This just in…The Inspector General at the Department of the Interior found, according to the Associated Press, "Government officials handling billions of dollars in oil royalties partied, had sex with and
accepted golf and ski outings from employees of energy companies they
were dealing with."
Wow! And we thought Dick Cheney’s relationship with the energy industry was too cozy. More from the AP:
The alleged transgressions involve 13 former and current Interior
Department employees in Denver and Washington. Their alleged
improprieties include rigging contracts, working part-time as private
oil consultants, and having sexual relationships with — and accepting
golf and ski trips and dinners from — oil company employees, according
to three reports released Wednesday by the Interior Department’s
inspector general.The investigations reveal a "culture of
substance abuse and promiscuity" by a small group of individuals
"wholly lacking in acceptance of or adherence to government ethical
standards," wrote Inspector General Earl E. Devaney, whose office spent
more than two years and $5.3 million on the investigation."Sexual relationships with prohibited sources cannot, by definition, be arms-length," Devaney said.
Think this topic should come up in the debate over the energy bill in Congress and our energy future in general? More from the AP:
The reports describe a fraternity house atmosphere inside the Denver
Minerals Management Service office responsible for marketing oil and
natural gas that energy companies barter to the government in lieu of
cash royalty payments for drilling on federal lands. The government
received $4.3 billion in such royalty-in-kind payments last year. The
oil and gas is then resold to energy companies or put in the nation’s
emergency stockpile."During the course of our investigation, we
learned that some RIK employees frequently consumed alcohol at industry
functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships
with oil and gas company representatives," the report said. Two
government employees who had to spend the night after a daytime
industry function because they were too intoxicated to drive home were
commonly referred to by energy traders as the "MMS Chicks."Between 2002 and 2006, nearly a third of the 55-person staff in the
Denver office received gifts and gratuities from oil and gas companies,
including Chevron Corp., Shell, Hess Corp. and Denver-based
Gary-Williams Energy Corp., the investigators found. Two oil marketers
received gifts and gratuities on at least 135 occasions. One admitted
having a one-night-stand with a Shell employee. That same individual
allegedly passed out business cards for her sex toy business at work,
bragging that her income from that business exceeded her salary at the
Interior Department.Devaney said the investigations took so long
because Chevron refused to cooperate. An Interior Department official
said Chevron would not allow investigators to interview its employees.
Congress should ask why Chevron wasn’t cooperating with investigators while it was plying government officlals with gifts and tips. And it should take steps in the energy bill to make sure oil industry-sponsored orgies for government employees result in jail time, not just outrageous reports paid for with millions of dollars from taxpayers.