Amtrak Police Chief investigated for fraud appointed to TSA's Advisory Committee
Sep 20, 2019, 12:54 pm
#1
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Amtrak Police Chief investigated for fraud appointed to TSA's Advisory Committee
Some TSA news:
Link to full article: Progressive Railroading - TSA appoints Farmer, Hanson to lead security advisory committee (September 16, 2019)
And here is an August 2016 article about Hanson:
Link to full article: Washington Post: Amtrak Police Chief Polly Hanson under investigation for fraud, conflict of interest (August 17, 2016)
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently named Thomas Farmer chairperson of its Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee and Polly Hanson, vice chairperson.....Hanson is director of security, risk and emergency management at the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).
And here is an August 2016 article about Hanson:
Amtrak’s inspector general has launched a fraud and conflict of interest investigation involving the rail system’s top law enforcement officer, her “alleged boyfriend” and a counterterrorism contract she helped oversee, according to federal court documents.
Amtrak Police Chief Polly Hanson, who oversees 500 sworn officers and other personnel across the country, was deeply involved in preparing a contract that was awarded to ABS Consulting in May 2014, according to a statement from the inspector general filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Hanson — who also has served as chief of Metro Transit Police and executive director of the Strategic Services Bureau of the D.C. police force — failed to disclose the nature of her relationship with Kerry Thomas, senior director for Homeland Security Support Programs for ABS, the documents allege.
A statement from a senior special agent with the inspector general’s office said an investigation was initiated in December 2015, based on allegations about Hanson and Thomas’s relationship. The allegations included that Hanson and Thomas have been romantically involved for a “substantial period of time, that they cohabitate in Arlington, Va., and own a residence together in Delaware, and that, consequently, their actions regarding the procurement of the contract . . . were unethical and illegal.”
Amtrak Police Chief Polly Hanson, who oversees 500 sworn officers and other personnel across the country, was deeply involved in preparing a contract that was awarded to ABS Consulting in May 2014, according to a statement from the inspector general filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Hanson — who also has served as chief of Metro Transit Police and executive director of the Strategic Services Bureau of the D.C. police force — failed to disclose the nature of her relationship with Kerry Thomas, senior director for Homeland Security Support Programs for ABS, the documents allege.
A statement from a senior special agent with the inspector general’s office said an investigation was initiated in December 2015, based on allegations about Hanson and Thomas’s relationship. The allegations included that Hanson and Thomas have been romantically involved for a “substantial period of time, that they cohabitate in Arlington, Va., and own a residence together in Delaware, and that, consequently, their actions regarding the procurement of the contract . . . were unethical and illegal.”
Sep 25, 2019, 10:11 am
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Investigative Summaries on Amtrak Office of Inspector General (OIG) website
Scroll thru those and you'll see that most Amtrak employees who are caught defrauding the company are just allowed to resign or are terminated. They are rarely criminally prosecuted.
Scroll thru those and you'll see that most Amtrak employees who are caught defrauding the company are just allowed to resign or are terminated. They are rarely criminally prosecuted.
Sep 25, 2019, 10:59 am
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Investigative Summaries on Amtrak Office of Inspector General (OIG) website
Scroll thru those and you'll see that most Amtrak employees who are caught defrauding the company are just allowed to resign or are terminated. They are rarely criminally prosecuted.
Scroll thru those and you'll see that most Amtrak employees who are caught defrauding the company are just allowed to resign or are terminated. They are rarely criminally prosecuted.
Would be interesting to know what the Police Chief Fraud Investigation uncovered. If there was something there and allowed to leave, or nothing at all, would be nice to know.
Sep 26, 2019, 6:16 pm
#8
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Wow!! I'll be surprised. TSA should never be allowed work for Amtrak. They don't have contract from TSA. Something is not right. Only work at airports, not work for Amtrak or Mass Transit.
Sep 27, 2019, 8:00 am
#9
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TSA can screen passengers of any mass transit system. But that's not the issue in this case. The former Amtrak Police Chief was investigated for fraud. No information on the outcome of that investigation. May have been no there, there or just allowed to resign. Apparently no criminal charges filed.
Oct 6, 2019, 8:51 am
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Investigative Summaries on Amtrak Office of Inspector General (OIG) website
Scroll thru those and you'll see that most Amtrak employees who are caught defrauding the company are just allowed to resign or are terminated. They are rarely criminally prosecuted.
Scroll thru those and you'll see that most Amtrak employees who are caught defrauding the company are just allowed to resign or are terminated. They are rarely criminally prosecuted.
***Side note - many Federal organizations allow employees to resign/retire in order to resolve a situation that impacts the organization - some of these are based upon an employee that can no longer perform the basic job requirements, some are based upon failure to certify or qualify on existing/new equipment, some are based upon disciplinary issues that are not egregious such as attendance or an unwillingness to increase the amount of travel they are willing to give for a job. In some cases, it is because there is some pretty egregious behavior, but not enough proof to terminate. There are a whole slew of reasons that they allow this, sometimes it is just because the employee is not a good fit for the positon, and rather than taint that individual for other possible opportunities, they simply have them resign so they can find a better fit. Not saying that the process is right or wrong, merely that it is a common practice in many Federal organizations.
Completely unrelated, but some of the best MPs and CID Undercover folks I met during my time in the Army, had a troubled past, and utilized skill sets from those days to make them better investigators/MPs...
Last edited by TWA884; Oct 6, 2019 at 11:50 am Reason: Merge consecutive posts by the same member; please use the multi-quote function. Thank you.