Mayor Promises Review After Tech Office Scandal
Outside auditor will examine all contracts
Tom Sherwood
FBI agents raid the D.C. chief technology officer's office.
A "full and formal review" of the District's technology office, which has been rocked by scandal, will be conducted, Mayor Adrian Fenty announced Thursday afternoon.
The city's outside auditor, BDO Seidman, is examining all outside contracts and financial controls.
The D.C. Inspector General's Office and City Administrator Dan Tangherlini are taking part in the probe. The city also has hired a high-tech security firm to audit computer security systems.
The tech office's authority to issue contracts under $500,000 without review has been slashed to $100,000.
The FBI raided the city's tech offices last week, arresting the head of security and a private contractor. The two men are charged with bribery and money laundering in a scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars through fake contracts, ghost employees and fake companies.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post is reporting that a third person has been arrested in connection with the case:
Farruk Awan, 37, who most recently worked in the D.C. Office of Chief Financial Officer, was arrested this morning on charges of conspiring to commit bribery and launder money, according to a law enforcement source. Awan is expected to appear in U.S. District Court this afternoon. ...
Last week, they arrested Yusuf Acar, 40, the government's acting chief security officer, and charged him with bribery, honest services wire fraud, money laundering and conflict of interest.
