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PERSPECTIVE
- June 2005 by Pat Freibert Government Accountability It’s not just paying high taxes that Americans object to, although the present level of taxation is considered confiscatory by many. Far more than the issue of burdensome taxes at every jurisdiction , it is the fecklessness of oversight and accountability by many government employees that is the driving force of taxpayer anger and frustration. One state official involved in a widespread Kentucky Medicaid fraud investigation put it this way: “There’s just a lot of waste in the public assistance program. And I think that’s primarily due to the fact that no one is watching the watchers.” This massive investigation in Kentucky identified nearly $7.4 million in fraud in 2004 alone, a 30 percent increase over 2003. Internal watchdogs rely primarily on honest state workers to tip them off to colleagues who appear to be defrauding the system. That is hardly an effective oversight system. In the last three years alone, 13 Kentucky welfare caseworkers embezzled more than half a million dollars from funds meant to help the poor and disabled. One county welfare agent pled guilty to writing approximately 500 checks for $437,000 in less than five years to himself and a former girlfriend (now his wife). The money paid for a reported $1,000-a-day Oxycontin habit. This individual was caught only because a local bank teller called state police to question the large number of checks the girlfriend was cashing. This agent, a 14-year employee, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The girlfriend received probation. Recently, prosecutors charged a Bowling Green welfare supervisor for doling out almost $42,000 to an “ineligible” client. In May, Bowling Green’s chief financial officer was indicted for allegedly embezzling $3.8 million from the city. With 5,000 welfare workers in Kentucky who distribute more than $250 million in funds, the opportunities for fraud are almost limitless. On another front, the federal Justice Department is suing a well-known wheelchair company for billing Medicare for fraudulent claims of $400 million since 1997. This is another huge pot of money. West Virginia has recently uncovered an even more shocking example of waste, fraud and abuse. A senior services director gave himself a cushy base salary, annual Christmas bonuses, 11 weeks of paid vacation, nearly five weeks of sick leave and a company car. This bureaucrat typed out his own contract, which he “negotiated” with an 82-year old member of his board. He made nearly $460,000 in 2003 and took all-expenses paid vacations to Hawaii and elsewhere. But that’s not all: He installed tanning beds and a hot tub in the “apartment” at the senior center, gave jobs to his wife and children, installed a 37-inch satellite TV to get NFL games and took trips to Las Vegas. He didn’t even have the decency to use vacation time for his 2003 Hawaii “get away” with his wife, daughter, son and the son’s girlfriend. West Virginia is now looking into exorbitant salaries and spending of other county directors of senior centers. When such incredibly large sums of government money are involved, accountability is an urgent issue. These days, so much of that money is in the government till. Some of this government waste makes those well-known corporate thieves look like pikers. Stamping out such fraud is a gargantuan job and cannot possibly be addressed without effective oversight. Much of this fraud goes on for years before being uncovered. For every instance found, how many others exist undiscovered? As the Kentucky attorney general investigators said, “It’s just the beginning.” Who is watching the watchers? This needs to be Priority No.1 for the attorney general. Pat Freibert is a former Kentucky state representative from Lexington. |
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