EDITORIAL L.A.'S WHODUNIT.The stunning revelation that DWP DWP Department of Work and Pensions (UK) DWP Drinking Water Program DWP Dynamic Weapon Pricing (gamin, Counter-Strike: Source) DWP Department of Water & Power DWP Drinking Water Protection executives had been warned two years ago about suspicious billings under their multimillion-dollar public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most contract with Fleishman-Hillard Fleishman-Hillard International Communications, based in St. Louis, Missouri, is one of the world's largest public relations agencies, with a global network of offices as well as offices in 22 cities in the United States. It is a part of Omnicom Group Inc. may not be the smoking gun of this scandal. But it's close. And it points to those who looked the other way when evidence of a problem was brought to their attention and raises the question about why they did nothing. No longer can those in charge of the DWP at the time - most notably then-Chief Administrative Officer Frank Salas and General Manager David Wiggs - claim ignorance as to how as much as $4.2 million was paid to Fleishman-Hillard for work not actually done. In fact, the DWP's director of internal auditing said Wednesday at a City Council committee hearing that he had raised concerns about $330,000 in bills submitted by the P.R. firm. Someone who was truly a public servant would have taken that warning and launched an investigation. That didn't happen, and the warning was ignored. Both Wiggs and Salas have stepped down from their powerful positions. Perhaps they thought they could leave their jobs with lucrative pensions and no one would be the wiser. Abuse like that is sure to surface eventually. And that's exactly what happened when crusading cru·sade n. 1. often Crusade Any of the military expeditions undertaken by European Christians in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. 2. A holy war undertaken with papal sanction. City Controller Laura Chick chick abbreviation for chicken (1). noticed discrepancies in those same types of billings. Those findings are what finally brought to an end a multiyear contract that paid out $24 million to Fleishman-Hillard. Further, an external audit by her office recently concluded that the city had been overbilled more than $4.2 million by the private firm. The issue that the crusading Chick raised at the hearing goes to the heart of the matter: ``The question to ask is not whether there was a breakdown in controls; it's who was directing the DWP to continue this contract.'' Indeed. Salas, Wiggs, other DWP officials, Fleishman-Hillard executives and members of Mayor James Hahn's staff who were in frequent contact ought to be able to supply the answer - if asked the right questions under oath Under oath could refer to:
Attempts by municipal bond underwriting businesses to gain influence with political officials who decide which underwriters are awarded the municipality's business. contracting scandal. |
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