Obama official funneled thousands of dollars in grant money to family

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A top official in the Obama administration’s Interior Department helped facilitate payments of thousands of dollars in federal money to a family member, the department’s inspector general said in a report late Tuesday that found clear abuse of the office’s grant policies.

The inspector general said Richard Ruggiero, who served as international conservation chief with the Fish and Wildlife Service, helped set up a $126,781 cooperative agreement with the nonprofit International Fund for Animal Welfare. The agreement was aimed at helping to “establish a professional training program for conservation leaders overseas.”

It was put in place on Aug. 20, 2014 — nine days after Mr. Ruggiero’s appointment to his post.

The agreement was later extended, and a total of $324,108 was paid out.

Of that, $5,684.29 for training went to a family member of Mr. Ruggiero. Investigators said he did not initially disclose the fact that the agreement would benefit a family member, who appears to have been his wife.

Ruggiero admitted that he did not recuse himself from the cooperative agreement, despite having had several reminders and opportunities to do so throughout the agreement’s period of performance,” the inspector general said in a report. – READ MORE

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