US District Court Judge "Appalled" By Current Officials'
Protests
A former Federal Aviation
Administration procurement officer was sentenced to community
service for violating the law over a contract award at
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The judge indicated the violation skewed the culture of the
FAA.
"It appears the whole agency has run afoul of what their duty is
as a government agency, which is, of course, to follow the rules,
be transparent, be honorable, and be uninfluenced by biases that
are not helpful to the bidding process," US District Judge Marsha
J. Pechman said during the sentencing of Robert Ferrell, reports
The Associated Press. "I find it troubling that the whole milieu
appears to have sunk to a very low common denominator."
Ferrell, 48 pleaded guilty in September to procurement fraud in
connection with a scheme give a 2002 contract for lighting at SEA
to a company that did not make the lowest bid on the work. The
Renton, WA man was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and
three years of probation.
The contract was for the installation of a "high intensity
approach lighting system" at Sea-Tac for $4.3 million.
Donald B. Murphy Contractors Inc., were the low bidders on the
contract -- but Ferrell and co-conspirator, Vicki Lynn Olson
switched contract officers -- replacing Ferrell as the new
contracting officer -- to make sure that the contract would instead
be awarded to PCL Construction Service Inc., according to the US
attorney’s office. Ferrell then tipped PCL to revise its bid
$4,300 lower than Donald B. Murphy Contractors—PCL was then
awarded the contract.
Pechman was incensed and "appalled" FAA employees had written to
her, trying to justify Ferrell’s behavior.
"When the people you
are supposed to be evaluating start taking you out for golf, buying
you banquets and currying your favor, that's exactly when you need
to run from them and step back and say, 'I have to make this
contract based upon other criteria,'" Pechman said. "FAA employees
shouldn't be taking a cup of coffee from anybody who is bidding on
these contracts. ... I am sad to see that there are still people in
the office that think there was nothing wrong."
Also sentenced earlier this week to 200 hours of community
service and three years of probation was Olson, who pleaded guilty
in February to conspiracy and procurement fraud.
Olson and Ferrell are not currently employed by the FAA.
PCL paid restitution to Donald B. Murphy Contractors $750,000 in
addition to a fine of $1 million fine to the government.
A spokesman for the FAA would not comment on the case.
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