Documents show Treasury employee misconduct, IG's response

Documents unearthed through Freedom of Information Act requests reveal some allegations of wrongdoing at the Treasury Department, including solicitation for prostitution and inappropriate corporate gift-giving.

GovernmentAttic.org posted July 9 documents describing the allegations and the response of the agency's Inspector General.

GovernmentAttic.org is an organization that posts public records that it obtains from government agencies often through Freedom of Information Act requests. It has posted numerous records, such as General Services Administration IG investigations and National Reconnaissance Office's reports on satellites.

The Treasury Department documents revealed a number of issues, such as claims of favoritism.

GovernmentAttic.org also found that a human resources specialist in the Office of Thrift Supervision used office systems to solicit prostitutes from Craigslist. The employee met with prostitutes on three different occasions, an IG investigation confirmed. The employee has since retired.

Investigators determined that some allegations of employees’ misconduct were unsubstantiated as well. For instance, they could find no evidence that blueprints for the Fort Knox Depository were available to be purchased unlawfully through an online auction site, as one document claimed.

A Treasury spokeswoman said bureau management brought the problems to the IG's attention. And furthermore, many were isolated incidences, according to The Hill newspaper.

“When [misconduct] happens at Treasury, we act promptly and decisively to address them. The OIG moved aggressively to investigate the isolated instances of misconduct referenced in these documents,” a spokesman told the paper.