April Happenings

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You are really not suppose to do this [from Department Of Justice Press Release]

Wilhelm DerMinassian, the former Associate Director in charge of the DC DOT’s Traffic Services Administration, and Dunn Engineering Associates P.C. were charged separately in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in connection with the seeking, paying, and receiving of a gratuity in exchange for future favorable treatment of the company by DerMinassian in his administration and oversight of the five-year $17.5 million federally-funded Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS) contract.

Additionally, DerMinassian was charged with one count of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the DC DOT and the District of Columbia and its citizens of their right to DerMinassian’s honest services as a public official. During the conspiracy, which took place from October 2001 through October 2002, DerMinassian solicited and received approximately $20,000 in cash and other items of value from an employee and an officer of another company in connection with his administration and oversight of the $12.9 million federally-funded Operational Support contract. Influenced by the receipt of cash and other items of value, DerMinassian recommended and approved three change orders, worth over $5.5 million, to the contract.

GAO revises its bid protest rules:

This document amends Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Bid Protest Regulations by revising the definition of an interested
party to permit a protest to be filed by an agency tender official ATO) in certain public-private competitions under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76. This document also revises the definition of an intervenor to permit an ATO and an employee representative to intervene in certain protests involving public-private competitions under OMB Circular A-76.

An opinion from GAO that just because you used OPA money to buy the equipment doesn't mean you can use OPA money for the logistical support.

DECISION

The U.S. Medical Research and Materiel Command (Command) has requested our decision concerning the availability of the Other Procurement, Army (Procurement) appropriation to hire contractors to provide logistical support for medical equipment items acquired using the Procurement appropriation. Memorandum from Colonel Denise M. McCollum, Deputy, Resource Management, U. S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, to Anthony H. Gamboa, General Counsel, GAO, May 14, 2004. (McCollum Memorandum). As explained below, the Command should use the Army Operation and Maintenance (O&M) appropriation, and not the procurement appropriation, to fund the logistical support of the acquisitions at issue here.