Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure

Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure

Department of Defense Office of General Counsel Standards of Conduct Office

Updated October 2014

Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Disclaimer ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Abuse of Position ............................................................................................................................ 4 Bribery (18 U.S.C. ? 201-Type Violations) .................................................................................. 11 Compensation for Representational Services from Non-Federal Sources

(18 U.S.C. ? 203-Type Violations) ........................................................................................ 32 Conflicts of Interest (18 U.S.C. ? 208-Type Violations)............................................................... 39 Credit Card Abuse ......................................................................................................................... 58 Endorsements................................................................................................. 65 Financial Disclosure Violations .................................................................................................... 66 Fraud (Violations Not Covered Elsewhere) .................................................................................. 72 Gambling and Other Contest Violations ....................................................................................... 83 Gift Violations ............................................................................................................................... 84 Involvement in Claims Against the Government or in Matters Affecting the Government

(18 U.S.C. ? 205-Type Violations) ......................................................................................... 89 Misuse of Government Resources and Personnel ......................................................................... 92 Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Issues ......................................................................... 119 Political Activity Violations ........................................................................................................ 121 Post-Employment Violations (18 U.S.C. ? 207-Type Violations) .............................................. 132 Salary for Government Work from Non-Government Source

(18 U.S.C. ? 209-Type Violations) ................................................................................146 Time and Attendance Violations ................................................................................................. 154 Travel Violations ......................................................................................................................... 161

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Introduction

The Standards of Conduct Office of the Department of Defense General Counsel's Office has assembled the following selection of cases of ethical failure for use as a training tool. Our goal is to provide DoD personnel with real examples of Federal employees who have intentionally or unwittingly violated the standards of conduct. Some cases are humorous, some sad, and all are real. Some will anger you as a Federal employee and some will anger you as an American taxpayer.

Please pay particular attention to the multiple jail and probation sentences, fines, employment terminations and other sanctions that were taken as a result of these ethical failures. Violations of many ethical standards involve criminal statutes. Protect yourself and your employees by learning what you need to know and accessing your Agency ethics counselor if you become unsure of the proper course of conduct. Be sure to access them before you take action regarding the issue in question. Many of the cases displayed in this collection could have been avoided completely if the offender had taken this simple precaution.

The cases have been arranged according to offense for ease of access. Feel free to reproduce and use them as you like in your ethics training program. For example - you may be conducting a training session regarding political activities. Feel free to copy and paste a case or two into your slideshow or handout ? or use them as examples or discussion problems. If you have a case you would like to make available for inclusion in a future update of this collection, please email it to OSD.SOCO@MAIL.MIL or you may fax it to (703) 695-4970.

Disclaimer

The Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure is intended to sensitize Federal employees to the reach and impact of Federal ethics statutes and regulations. It is best used to supplement personal verification of those statutes and regulations. It should not be interpreted as a binding or authoritative presentation of the law.

Note of Special Thanks

We thank the DoD OIG for their case contributions to the Encyclopedia.

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Abuse of Position

If I Help You Land This Multimillion Dollar Contract, Will You Give Me a Job?

A former government human resource director was sentenced to two years of probation for violating conflicts of interest laws, 18 U.S.C. ? 208, and lying on his financial disclosure report. A whistleblower spilled the beans on a polling and market research firm's price inflation for government contracts and simultaneously its offer of a six-figure salary to the government official who was working to expand the firm's multimillion dollar contract with his agency. The former official was criminally sentenced to two-years of probation for failing to notify ethics officials about his employment arrangement with the firm on his financial disclosure report. In a related civil case, the former employee was barred from future government contracting work and forced to pay a $40,000 fine. Last but not least, the firm pulled his employment offer after the news broke.

General Discovers that Military Aides Are Not Supposed to Feed Cats

Military officials discovered that a General was misusing Government personnel, improperly accepting gifts of services from subordinates, and misusing his position. What did he do? The General used his enlisted aides to help host unofficial functions at his headquarters, provide driving lessons to a family member, and to feed a friend's cat. Although the aides were initially paid with $30-$40 Starbucks gift cards for their services, the General, taking full responsibility for his actions even though he retired, rectified the misuse and underpayment for services by retroactively paying the aides almost $2,000.

Misadventures in Hiring Family

Two retired colonels working for a National Guard educational program were found to have not been impartial in their duties when engaging in family hires. Colonel 1 nicely asked Colonel 2 to authorize the hiring of Colonel 1's son as a contractor which Colonel 2 did. Not to be outdone, Colonel 2 oversaw the hiring of his nephew and

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brother-in-law as contractors. Colonel 2 even attempted to get his own son hired as a contractor, but Colonel 2's supervisor correctly thought it would be inappropriate. Each colonel was issued a letter of caution to avoid an appearance of a conflict and they were required to take an annual ethics training course.

Chief Authority

A military service Chief Master Sergeant abused her authority and improperly used a government vehicle when she employed a government vehicle and three noncommissioned officers under her supervision to move personal property in a government rental vehicle. The soldiers helped her for 3 hours. The Chief Master Sergeant was given a verbal warning and advised of the improper use of government vehicles and the abuse of authority.

Abuse of Position and Bribery

A military service Captain used his official position as a reservist to obtain contracts for private sector companies with which he had an affiliation. In addition, the Captain accepted a "finder's fee" (i.e., kickbacks) from one company for his efforts in helping the company obtain government contract work. For his significant ethical failure, the Captain was "allowed" to retire at the grade of Commander, though he had been selected to be an Admiral. In addition, the Captain was debarred for one year, while two of the affiliated companies entered into administrative agreements (for 3 years) with the military service.

Coercion by Supervisor

The director of a naval health clinic received a $3,000 loan from a subordinate after requesting that the subordinate loan him $6,000. The $3,000 apparently wasn't enough, however, and the director later asked for $10,000. This time the subordinate declined. After the director only repaid a fraction of the $3,000, the subordinate approached the chain of command. In addition to being directed by his commanding officer to repay the rest of the loan, the director was provided with a written letter of counseling regarding his unprofessional and unethical conduct.

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