EPA “Secret Squirrel” Fraudster Pleads Guilty – and THEN Invokes the Fifth!
Jonn wrote about the EPA’s Secret Squirrel fraudster, John-boy Beale, the other day. He’s the guy who defrauded the EPA out of around $886k in unearned salary alone – plus over $500k in “retention bonuses” – over a period of 13 years by claiming to work on “special projects” for the CIA. He even managed to get a “special project” approved requiring extensive travel – then used that project to fund personal vacations. The lying bastard “wonderful individual” even used government $$$ to travel first class due vice to nonexistent “back injuries”. One ticket to London reputedly cost $14k (coach class for the same flight was about $1k).
Beale’s lies included stolen valor. He claimed nonexistent service in Vietnam (he only served stateside) and to have contracted malaria while serving there (he didn’t have malaria) – using the latter bogus claim to obtain a handicapped space at his EPA job. (But remember – stolen valor is a “victimless crime”, right? Yeah, right.)
Beale pleaded guilty to fraud recently. His plea deal stipulates that he pay Uncle Sam back just short of $1.4M and will spend between 30 and 37 months in prison.
Beale was recently called to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The Committee wanted to ensure that his methods of defrauding Uncle Sam were well understood and weren’t being used by others.
Beale invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions. His lawyer claimed it was because Beale’s “plea agreement did not require him to cooperate with lawmakers“.
There’s really only two reasons I can see that anyone who’s already pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing for a Federal felony would piss off a Congressional Committee that bluntly. One is that they’re simultaneously both monumentally arrogant and incredibly stupid. The other is that they have something else to hide.
Seems to me it might be a good idea for Federal LE to take a closer look at Beale’s friends/relatives/associates in the DC area (where he worked) – and in both SoCal and Mass, where he had relatives (SoCal) and a vacation home (Mass). Sounds to me like there just might possibly be something else yet to be uncovered besides $1.4M of fraud.
And while that’s ongoing, maybe the Committee’s lawyers should review Beale’s plea deal in detail. I’m guessing it requires cooperation with Federal investigations – and Congressional Committee hearings would seem to qualify. If so, then maybe the Committee should pursue a complaint on charges of Contempt of Congress against Beale. An a new charge that could get him an additional 12 months behind bars might get his attention.
Category: Shitbags
These liars are all the same, start by telling a single lie then up the ante to up the payout….1.4 million is a pretty good take, it’s probably not the only take though.
There’s always more with these douchetards. ALWAYS.
He should have run for Congress. He would have fit in very nicely and he could have gotten more than he did without having to lie about most of it.
Of those two stated choices, I would pick Choice #2 – something else to hide – and I’d start looking further afield, right away.
There is one additional possibility: He may have no more respect for Congress and it’s silly antics than do I. However, unlike this criminal, my path to that total lack of respect is an honorable one.
Yeah. Further investigation is certainly in order.
Phildo’s mentor.