturned in examining the unusual relationships behind this series of contracts, and not to just let the perpetrators retire into the sunset free to enjoy the fruits of their conspiracy.
Follow the Trail - the same trail that led me to my conclusion that over 30 separate improper contracts for which you the taxpayer paid out $10 million were not mistakes, but criminal.
The trail begins with the initial suspicions, warnings, the Hotline complaint, and the resultant Inspector General's audit report - followed by my rebuttal, and an overview of what the Inspector General examined together with what it failed to examine.
You will travel from now-closed Charleston Naval Shipyard, South Carolina, to Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Hawaii, Nofolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New Hampshire/Maine, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, and finally to my now-closed Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California.
We will also travel to also closed Pensacola Naval Air Depot, Florida, and the Naval Intelligence Activity, Suitland, Maryland.
Naval Sea Systems Command and Naval Supply Systems Command Headquarters, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition), Department of Defense and Naval Inspector Generals and Naval Criminal Investigative Service play prominent roles.
Contracting activities which did not follow the rules include the Naval Regional Contracting Center, San Diego, California, and its Long Beach, California Detachment plus the Naval Regional Contracting Center, Washington, DC, in addition to the contracts organizations at each of the field locations.
Senator David Pryor would have held hearings three years ago had the Republican takeover of the Senate in the 1994 election not stripped him of his Senate Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Federal Services, Post Office and Civil Service Chairmanship and staff. The late Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral J. M. "Mike" Boorda penned a strong note offering to listen and vowing to act, but tragically never received the briefing I was preparing for him.
The Whistleblower Protection Act does not adequately protect people who act ethically by refusing to cheat you the taxpayer, or even worse using every possible resource to make you, executive level management, Congress and investigative agencies aware of serious wrongdoing.
Draw your own conclusions and act. Let your Member of Congress and Senators know that you want this thoroughly investigated, that you consider $10 million a significant amount of money, and demand an accounting of the value you received for it.
If you were present at any one of these activities, or behind the scenes at the contractor Coopers and Lybrand's Government Consulting Practice in Virginia, step forth and tell what you know. Help recover the taxpayers' millions and bring the perpetrators to justice.
DO YOU REMEMBER COOPERS AND LYBRAND OR ANY OTHER TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS OR TRAINERS? PLEASE, CONTACT ME IF YOU DO.