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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, November 13, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services Former NPS Agent Pleads Guilty To Fraud On October 31st, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, former NPS Special Agent in Charge (SAC) P.B. pled guilty to one count of Title 18 United States Code §641, theft of public money. As part of her plea, P.B. was also required to resign from the service. Sentencing is scheduled for January 23rd. Charges in this case stem from an investigation initiated by the Department of the Interior Office of the Inspector General (OIG). This followed receipt of a complaint alleging that in March of 2007 P.B. had failed to attend a scheduled ceremony as the representative of the director of the National Park Service.
As is the case in any active criminal investigation, it is inappropriate to offer public comment that may potentially compromise the privacy of the individuals subject to the investigation or reveal incomplete, inaccurate or potentially sensitive information that could compromise an investigation. Although the NPS Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services (LESES) worked cooperatively with the DOI/OIG and OIG agents throughout this investigation, LESES officials were only recently authorized and able to provide comment that reflects an accurate account of the circumstances surrounding this incident. The full text of the Department of Justice press release, issued by Jeffrey A. Taylor, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and released on October 31st, appears below and is also available by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page: ***** P.B., the former National Special Agent in Charge for the National Park Service, has pled guilty to theft of public money for fraudulently obtaining money belonging to the National Park Service, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor and Inspector General Earl E. Devaney, U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General, (“DOI-OIG”), announced today. P.B., 55, of Bar Harbor, ME, entered her misdemeanor plea to one count of theft of public money at a hearing today in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia before Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson. During the plea hearing, P.B. admitted to fraudulently billing the government for all or a portion of the airfare associated with personal trips she took between Washington, D.C. and Maine from April 2005 through March 2007. P.B. faces up to six months in prison under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines when sentenced by Magistrate Judge Robinson on January 9, 2008. As part of the plea, she agreed to reimburse the government for the costs associated with the personal travel as well as for other losses suffered by the government resulting from her conduct, totaling $10,864.95. P.B. has also agreed to resign from the National Park Service (NPS) and not to seek law enforcement positions in the future. According to the factual proffer of evidence by the government at today's hearing, which was agreed to by P.B., since 1978, P.B. worked as a Park Ranger and Criminal Investigator for NPS, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior located at 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Between February 2005, and March 2007, P.B. was employed as the National Special Agent in Charge (SAC) at the NPS, which was a newly created position. For the 16 months prior to February 2005, P.B. had been the acting National SAC. As the National SAC, P.B.'s duties included managing all of the finance accounts for the NPS Special Agents, including supervising regional SACs, who in turn were responsible for approximately 45 NPS Special Agents. To fulfill her duties as the National SAC, P.B. frequently traveled to various locations in the United States to attend conferences, meetings and trials. On April 6, 2007, the DOI-OIG received a complaint from a Special Agent of NPS alleging that P.B. failed to perform her assigned duties in order to obtain a free round trip airline ticket. The subsequent investigation conducted by DOI-OIG revealed that in March 2007, P.B. failed to appear as a representative of the Director of the NPS at a ceremony honoring fallen NPS officers in Jacksonville, Florida. When asked why she failed to attend the ceremony, P.B. informed several individuals including, Special Agents who attended the ceremony, her supervisor and DOI-OIG investigators, that her connecting flight had been cancelled after being stuck for hours on the tarmac in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, the investigation revealed that the flight in question departed only minutes late and that P.B. had voluntarily given up her seat in return for a free round trip airline ticket. The investigation also revealed that in July 2006, P.B. failed to travel to St. Louis, Missouri to deliver the fatality report to the widow of a fallen NPS Special Agent. P.B.'s failures resulted in a monetary loss to the government of $2,649.30. Further investigation revealed that between April 2005 and March 2007, P.B. charged to the government all or a portion of the airfare associated with nine different personal trips between Washington, D.C. and Maine. The blanket travel authorization granted to P.B. due to her position as the National SAC enabled her to charge personal travel costs to her government credit card without the approval and knowledge of her supervisors. In addition, P.B. had not submitted vouchers for the questioned airfare costs which further enabled P.B. to charge personal travel costs to the government without the knowledge of her supervisors. The fraudulently billed airfare associated with the nine personal trips P.B. took between Washington, D.C. and Maine cost the NPS $4,265.21. In announcing today's guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Taylor and Inspector General Devaney praised the hard work of the investigative agents involved in this matter, especially DOI-OIG Special Agents Christine Parr and David Little. They also acknowledged the efforts of Legal Assistant Teesha Tobias, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe, who is prosecuting this matter. [Don Coelho, Chief, Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services] HYPERLINK "http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/dc/Press_Releases/2007%20Archives/Oct_2007/07-281.html" http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/dc/Press_Releases/2007%20Archives/Oct_2007/07-281.html Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP ARPA Violators Sentenced Ranger Chuck Lochart was on patrol last March 11th when he saw three men metal-detecting and