US Attorney won’t prosecute VA employees

| January 4, 2016

This story is about a week old and I’ve been meaning to mention it, but got overcome by events. Anyway, Dave reminds us of it this afternoon. It sems that the Justice Department has decided that they won’t prosecute those two women who are still VA employees, Diana Rubens and Kimberly Graves who bilked the VA out of hundreds of thousands of dollars while reducing their workload and increasing their salaries. According to Fox News;

Rubens had been earning $181,497 as director of the Philadelphia regional office for the Veterans Benefits Administration, while Graves earned $173,949 as leader of the St. Paul, Minnesota, regional office. Before taking the regional jobs, Rubens was a deputy undersecretary at the VA’s Washington headquarters, while Graves was director of VBA’s 14-state North Atlantic Region.

Rubens and Graves were accused of obtaining more than $400,000 in questionable moving expenses through a relocation program for VA executives, the inspector general’s report said.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said it has “referred the matter to the VA for any administrative action that is deemed appropriate.”

So, the VA demoted the pair, but for some reason, there was a “paperwork mixup” which prevented their demotion. Basically, if it ever takes affect, they’ll still be making six figures for the jobs that they were doing before they were caught. I hope that the pair is done taking the US taxpayer to the cleaners, but somehow, I don’t think so.

Category: Veterans' Affairs Department

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Hondo

Well, they didn’t prosecute anyone for gunrunning due to “Fast & Furious”, either. Or for perjury about F&F to Congress.

UpNorth

I was going to mention the IRS and the NSA, but I’m thinking that it would be easier to just say “they haven’t prosecuted anyone yet”.

IDC SARC

Da fukk exactly does someone have to do to get fired from the VA? Talk about malignancy.

Pinto Nag

Maybe tell the truth about what actually goes on there, but I’m not sure because I don’t think that’s actually happened yet. /sarc

SFC D

They’ve all been backing each other’s lies for so long that there’s very little truth left

Vic

Since Charles Forbes, this is what the VA does. We’re heading into nearly 100 years of graft and corruption.

Veritas Omnia Vincit

Jesus, now I feel bad about making my guys prove their $200 entertainment tab actually had a client present to justify the expense…

$400k in moving expenses? Nice, must have had every single item individually wrapped and packaged….I’ve had a luxury boat moved across the country for less money than that (disclaimer: NOT MY BOAT).

Twist

SFC D

Maybe it’s my cynical nature coupled with a lack of trust in higher level government employees, but just maybe Diana and Kimberly are in possession of information and/or photos that may prove detrimental to the careers of their superiors. It could happen.

A Proud Infidel®™

I was thinking it’s because of what they have on whom, that or it’s because of “who they know or who they blow”

Veritas Omnia Vincit

Not sure who would want these two kneeling between their legs…some of us have some standards…I’ll grant you that I’ve been known to allow my standards to lapse quite low at times, but jebus these are some scary looking ladies…

http://3mc77e18jo7n1uk8m71my8ml.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/150929-SES-Employees-Kim-Graves-Diana-Rubens.jpg

Hondo

All cats are grey after midnight . . . . (smile)

And yes, that was sarcasm.

IDC SARC

I’d hit it….I kinda like Diane’s protuberant forehead.

HMCS (FMF) ret.

I’d hit it… with a shovel!

Silentium Est Aureum

8-iron. Chopping through the rough grass but not so high or with so much spin.

Hack Stone

Well, the one in Philadelphia plays for the other team. Not that there is anything wrong with that. She did set her girlfriend up with a telecommuting job that inexplicably was not posted for people to apply for. Something definately wrong with that, though.

Cindy

I think you have hit it right . To much corruption today in the government . I am sure they have information on someone .

Ex-PH2

This is my surprised face.

x [0]|[0] x

Green Thumb

I agree.

No surprise here.

Maybe those useless attorneys could shift fire and roll down there to Merritt Island, Florida and visit with the False Commander Phil Monkess (CEO of All-Points Logistics) about how he secures taxpayer-funded grants based on his false Native American claims.

jonp

Hey, playing native american got that chick a senator gig.

C2Show

This is exactly why people believe in that stigma about how its nearly impossible to get fired in federal system.

Silentium Est Aureum

Talk about “fuck up, move up” in action.

Bobo

Just more proof that federal employees don’t need a union. It seems that even without one they can’t get fired, continue to get bonuses and step increases, and won’t be arrested for even the most obvious legal, moral, and ethical transgressions. Why pay union dues when you already get all of that for free?

1AirCav69

Bobo, at their grade level, they are not union employees. The most horrible part of this, if it can get more horrible, is that the VA, according to my VA Ninja’s, are going to also pay their moving expenses back to their old jobs. Oh, and we wonder why the adjudication problem is what it is…these people run the offices that make the decisions on veteran claims. Someone said this will just disappear. I agree. Out of the news and forgotten. So glad we have a new VA Director that’s going to fix everything and “fire” people.

jonp

What I want to hear from a Presidential Candidate is that on the first day as President he or she will fire the head of the VA and appoint someone, Col. Alan West would work for me, and give him full authority to fire anybody and everybody he see’s fit to clean that cesspool out and refer whoever he thinks guilty of crimes like those to assholes to the NEW AG for full and immediate prosecution

Hack Stone

Not only did they not prosecute her, now they are saying how great she is.

Top managers at the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department on Wednesday praised the embattled director of its Philadelphia benefits office, describing her as one of the agency’s finest employees and questioning claims that she had improperly schemed to land an easier job at the same pay.

Testifying before an administrative law judge, Acting Undersecretary for Benefits Danny Pummill said that Diana Rubens, a career VA manager, was the perfect choice to help clean up the problem-plagued Philadelphia office

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160128_VA_brass_defends_demotion_of_Phila__director.html#disqus_thread