A top federal prosecutor’s turning his attention to the case of the super-sized salaries. U.S. Attorney Matt Whitaker says the FBI’s also going to review the state auditor’s report on the six-figure pay for administrators of a program that trains jobless and underemployed Iowans.
Whitaker explains the FBI is the lead investigator in this matter, together with the Department of Labor OIG (Office of Inspector General). He says the FBI is the investigative arm of the federal government and his office prosecutes “But we work together as a team to bring justice.”
The federal government funded the job-training program, he says, so the allegations about the apparent misspending of money on out-of-proportion salaries for a few top administrators have the prosecutor’s office looking into what the truth is, whether any federal laws have been violated, and whether any people should be prosecuted for those violations.
This investigation will be thorough and detailed, Whitaker says, and it’s hard to tell how long it will take. The scandal’s spreading as state and city officials explain how they failed to notice how much the program paid a couple of Des Moines administrators the last couple years and charges expand that a whistle-blower sent the salary information to several people before anyone responded.