digging up relics on the Spotsylvania Battlefield. The three were apprehended as they left the park. Over 460 holes were found and documented on and around park earthworks where the men had been seen digging, making this one of the worst ARPA violations in Northeast Region history. All three men have now appeared in court and have either pled or been found guilty and sentenced: Last June, V.W., 37, pled guilty and was ordered to pay $1,400 in restitution. On September 24th, F.T., Jr., 28, was sentenced to twenty-four months in jail, followed by a year of supervised probation, and ordered to pay $28,600 in restitution following his guilty plea to a felony ARPA charge. On November 5th, J.B., 30, was sentenced to eighteen months in jail, followed by three years of supervised probation, and also ordered to pay $28,600 in restitution. This was J.B.'s second felony ARPA violation; his previous conviction was in 1998. All three men had to forfeit their equipment and the seized artifacts. The park was also able to recover a CSA belt buckle valued at $3,300 that had been removed from the park by Terembes earlier on the same week. [Keith Kelly, Chief Ranger] Grand Canyon NP Plague Determined As Probable Cause Of Biologist's Death On November 2nd, Eric York, a 37-year-old wildlife biologist at Grand Canyon National Park, was found deceased in his residence on the South Rim. Plague has been determined as the probable cause of his death, based on preliminary laboratory tests conducted by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Plague is a rare, but sometimes fatal, disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It is primarily a disease of animals, but it can be transmitted to humans through the bites of rodent fleas or by direct contact with infected animals. Though the source of his infection is not certain, York most likely became infected with plague from work-related exposures to wildlife. York's symptoms were consistent with pneumonic plague, the most serious but least common form of plague. In rare cases, pneumonic plague can spread person to person through aerosolized respiratory droplets (e.g. coughing, sneezing). According to the CDC, transmission of plague from person to person has not been observed in the United States since 1924. Since pneumonic plague was initially suspected as a possible cause of York's death, the National Park Service worked with the Grand Canyon Clinic to offer a seven-day course of prophylactic antibiotics to persons who had close contact (within six feet) with York while he was symptomatic. These people have been contacted and are in the process of receiving medication. Close contacts of York have also been informed to watch for symptoms consistent with plague and to seek medical attention as soon as possible if symptoms develop. Symptoms of pneumonic plague include fever, headache, chest pain, cough, and bloody saliva. Early treatment with antibiotics is essential to surviving plague. Plague is considered endemic in northern Arizona at elevations above 4,500 feet. While an average of one or two human cases of plague are reported each year in Arizona, there were no human cases reported from 2001 through 2006 in the state. Increased plague activity in Arizona was reported in 2007 to public health officials: one human case, who survived, was reported in Apache County; prairie dog colony die-offs in two separate neighborhoods in Flagstaff (Coconino County) were confirmed to be from plague; and a domestic pet cat from north of Prescott (Yavapai County) was also documented as infected with plague. York had direct contact with both wild rodents and mountain lions, which put him at a higher risk for plague than other park staff and the general public. Persons living, working, or visiting areas where plague is known to be present can take the following precautions to reduce their risk of exposure: Do not handle sick or dead animals. Prevent pets from roaming loose. Control fleas on pets with flea collars or flea sprays routinely. Avoid exposure to rodent burrows and fleas and wild animals. Use insect repellant when visiting or working in areas where plague might be active or rodents might be present. Wear rubber gloves when cleaning or skinning wild animals. Domestic cats are susceptible to plague. Cat owners should take their ill cats to a veterinarian for evaluation. The NPS plans to collaborate with its public health partners to assess the risk for plague and other zoonotic diseases at Grand Canyon National Park. Public health officials from the NPS, the CDC, ADHS and the Coconino County Health Department have all been instrumental in this incident. For more information, please call the Grand Canyon National Park Incident Information Center at 928-638-7922 or 928-638-7688. For additional information on plague and for tips on prevention, please visit the Centers for Disease Control Web site at HYPERLINK "http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/index.htm" http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/index.htm . [Maureen Oltrogge, Public Affairs Officer] OTHER NEWS The following stories (among others) can be read on InsideNPS (internal) or NPS Digest (external): Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Thousands of Vietnam veterans and their families gathered at “The Wall” on Veterans Day to commemorate the memorial's 25th anniversary and remember those whose names are inscribed on its panels. HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=5974" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=5974 Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service. HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=5975" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=5975 Denver Service Center - Sam Whittington is the new director of Denver Service Center, effective this week. He has served as the center's deputy director since 2003. HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PressReleases&id=771" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PressReleases&id=771 Natural Resource Program Center - On September 21st, Secretary Kempthorne awarded the department's Meritorious Service Award to Ron Kerbo in recognition of his outstanding leadership and advancement of sound stewardship of the cave and karst resources of the National Park System. HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=5966" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=5966 Jobs - Four openings are listed in today's edition - deputy regional director for Northeast Region, supervisory park ranger in Northeast Regional Office, area ranger at Great Smokies, and ranger at Herbert Hoover. HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/ * * * * * Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-686-3828). --- ### --- |