April 15, 2008
Another Day, Another Story of Greed at the Smithsonian
The Washington Post has the full story today about Pilar O'Leary, the former head of the Smithsonian Latino Center, who resigned in February. Initially, O'Leary was lauded for her work at the Center when her resignation was announced, but since then, Acting Secretary Cristián Samper decided that as a higher-up in the Institution, her ethical violations since her hiring in 2005 were important to disclose to the public (spurred by a FOIA request put in by the Post).
O'Leary seems to be yet another eager student in the school of greed fostered by former Secretary Lawrence M. Small, who brought her on to serve at the Center. The Post received the report of the Smithsonian Inspector General, who investigated O'Leary and found she "violated 14 ethical and conflict-of-interest policies." The big one, as usual, being extreme and unwarranted travel expenses, including hotel spa treatments, declining government rates to stay at the Ritz, and a limousine to travel a few blocks between Smithsonian sites on the Mall. Although it's probably true when she says that her superiors (most of whom have already resigned in disgrace) always approved and never complained about her expenses, how one in a position of public service expects to use federal funds and grants for such greed continues to be unbelievable.
The story is a good read, as usual, for such gems as the time O'Leary traveled on behalf of the Center but had most of her expenses paid for by another organization -- and yet billed the Institution for every penny anyway. (O'Leary reimbursed them after this was exposed.) Or how O'Leary was oh so "embarrassed" after finding out it was illegal to give her friend a contract with the Center without any competitive bidding.
Since we've been watching leaders of the Smithsonian tumble from their pillars for over a year now, we can certainly no longer be shocked by the gross acts for personal gain that went on under Small. Instead, we're thrilled to see this place get cleaned out once and for all, leaving, hopefully, a clean slate for incoming Secretary G. Wayne Clough on which to begin a new era for the Institution.
Photo by MatthewBradley
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I feel that photo is entirely inappropriate. No Smithsonian Director in their right mind would sully their hands with currency and spare change. That's what their Black American Express Card is for! Good heavens!
[monocle pops out of eye, faints]
Monkey that's your third monocle this week! You should stop being so shocked.
Does the Smithsonian not have any sort of Congressional oversight?
O'Leary??? No way.
can we take all of the administrators who have been forced out in disgrace in the last couple years and have them do prison work detail on the arts and industries building, to get it fixed up so it's usable again?
Nothing says Latino like O'leary...
Ok wait a second, I just went to the Post story and saw the picture. If the lavish spa treatments are what kept her looking like that, I am totally cool with my tax dollars subsidizing them. She is not exactly what I was expecting from a story about museum top brass. She is more like museum top ass.
(ewwww that was a bad pun but just too easy. I apologize to everyone.)
Nothing says Latino like O'leary...
Pilar O'Leary is almost as good as Kwame Kilpatrick when it comes to ethnically confused names.
Homesick, the USA was not the only place many European immigrants settled in. Latin and Central America both received a huge number of Irish, German (especially after WWII), and Italian immigrants in the 1800's.
Or, O'Leary could be her married name and her maiden name is something Hispanic.
blittle, I'll bet when you were a kid and someone tried to give you the old "Orange you glad I'm not an apple" knock-knock routine, you stopped them mid-joke and said, "Actually oranges don't have vocal chords so an orange couldn't say anything, much less something about being an apple, just so you know."
But seriously, thanks for pointing out the fairly obvious.
Maiden name is Frank. Of the preeminent Franks of Colombia. She's third-world elite.
Homesick - I see what you mean! La O'Leary can probe and violate my ethics any day!
I should get a prize for figuring that one out. :-)
And homesick, you must of been the kid who got kicked in the balls a lot by smart alec girls.
Correction, ball. It was balls but damn Betty Sue thought she was soooo fucking cool because she was the first girl to get stilettoes in middle school, I just HAD to bring her down a peg.
What was an attorney who previously worked at Fannie Mae doing running a Smithsonian community center? When the director of a community outreach center was the Cover Girl of a posh magazine, didn't alarms go off? Absurd.
It's worth it to go to today's Post article. Read the comments. Several people who claim they had to work with Ms. O'Leary describe their experiences. One-word consensus: "imperious."