We need The Merit Act passed to Prevent Shit like this from happening again!
John Charles Beale was a former senior policy advisor of the US EPA.
Beale was convicted of felony theft of government property after it came to light in 2013 that he had defrauded the government out of $886,186 starting in 2000, primarily by pretending to be an agent for the CIA.
John Beale, the EPA's "climate expert," who continued to collect a salary for 18 months after he retired and scammed the government for 13 years.
He collected a salary higher than legal limits; took unearned bonuses; awarded himself a handicapped parking pass though he wasn't handicapped; and was absent for months at a time, falsely claiming to be a CIA agent working other assignments.
Beale had no experience dealing with environmental issues, but was seen as a good negotiator and had some experience dealing with Congress from his internship during college.
Then-president Obama appointed Beale's wife, Nancy Kete, to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
In 1991 and again in 2000,[6] Beale was given a retention bonus, consisting of 25% of his annual salary.
In 2002, Beale was given a subsidized parking space because he had led his coworkers to believe that he had contracted malaria during the Vietnam War. Beale held the space until June 2005, costing a total of $8,000. He in fact never had malaria, and did not serve in Vietnam.
From 2005 to 2007, Beale claimed to be working on an EPA research project and drew $57,235 in travel expenses to Los Angeles, where he was in fact visiting family in nearby Bakersfield.
The travel expenses covered first-class flights and stays in high-end hotels.[2][11] For a period of six months in 2008, Beale did not report to work for the EPA under the guise of his CIA work, but continued to draw his salary from the EPA.[2]
In 2011 Beale told his colleagues that he was retiring from the EPA, throwing a boat party on the Potomac River in September that was attended by his boss, Gina McCarthy, who later became the administrator of the EPA.
Despite the purported retirement, Beale continued to draw his salary, and the temporary bonus that was supposed to cease in 2003 continued to be paid through 2013. By the time of his retirement, Beale was the highest paid employee in the EPA, making more than administrator McCarthy.
In November 2012, an EPA HR employee discovered that Beale was still drawing his salary and temporary bonus following his retirement, and brought the issue to the attention of Gina McCarthy. McCarthy exchanged several emails with Beale about the issue, to which he responded that he was still engaged in work with the CIA. In late December 2012, a Homeland Security employee that worked as the liaison for the EPA to the intelligence community made contact with Beale, saying that they had no record of Beale ever having worked for the CIA.
On January 7, 2013, McCarthy met with Beale at her office, detailing that the EPA would require documentation of Beale's work with the CIA. Beale reported that he would work on it, but a month later reported that the CIA would not acknowledge his work with them. McCarthy responded "that puts you in a really bad position, doesn’t it?"
Mark Kaminsky, an investigator for the Office of the Inspector General, began to look into the case in February 2013. Beale initially refused to answer questions, and his colleagues at the EPA only had glowing reviews of his work there. Kaminsky noted that Beale was atypical in that "he lied across all aspects of his life," even finding emails with his wife.
The pair own houses in Arlington, Va. and Cape Cod.
He entered a guilty plea on September 27, 2013 to felony theft of government property, and submitted a check to the court for $886,186.
The amount included $437,901 in fraudulent retention bonuses and $58,127 for the "D.O. Oversight" days, among other fraudulent earnings.
Beale also agreed to a punitive criminal forfeiture of $507,207 for a total payment of $1,393,393.
On December 18, 2013, Beale was sentenced to 32 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and 100 hours of community service for each of those two years.
Beale was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution, Cumberland and was released on June 1, 2016.
Beale is paying off his fine over time, using his government retirement annuity, which he still receives.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Beale#EPA_work
John Charles Beale was a former senior policy advisor of the US EPA.
Beale was convicted of felony theft of government property after it came to light in 2013 that he had defrauded the government out of $886,186 starting in 2000, primarily by pretending to be an agent for the CIA.
John Beale, the EPA's "climate expert," who continued to collect a salary for 18 months after he retired and scammed the government for 13 years.
He collected a salary higher than legal limits; took unearned bonuses; awarded himself a handicapped parking pass though he wasn't handicapped; and was absent for months at a time, falsely claiming to be a CIA agent working other assignments.
Beale had no experience dealing with environmental issues, but was seen as a good negotiator and had some experience dealing with Congress from his internship during college.
Then-president Obama appointed Beale's wife, Nancy Kete, to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
In 1991 and again in 2000,[6] Beale was given a retention bonus, consisting of 25% of his annual salary.
In 2002, Beale was given a subsidized parking space because he had led his coworkers to believe that he had contracted malaria during the Vietnam War. Beale held the space until June 2005, costing a total of $8,000. He in fact never had malaria, and did not serve in Vietnam.
From 2005 to 2007, Beale claimed to be working on an EPA research project and drew $57,235 in travel expenses to Los Angeles, where he was in fact visiting family in nearby Bakersfield.
The travel expenses covered first-class flights and stays in high-end hotels.[2][11] For a period of six months in 2008, Beale did not report to work for the EPA under the guise of his CIA work, but continued to draw his salary from the EPA.[2]
In 2011 Beale told his colleagues that he was retiring from the EPA, throwing a boat party on the Potomac River in September that was attended by his boss, Gina McCarthy, who later became the administrator of the EPA.
Despite the purported retirement, Beale continued to draw his salary, and the temporary bonus that was supposed to cease in 2003 continued to be paid through 2013. By the time of his retirement, Beale was the highest paid employee in the EPA, making more than administrator McCarthy.
In November 2012, an EPA HR employee discovered that Beale was still drawing his salary and temporary bonus following his retirement, and brought the issue to the attention of Gina McCarthy. McCarthy exchanged several emails with Beale about the issue, to which he responded that he was still engaged in work with the CIA. In late December 2012, a Homeland Security employee that worked as the liaison for the EPA to the intelligence community made contact with Beale, saying that they had no record of Beale ever having worked for the CIA.
On January 7, 2013, McCarthy met with Beale at her office, detailing that the EPA would require documentation of Beale's work with the CIA. Beale reported that he would work on it, but a month later reported that the CIA would not acknowledge his work with them. McCarthy responded "that puts you in a really bad position, doesn’t it?"
Mark Kaminsky, an investigator for the Office of the Inspector General, began to look into the case in February 2013. Beale initially refused to answer questions, and his colleagues at the EPA only had glowing reviews of his work there. Kaminsky noted that Beale was atypical in that "he lied across all aspects of his life," even finding emails with his wife.
The pair own houses in Arlington, Va. and Cape Cod.
He entered a guilty plea on September 27, 2013 to felony theft of government property, and submitted a check to the court for $886,186.
The amount included $437,901 in fraudulent retention bonuses and $58,127 for the "D.O. Oversight" days, among other fraudulent earnings.
Beale also agreed to a punitive criminal forfeiture of $507,207 for a total payment of $1,393,393.
On December 18, 2013, Beale was sentenced to 32 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and 100 hours of community service for each of those two years.
Beale was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution, Cumberland and was released on June 1, 2016.
Beale is paying off his fine over time, using his government retirement annuity, which he still receives.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Beale#EPA_work
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