WASHINGTON, DC – With almost a $9 billion deficit, the U.S. Postal Service may soon need
a taxpayer funded bailout, yet the federal agency blew hundreds of
thousands of dollars on professional sports tickets, booze and fancy meals,
according to a public-interest group that investigates and prosecutes
government corruption.
The items were purchased by USPS managers and employees with special charge
cards issued to U.S. government agencies. More than 3 million federal workers
nationwide have the cards and they charge around $30 billion annually,
according to the U.S. General Services Administration.
Despite its monstrous financial troubles, the USPS is known to rack up
big-time expenses as if it were a major corporation with lucrative profits. In
fiscal year 2010 the agency charged more than $239 million on the
government-issued plastic, according to Judicial Watch and federal auditors.
This week the USPS Inspector General revealed that agency policy was
violated in at least $400,000 worth of charges that were not properly
authorized or justified. Among the items purchased were expensive season
tickets to professional basketball, football and baseball games, gift cards,
beer, wine and unjustified “business meals.”
In a report, the Inspector General points out that it’s
the third “focusing on purchases that could negatively impact the Postal
Service’s public image and brand.” Two previous audits found similar wrongdoing
and investigators seem to think the problem will magically get solved,
according to Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton.
A 2009 IG report determined that USPS employees were continuing to make
“imprudent an unnecessary purchases during a time of severe economic
uncertainty in the postal service. “ In 2008 investigators said cardholders
didn’t verify charges, made purchases from unauthorized vendors and failed to
follow proper procedures when making purchases.
All this occurred while the agency suffers through a dire financial
crisis that’s been years in the making. The chief of the USPS recently said
it’s facing at least $8 billion in losses for the second consecutive year. One
U.S. congressman is calling on fellow lawmakers to “establish a mechanism to
prevent the sort of poor management and fiscal irresponsibility that has beset
the USPS’s transition into the digital age.”
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About Jim Kouri
Jim Kouri, CPP, formerly Fifth Vice-President, is currently a Board Member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, an editor for ConservativeBase.com, and he’s a columnist for Examiner.com. In addition, he’s a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.
He’s former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed “Crack City” by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He’s also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country.
Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He’s a news writer and columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he’s syndicated by AXcessNews.Com.
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The Postal Service is not looking for, and will not receive anything that could be remotely construed as, a taxpayer bailout. The USPS is simply asking for its own money back. Money that has been extorted due to a law passed by a lame duck GOP Congress. But hey, “taxpayer bailout” is always a great inflammatory dog whistle catch phrase to get the slack jaw simpletons that make up the GOP base salivating.
So much for objective, fact based journalism.
We saw your comment, and checked the source of the photo. You were right and we made the proper adjustment.
We stand behind the article and the validity of its claims.
John G. Winder, Publisher – The Cypress Times
Where the first picture????? Don’t like people calling you a liar, huh???
THESE ARE POSTAL MANAGERS AND SUPERVISORS, NOT CRAFT EMPLOYEES.
The Postal Service uses the credit cards so the mailmen can buy gas for the trucks, among other things, like repairs, and normal business expenses, etc. Going by this article, you’d think the 239 million was only used for booze and strippers………$400,000 of unapproved expenses out of $239 million is less than a half of 1 % !!! I’d like to see ANY other Gov’t agency match that. Going by this paper, you’d think it was the end of the world. Is the Cypress Times owned by Fox News??? The article sounds like one of their ignorant rants…………..
So everyone knows. The picture in this article is from the Katrina evacuation. How could a journalist use a photo of the USPS helping transport victims and make it appear that the USPS is out joyriding.