Report Hits Cunningham Favored Limo CompanyWhat do you do if you’re competing for a transportation contract with the Department of Homeland Security but don’t actually own any buses? Get Duke Cunningham.
From The Blotter:
The Department of Homeland Security violated government regulations by awarding a multi-million-dollar contract to a limousine company with ties to the Duke Cunningham scandal, a recent investigation concluded….What’s more, the inspector general’s report determined that DHS failed to conduct due diligence on Shirlington to ensure they could fulfill the terms of the contract, which required the company to run several shuttle buses for DHS employees and provide drivers and dispatchers for a fleet of government cars.
Shortly after Shirlington got the contract, it told DHS it did not have buses for the agency, according to the report. It said it did not have the money to buy new buses and asked for a cash advance from the department to help buy new ones, investigators found.
DHS declined the request. It took several weeks for Shirlington to lease new buses to ferry department employees to and from work, according to the report.