Smithsonian scandals

As Wonkette puts it:

Running the Smithsonian might be the best job in Washington. Nearly a million a year and unlimited vacation — sign us up! Even the deputy secretary got all the leave she wanted! And though you’ll be forced to resign in disgrace when it’s revealed that you took 10 weeks of vacation a year while making $5.7 million at outside gigs and failing to raise as much money for the institution as your predecessor, it’s still great while it lasts. . .

And from ArtNet News:

You say that top museum execs pull down super-salaries because they do super jobs? Think again. An independent investigation into the seven-year tenure of Smithsonian Institution chief executive Lawrence M. Small, who resigned earlier this year in disgrace after reports of his lavish expense-account spending hit the press, showed that as Small’s pay packet swelled, the amount of private donations to the Smithsonian declined.

For the full, gruesome, details, see today's Washington Post. The lead:

Leaders of the Smithsonian in the past seven years took extraordinary steps to keep secret the amount of top executives' compensation, lavish expense-account spending, ethical missteps and management failures, an independent report released yesterday shows.

Former secretary Lawrence M. Small, with the help of his top deputy, Sheila P. Burke, took advantage of a vast gap in oversight to set his own salary, spend freely, take unlimited leave and ignore policy to pursue private agendas, according to the independent review committee, which was established by the Smithsonian Board of Regents to investigate reports of excessive spending and management abuses.

Compounding the problem, traditional institutional watchdogs, including the Board of Regents, general counsel, inspector general and chief financial officer, all failed in their duties to rein in excesses, the panel found in its report.

Posted by David on June 21, 2007 7:34 PM