Former Interior secretary Gale Norton brushed off criticism of her top deputy J. Steven Griles despite his ethical lapses, the top investigator at the Interior Department said. In a 2004 report, Inspector General Earl E. Devaney documented how Griles skirted ethical requirements in order to maintain contacts with former lobbying clients. But Norton refused to take action. “She said she’d talked to him, and he wouldn’t do it again,” Devaney told The New York Times. "Three years later, he was in jail." Devaney is still going after Interior officials and has released some high-profile reports on corruption within the department. He's now in charge of overseeing the distribution of the $767 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for President Barack Obama. "I want to make it possible for Mr. and Mrs. Smith in Ohio to see exactly how the money is spent," Devaney said. Get the Story:
A Zealous Watchman to Follow the Money (The New York Times 3/10) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
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