Why Cutting Through Gov't Red Tape Can Be Really Expensive
One more sign–in an infinite series of such signs–that we're all crumbs living in the beard of the wonderfully demented and insane science-fiction novelist Philip K. Dick. This one concerns a scandal at Veterans Affairs about the procurement of literal red tape, which is used to cordon off various situations:
Coker and her boss, Joseph Haymond, were arrested in November after investigators uncovered a scheme to get kickbacks from a company that was selling the red tape to the V-A at inflated prices. The tape is stamped with the word "security" and is intended to deter tampering. Haymond was found dead in his Cannon County home of an apparent suicide the day after he was arrested.
Judge Robert Echols determined Coker received more than 115-thousand dollars in kickbacks and contributed to more than 400-thousand dollars in total losses to the V-A.
More here.