Interior Dept. takes action after scandal

The Interior Department has taken disciplinary action against more than a half dozen workers who accepted lavish gifts, partied and in some cases had sex with employees from the energy companies they regulated.

The actions announced Friday range from a warning letter to termination. The Interior Department would not confirm how many employees were fired, citing privacy.

The eight employees worked in a Denver Minerals Management Service office in charge of collecting billions of dollars in federal oil royalties.

An Interior Department Inspector General investigation issued in September referred to a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" in the office from 2002 through 2006. During that time, the report found some employees were getting drunk and having sex with oil company personnel. The report also highlights instances where co-workers in the office used cocaine and marijuana.

Much more widespread were the golf and ski trips, snowboarding lessons and concert tickets workers in the office accepted from oil companies. Nearly a third of the 55-person staff in the Denver office had accepted gifts, but only nine workers had exceeded the $20-per-gift limit or $50-a-year threshold on outside gifts, the report found.

MMS Director Randall Luthi said in a statement Friday that "the behavior of some MMS employees prior to 2007 was clearly inappropriate and warranted strong administrative action."

Eight of those workers were still employed with the agency when the scandal broke. At least three of the employees are still working there, based on calls made by The Associated Press to the Denver office.

One of those employees, Donna Hogan, said disciplinary action was based on the severity of the charges and whether the person was in a supervisory position. Hogan — who the report said accepted 13 meals valued at $249 and a ticket to a Toby Keith concert — said she received a warning letter.

She directed further questions to the agency's public affairs office in Washington.

But in an interview with investigators that was described in the Inspector General report, Hogan said she never exceeded gift limits and would pay for her share of the meals.

"I don't feel like I have gone out blatantly and been (lavished) by companies," she told investigators.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne had vowed to take swift action to squelch what he called an "ethics storm." He had already hired a new director for the office and strengthened ethics training. Disciplinary procedures for civil servants prevented him from suspending or firing employees for at least a month.

Kempthorne, in an appearance before lawmakers in September, also said he was considering a random drug-testing program and banning all employees in the division from receiving gifts and gratuities.

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On the Net:

Interior Department Inspector General: http://www.doioig.gov

Minerals Management Service: http://www.mms.gov

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