"This seems like a common sense answer that should already be in place if our sworn federal officers commit a crime," Grassley said. "But, common sense does not always prevail in the federal bureaucracy."
Grassley, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts, issued a report last November finding substantial allegations of misconduct by senior officials at the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, which is the criminal investigative branch of the Department of Defense Inspector General.
Allegations examined in the report concerned the actions of a deputy named Larry Hollingsworth who was Director of Internal Affairs at DCIS from April 1992 until his retirement in September 1996. Authorities who investigated his crimes believe he committed about 12 overt acts of fraud in the department between 1992 and 1994, according to Grassley. He was convicted on March 18, 1996 in U.S. District Court.
"While hammering rank and file agents for minor administrative offenses as head of the Internal Affairs unit, he was deeply involved in a criminal enterprise of his own," Grassley said.
In the process of examining the Hollingsworth case, Grassley's staff learned that his boss approved a series of administrative actions that kept him employed until his 50th birthday. On that day, Hollingsworth was allowed to retire with full benefits. The Office of Personal Management estimated that Mr. Hollingsworth's annuity will cost the taxpayers at least $750,000 through the year 2008.
"If my amendment had been in effect in 1996, Mr. Hollingsworth would have been removed within 30 days of conviction. No one in the federal bureaucracy can guarantee that this won't happen again," Grassley said. Under current law, the department is granted discretionary authority to decide when or if to remove employees convicted to felonies. But, the department is not required to remove them.