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The Battle Against Fraud
Editorial
11/22/05 "New
York Times" -- -- It's sad just how predictable it was
that the reconstruction of Iraq would be marred by fraud, dishonesty
and profiteering. Last week Robert Stein Jr. was charged in federal
court with a slew of crimes allegedly committed while he was a
financial officer for the American occupation authority in Iraq. The
affidavit in the case says that Mr. Stein accepted over $200,000 a
month to steer contracts to an American businessman whose companies
often did poor work and sometimes did no work at all.
The case is a painful reminder of the absolute dearth of planning
for rebuilding Iraq after the war. According to reporting by James
Glanz in The Times, Mr. Stein was convicted of a fraud-related
felony in 1996 and also fired from a job in 2002 for falsifying
payroll records and invoices. The American government then sent him
to help oversee construction projects in Hilla and the Shiite holy
city of Karbala, with $82 million in taxpayer funds.
There must be accountability higher up for this clearly bad
judgment. Unfortunately, this is only the beginning. Officials at
the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
say they are pursuing 50 more cases and have already referred at
least six more to prosecutors.
There is plenty of blame to go around, but it is far more pressing
to apply the lessons of Iraq to avoid making the same mistakes in
rebuilding after the biggest disaster at home. Charges of
overpayment and cronyism have already emerged from the Gulf Coast.
Yet there is no special inspector general with a broad mandate to
review contracts for recovering from Hurricane Katrina.
Senators Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman have proposed expanding
the mandate of the inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, Stuart
Bowen Jr., to include the more than $60 billion in Katrina-related
expenditures. Even though he is taprooted in Texas politics, Mr.
Bowen is off to a good start in Iraq. Ideally someone of a more
independent background would fill the role. But the nation needs
knowledge, expertise and experience in auditing and oversight, and
it needs them fast. New Orleans deserves better than what Karbala
got.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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