Meth, Porn on the taxpayer's nickel, "free" tickets and other graft: how would the off-shore drilling watchdogs ever find time to regulate?

By Pablo Fanque

National Affairs Editor

The Inspector General released a report today that details major abuses, graft, and corruption at the agency that "oversees" off-shore oil drilling.    The Minerals Management Service abuses are shocking but hardly surprising.  As we've seen in dozens of other cozy relationships between government employees and vendors, the lines rapidly become blurred as the employees *cough* regulators nestle snugly in the pockets of the dirtbags they were hired to control.   Interestingly the IG, Mary Kendall notes that "we discovered that the individuals involved in the fraternizing and gift exchange both government and industry have often known one another since childhood."

Curiously, the MMS is located in Denver--about as far as you can possibly be from the sites you are charged with overseeing. 

None of this is new.   The previous Inspector General--Earl Devaney--in 2008 reported a "culture of ethical failure" and numerous conflicts of interest at the minerals agency.

You can read the entire story of the new Inspector General's report here, on WKRG.com.

"Staff members at an agency that oversees offshore drilling accepted tickets to sports events, lunches and other gifts from oil and gas companies and used government computers to view pornography, according to an Interior Department report alleging a culture of cronyism between regulators and the industry.

"In at least one case, an inspector for the Minerals Management Service admitted using crystal methamphetamine and said he might have been under the influence of the drug the next day at work, according to the report by the acting inspector general of the Interior Department.

"The report cites a variety of violations of federal regulations and ethics rules at the agency's Louisiana office. Previous inspector general investigations have focused on inappropriate behavior by the royalty-collection staff in the agency's Denver office."
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