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about me
Name Katherine Kirby Neubert Birthday 09.13.87 Email katherineneubert@hotmail.com -- writer, jolter, aspiring photojournalist.
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alexis design the daily collegian the daily jolt the new york times wordswift |
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
In a news conference last Wed., May 28, Assistant Director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Joseph Persichini Jr., said that Northern Virginia has the largest amount of federal dollars of any other region in the United States, and is consequently now a target for the FBI and nine other federal agencies to investigate federal, state and local corruption and fraud through a task force. They will rely partly on information from the public, and all of Washington’s inner suburbs, extending as far out as Loudoun and Fauquier counties will be included in the reach.Because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Northern Virginia has been given millions of dollars in homeland security grants due to the region’s close proximity to the nation’s capital. The task force doesn’t necessarily believe that Northern Virginia has a systemic problem of government corruption, and that “it’s reasonable to believe that if a high amount of dollars is coming into the region, that’s opportunity,” said Persichini. The task force will target misuse of the grant money, said Special Agent in charge of the Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General’s Washington Field Office, Joseph Gaudiano. “We believe that most of the grantees have processes in place to detect fraud and control fraud,” Gaudiano said. “With that much money moving through the area, there is always the possibility that some of that is diverted or misspent.” The team includes inspector general staff from the Department of Transportation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Homeland Security, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Postal Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education. "Kat" [
10:29 AM ] |