Tierney, Brown press action vs. NOAA

Congressman John Tierney has urged Commerce Secretary John Bryson to "freeze all expenditures" from the NOAA's Asset Forfeiture Fund — made up of fines paid by fishermen — until deficiencies in controls outlined by the department's Inspector General and dramatized by actions in NOAA's Seattle law enforcement office are eliminated.

Tierney also pressed Bryson with questions about the misuse of the fund by NOAA's Seattle Office of Law Enforcement, which drew $300,787 from the fund in 2008 to acquire a 35-foot luxury cabin boat with flat screen TV and built-in bar for undercover operations — then used it mostly for pleasure cruising in Puget Sound by law enforcement officials, friends and family, the Inspector General found.

NOAA conceded that the purchase violated the "spirit" of federal procurement law; The Inspector General's report described the events as involving "misconduct."

Tierney and U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who separately obtained and released the IG's report last week under the Freedom of Information Act, characterized the transaction as filled with improprieties, dishonesty and corruption.

The IG's report was sent to NOAA on Nov. 4, then heavily redacted before it was released to Tierney and Brown last Thursday. Their offices made the report public immediately.

Brown took to the Senate floor to brief his colleagues on Friday.

At the same time, Tierney was composing the letter to Bryson, which was released to the Times.

Tierney copied the Republican chairman of, and ranking Democrat, on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, noting that the issues in the incident "warrant" Congressional scrutiny.

Brown told the Times in a telephone interview Friday that a Senate or House subcommittee with subpoena power should begin a systematic investigation of NOAA.

The redactions removed names of NOAA law enforcement personnel involved in the boat's acquisition and use and the response of the Seattle office.

At the time and apparently still today, the office was staffed by three agents, Chief Vicki Nomura, and two deputies — one of whom, Brad Vinish, was praised on Facebook last May by the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office for providing "high level" training for the boating safety deputy.

Calls to Vinish are referred to the other NOAA deputy agent in Seattle and emails are diverted to Nomura, who referred questions to NOAA law enforcement national headquarters' communications in Silver Spring, Md.

The redacted IG's report seemed to conclude that a local internal investigation into the misuse of the boat, a 35-foot Boston Whaler with tri-outboard motors, was flawed.

"The evidence shows that [redacted] mishandled [redacted's] alleged misuse of the undercover vessel, to include failing to refer the matter to Office of Law Enforcement headquarters for investigation in accordance of OLE policy," the investigative report stated.

The report then quoted from an affidavit given to the IG's office on May 27, 2010, during an investigation into misuse of the Asset Forfeiture Fund that was publicly reported in July 2010.

The name of the affidavit giver was redacted, but it described an "all hands teleconference" in September 2008, soon after a series of embarrassing incidents involving an unidentified agent or agents, friends and family misusing and abusing the luxurious undercover boat.

These include an engine explosion due to "operator error," running out of fuel in a high-traffic channel, pleasure crafting to area restaurants and barbecues on board with the consumption of alcohol.

"[Redacted] seemed upset and agitated," the affidavit said. "She referred to the justification memo for the undercover boat and firmly stated she wanted people to know the boat was for sensitive, undercover purposes.

"She expressed being tired of rumors and gossip about the boat and its use," the report continued. "She was clear that she expected all the rumors and gossip to stop."

The IG's report concluded that an unidentified male subject of the investigation "interfered with the investigation" by providing the IG a story that was filled with "rationalizations lacking validity and candor."

As an example, "he considered restaurant destinations appropriate for the purpose of practicing docking," Rick Beitel, principal assistant IG for investigations and whistleblower protection, wrote to Barry E. Berkowtiz, senior acquisition executive for the Commerce Department.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Maryland, where NOAA is based at Silver Spring, declined criminal prosecution, but advocated "administrative action against unidentified personnel and said the government 'should be made whole' for the costs related to the 'misconduct involving the undercover boat.'"

Among his questions to Bryson, Tierney asked whether any Office of Law Enforcement personnel have been held accountable "as recommended by the Justice Department, "and "if so, please detail," whether any headquarters or Washington, D.C. based personnel have been brought to account.

Tierney also asked Bryson whether the NOAA has been reimbursed the $12,000 in expenses for the boat's operation charged to the agency.

Tierney asked Bryson for a response by March 2.

Tierney and Brown are among a group of federal and state officials that helped uncover law enforcement abuses of the New England fishing industry and propelled the Inspector General's reports on misuse of the Asset Forfeiture Fund. IG Todd Zinser's initial study noted the acquisition of the undercover luxury pleasure boat, but it was not until the detailed report came out last week that it was placed in Seattle.

"NOAA kept this report secret until Sen. Brown demanded it," Brown spokeswoman Marcie Kinzel said in an email. "Their response is the same tired Beltway doublespeak we have heard from them since Sen. Brown arrived in Washington."

"It's actually very simple," she added. "NOAA still possesses the luxury boat; no one has been fired for these abuses."

NOAA, in a prepared statement, said that "due to Privacy Act constraints, NOAA cannot discuss the nature or results of specific personnel actions. Appropriate action has been or will be taken."

Richard Gaines can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3464, or at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com.

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