Semiannual Report to Congress
Office of Inspector General U.S. Department of the Interior SEMIANNUAL REPORT Highlights Allegations of Misconduct by Employees Involved in the Cobell Litigation (page 3) Security of Departmental IT Systems Falls Short (page 7) Transfer of Water Project Responsibilities Places Federal Revenues at Risk (page 20) MMS Gainsharing Awards Found Unreasonably High (page 24) October 2002 Cover: Photo taken by H.A. McGill, of Darnestown, MD Message from the Inspector General I am pleased to present the results and accomplishments of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) from April 1, 2002 through September 30, 2002. During this reporting period, we concentrated our efforts on helping the Department of the Interior (DOI or Department) Bureaus and offices address their most serious management challenges. To this end, over the last six months, our audit and evaluation staff focused on a number of programs that we identified as at-risk or that were brought to our attention by Departmental management as areas of concern. We highlight our findings related to the Information Technology (IT) Security within the Department, the Minerals Management Service's (MMS) gainsharing awards program, and the Bureau of Reclamation's (BOR) agreements with the California Water Authority. I am proud to report that the results of these audits and evaluations were well-received by the Department, which has already taken action to correct many of the deficiencies we found. During this reporting period, our investigators brought to fruition investigations that resulted in 27 indictments, 15 convictions, and 19 sentencings, with nearly a million dollars in criminal judgments and restitutions. While these numbers are remarkable statistically, they tend to be concentrated in the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and tribal governments, areas in which we reported disturbing trends of fraud and corruption in our last Semiannual Report.
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