Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The $wagger of U.S. Marshals

It's not like the movies:

"Report exposes excesses at US Marshals Service

WASHINGTON — Crystal statues worth $125 apiece and custom boxes with lambswool blankets at a cost of $149 per set. Those are among the examples of excessive spending on promotional items by the US Marshals Service in recent years, according to a watchdog analysis.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a report Tuesday revealing that one of the agency’s divisions increased its expenditures on ‘‘swag’’ by nearly tenfold — or about 300 percent per employee — from 2005 through 2010.

All told, the investigative operations unit spent nearly $800,000 on promotional items during that period, including $37,000 on lapel pins, $57,000 on clothing, and $155,000 on ‘‘challenge coins,’’ which many federal agencies use to recognize good work or promote a sense of a team, the report said.

All so they can look like big $hits while walking around with us peons. 

Federal auditors determined that the expenses were ‘‘excessive and, in some instances, in contravention of department policies and Government Accountability Office decisions and guidance.’’

The inspector general’s office said the growth in swag spending was ‘‘the result of the absence of internal controls, accountability, and good judgment.’’

Witnesses told investigators they often use swag for awards.

In 2011, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. issued a directive to the Justice Department requiring all divisions to limit spending to only ‘‘mission-essential programs, projects, and activities.’’

The Marshals Service has since reduced its swag expenditures and implemented policies relating to the matter, the report said.

--more--" 

Meanwhile, you are under sequester and face social service reductions for things you have already paid for, Americans.

Related:

Gulf Oil Overseer Sees Smoke From Pipe
Troubles at the TSA
Sex in the SEC
Pentagon Perverts
On Through the NightSunday Globe Shot of Heroin
The Good Stewards of Government
It's Fun Working For the FAA
Conferencing With the IRS

That's what they got two weeks paid vacation to do?