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Expert Fraudster

John C. Beale, 65, the highest-paid employee at the Environmental Protection Agency, had a retirement party in September 2011. In March 2012, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy noticed he was still getting paid; in February 2013 the inspector general got involved; that April, Beale retired. But even while “working” for the EPA, Beale was often elsewhere, officials say: not on assignment for the CIA, as he claimed, nor rushing off to Pakistan where his replacement was supposedly being tortured by the Taliban. Rather, he was doing housework in Northern Virginia or vacationing at Cape Cod. “The CIA,” EPA investigator Patrick Sullivan said, “has no record of him ever walking through the door.” Beale pleaded guilty to defrauding the government of almost $1 million, but told colleagues he’d plead guilty “to take one for the team” — meaning fellow CIA operatives. On top of the salary he didn’t earn, Beale billed the government thousands of dollars for personal travel — and his expenses were often approved even when they exceeded per diem limits. He was sentenced to 32 months in prison, and agreed to pay restitution. “There’s a certain culture here at the EPA where the mission is the most important thing,” Sullivan said. “They tend to be very trusting and accepting.” Yet when he began investigating, “I thought, ‘Oh my God, How could this possibly have happened in this agency?’” (AC/NBC) ...Asked and answered, though not necessarily in that order.
Original Publication Date: 22 December 2013
This story is in True’s book collections, in Volume 20.

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