Probe Uncovers Oil Industry-Linked Bribery, Sex, Drug Abuse at Interior Dept.
Here in the United States, an internal probe has uncovered a major bribery, sex and drug abuse scandal at the Department of Interior. Government officials were found to have collected lavish gifts from the oil companies they were supposed to be regulating. Some officials engaged in sex and drug use with oil industry executives. Inspector General Earl Devaney says the Bush administration-era Interior Department has had “a culture of ethical failure.” From 2002 to 2006, one-third of fifty-five staffers at the Denver office of the Mineral Management Service accepted bribes from oil companies. The companies involved include Chevron, Shell and Hess. Former MMS associate director Lucy Denett was the highest-ranking official to be accused. Investigators found she worked with two aides to steer a lucrative contract to one of the aides after he retired. Another MMS supervisor was found to have increased an employee’s performance award for selling him cocaine. The MMS is responsible for collecting royalties from oil companies that operate on federal and Native lands. The disclosures come as Congress prepares to consider Republican proposals to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for private drillinghttp://tinyurl.com/4g26hk