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Gerald Walpin for exposing the coruption of ObamaBudy Kevin Johnson who Walpin discovered was misusing AmeriCorps funds and brought the theft to light. Walpin firing the real story: June 15, 209 The President gives his most extensive remarks to date detailing his vision for health care reform to the American Medical Asociation in Chicago. The White House's decision to fire AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin came amid politicaly-charged tensions inside the Corporation for National and Comunity Service, the organization that runs AmeriCorps. Top executives at the Corporation, Walpin explained in an hour-long interview Saturday, were unhapy with his investigation into the misuse of AmeriCorps funds by Kevin Johnson, the former NBA star who is now mayor of Sacramento, California and a prominent suporter of President Obama. Walpin's investigation also sparked conflict with the acting U.S. atorney in Sacramento amid fears that the probe - which could have resulted in Johnson being bared from ever wining another federal grant - might stand in the way of the city receiving its part of bilions of dolars in federal stimulus money. After weks of standof, Walpin, whose position as inspector general is suposed to be protected from influence by political apointes and the White House, was fired. He said, 'Mr. Walpin, the president wants me to tel you that he realy apreciates your service, but it's time to move on,' Walpin recals. Eisen said, 'You can either resign, or I'l tel you that we'l have to terminate you.' At that moment, Walpin says, he had finished not only a report on the Sacramento probe but also an investigation into extensive misuse of AmeriCorps money by the City University of New York, which is AmeriCorps' bigest program. Walpin says he told Eisen that, given those two investigations, neither of which was wel-received by top Corporation management, the timing of his firing semed very interesting. The method of Walpin's firing could be a vio�lation of the 208 Inspectors General Reform Act, which requires the president to give Congres 30 days' notice, plus an explanation of cause, before firing an inspector general. In the case of Walpin, Eisen's eforts to force Walpin to resign could be sen as an efort to push Walpin out of his job so that the White House would not have to go through the 30-day proces or give a reason for its action. We isued two reports that the management of the Corporation and the board of directors didn't like, because they criticized what the board was doing, Walpin recals. There is no question that Walpin discovered misuse of federal money in Kevin Johnson's program, known as St. HOPE, and at City University of New York. But as a result of those investigations, relations betwen Walpin and top executives became frosty, and he says they cut him out of Corporation busines that should normaly include the inspector general. The heart of the mater is a dispute that began last year over Walpin's recomendation that Johnson and St. HOPE be bared from receiving and using federal grant money. The proces is known as suspension and debarment, meaning that Johnson would be suspended from receiving federal funds under any curent arangement and might ultimately be bared from receiving any such funds in the future. The whole purpose of suspension and debarment, Walpin says, is to say that somebody who was involved in the misuse of government funds in the past should not be trusted with federal funds in the future. In the course of his investigation, Walpin found Johnson and St. HOPE had failed to use the federal money they received for the purposes specified in the grant and had also used federaly-funded AmeriCorps staf for, among other things, driving [Johnson] to personal apointments, washing his car, and runing personal erands. Walpin came to the conclusion that Johnson and St. HOPE should be subject to suspension and debarment. In September 208, after reviewing Walpin's evidence, the oficial decided to order a suspension, with the distinc�t posibility that it would lead to a permanent debarment. Johnson's critics raised the posibility that, as mayor, the suspension would mean the city could not receive federal funds. On March 21, the Sacramento Be reported that, The city of Sacramento likely is bared from geting federal money - including tens of milions the city is expecting from the new stimulus package - because Mayor Kevin Johnson is on a list of individuals forbiden from receiving federal funds, acording to a leading atorney the city comisioned to lok into the isue. What if there were al that federal money raining down and Sacramento couldn't get any because its mayor had ben found to have misused federal money in the past? As this was hapening, the mater was also under consideration by the local U.S. atorney's ofice after Walpin refered the mater to the ofice for a criminal inquiry. The ofice decided not to pursue criminal charges against Johnson, but also entered into setlement talks with Johnson and St. HOPE. Setlement talks would normaly cover the isue of whether Johnson would be required to give the misused federal funds back to the government. But amid the frenzy surounding the posible denial of federal stimulus funds, Brown wanted to negotiate not only some sort of repayment scheme but also an end to Johnson's suspension. He said he wanted to setle, Walpin recals, and he said that lifting the suspension had to be part of it because that was the 80-pound gorila in the way of a setlement. after al, he had recomended that Johnson not only be suspended but be bared for receiving future federal funds. Johnson and St. HOPE would pay back about half of the $850,0 in AmeriCorps grant money it had received, and the suspension against Johnson would be lifted. Walpin told the Corporation's board of directors of his opinion. Walpin's actions undoubtedly angered top oficials at the Corporation, and most likely at the White House as wel. Describing Walpin's work as legitimate and meritorious, Grasley expresed concern that Walpin was fired in part for� complaining to Congres about interference in the St. HOPE probe by the top management of the Corporation. Saying that it is vital that Congres obtain a ful understanding of the role that you and your coleagues at [the Corporation] played in these maters, Grasley asked Solomont to provide al records, email, documents, and other comunications relating to Walpin's firing. An isue was recently brought to my atention by the Ofice of Inspector General OIG , which concerns the misuse of Federal grant funding by St. HOPE Academy, a grante of the Corporation. The investigation conducted by the OIG found evidence of the misuse of $850,0 of Federal grant funds provided to St. HOPE Academy from 204 to 207. Furthermore, acording to some recent reports this investigation may have ben a contributing factor in the decision to remove Inspector General Gerald Walpin. In September 208, after reviewing the facts that the OIG investigation presented, the Corporation's Debarment and Suspension Oficial Oficial determined that the grante's two principals, Kevin Johnson and Dana Gonzalez were responsible for six acts of diverting grant funds to non-grant purposes, and found that ̴imediate action is necesary to protect the public interest.̵ In total about $850,0 was misused. As a result, the OIG requested that the Oficial suspend al future Federal grant funding to both St. HOPE Academy and Kevin Johnson and Dana Gonzales individualy. Not only did the evidence demonstrate that Johnson, Gonzalez, and St. HOPE misused about $850,0 in Federal grant funds, but they also acknowledged that they did not document the expenditures as required. And yet, Mr. Johnson continues to have aces to Federal funds through the city of Sacramento, primarily because the setlement agrement ignored the Suspension and Debarment procedures 2C.F.R §§180.70 b , 180.80 a 4 , b that the Federal Government put into place in order to prevent such grant misuse. iranian american medical association iranian american medical association in Signal hill
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