The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) - A Public Service Non-Profit Investigative Agency For 45 Years

By Ken Larson,  Founder  "Smallofeds"

I am pleased to leave the following review on "The Project On Government Oversight" (POGO) an acclaimed public service non-profit organization for the last 45 years. 

I am a two tour Vietnam Veteran and a retired aerospace contracts manager, who after 36 years in the Military Industrial Complex, assists small enterprises, veterans, minorities and women owned businesses to enter federal government contracting.

Having been inside the workings of our defense industrial base, I have been constantly impressed with the objectivity, ethics and coverage of POGO's surfacing issues in a clear, factual fashion.

The issues range from waste, fraud and abuse, budgetary matters concerning our largest federal agency, ethics in government and our role on the world stage.

I was a whistle blower years ago when there were few protections for such individuals. I appreciate the support POGO lends these days to that vital function, particularly in the defense industry.

The support of POGO for ethics in government has been around for decades. Its reputation is sterling, and its regular Congressional testimony is riveting.

I feature POGO articles regularly at my personal web sites and will continue to do so in the future. 

The Project On Government Oversight (POGO)

 

 

 

 

Portrait of a Crooked Government Contractor

Image:  The Economist

COMPUTER SCIENCES CORPORATION (CSC)  –  Waste, Fraud and Abuse BY THE NUMBERS

Financial Manipulation

“SEC Press Release”

” The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Computer Sciences Corporation and former executives with manipulating financial results and concealing significant problems about the company’s largest and most high-profile contract.CSC agreed to pay a $190 million penalty to settle the charges, and five of the eight charged executives agreed to settlements. ”

Securities and Exchange Commission Press Release

Resume Padding, Time Card Fraud and Kickbacks

“Project on Government Oversight”

“This wasn’t CSC’s first run-in with its federal customers. In 2000, CSC’s credit services unit paid $6.4 million to settle allegations that it made false claims for payment on federal student loan programs. 

A few months earlier, CSC paid $8,730 to settle fraudulent billing allegations on a contract with the Defense Commissary Agency. In that instance, CSC employees were accused of charging the government for the time they were attending college classes. 

In 2005, CSC reimbursed the government $1.3 million after discovering a former employee, over a nine-year period, billed NASA for payments made to fictitious companies. 

In 2008, CSC agreed to fork over almost $1.4 million to resolve a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging it took part in a massive kickback and bribery scheme among federal IT contractors dating back to the 1990s.”

False Claims, Securities Litigation, Software Litigation

“Project on Government Oversight”

“Founded in 1959, Computer Sciences Corporation is a global information technology (IT) services company. With approximately 80,000 employees, CSC provides systems design and integration, IT and business process outsourcing, applications software development, Web and application hosting, and management consulting.

Total Number of Instances: 8″

Contractor Misconduct Data Base - CSC

A History of  Government Cronyism and Poor Performance for Over a Decade

“Washington Post” 2005

“Groundbreaker, a $2 billion effort to modernize and outsource the agency’s [NSA] electronics infrastructure, including computers, software and networks. 

A CSC-led team in 2001 won the Groundbreaker contract. As part of the contract, about 1,000 NSA employees became employees of CSC or one of its teammates. 

Groundbreaker and Trailblazer were supposed to work together, but both are believed to be behind schedule and over budget, Aid said. “You cannot do one without the other,” he said. 

Hayden, in his testimony in April, acknowledged that NSA initially had mishandled the Trailblazer contract. “We learned within Trailblazer that when we asked industry for something they had or something close to what they already had, they were remarkable in providing us a response, an outcome,” 

Hayden told the committee. “When we asked them for something that no one had yet invented, they weren’t any better at inventing it than we were in doing it ourselves.”

Trail Blazer Loses Its Way

Why is the contractor still doing business spending your taxes under billions in active contracts? We suggest you inquire with your Senator and your Congressman.