They should have bought a couple of Congressmen like everyone else
Jailed Ex-Official Linked To More Defense Contracts
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 15, 2005; Page E01
Darleen A. Druyun, the former Air Force procurement official who admitted showing Boeing Co. favoritism on contracts, may have unduly influenced eight other contracts worth about $3 billion, including four awarded to other companies, Pentagon officials said yesterday.
Druyun's admissions last year sparked a review of 407 contracts she dealt with during her nine-year tenure as a top Air Force procurement official. The possible irregularities were referred to the Pentagon's inspector general for further review, the officials said.
The contracting process may have been "sped up, interrupted or unduly influenced" by Druyun, Mike Wynne, the Pentagon's acting acquisition chief, told reporters at a briefing. "It pains me to find any instance where the contracts could have been manipulated for other than the best interest of the taxpayer. There is no best practice or metric that allows for anything other than zero defects in this area."
The Defense Contract Management Agency found that in some of the contracts, Druyun changed the outcome of the award decision or directed someone else to, according to a source briefed on the review. Air Force officials coined the term "DSS: Darleen Says So" as a short response to dismiss questions about Druyun's decisions, said the source, who would speak only on condition of anonymity. In some cases, the cost of the contract increased or the requirements were "watered down" or written after the contract award, the source added.
