The Carroll Standard

Government High Life! GSA Official Enjoys Wine and Soak in Spa at Plush Hotel During “Pre-Conference” Meeting

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Jake Tapper | ABCNews: The government official on the frontlines of the scandal involving a wasteful government conference, U.S. General Services Administration regional commissioner Jeffrey Neely, will invoke his 5^th amendment right against self-incrimination, his lawyer Preston Burton tells ABC News.

He won’t comment on the $822,751 conference, many of the expenditures for which the GSA Inspector General called “excessive” and “wasteful.” He won’t comment on the bizarre awards ceremony, or the commemorative coins, the mind-reader/motivational speaker.

Mr. Neely bares a bit more in a photo collection on his wife’s Google+ page. There visitors can see photos of Neely staying in a luxurious suite at the M Resort Spa & Casino in November 2009, during one of the eight scouting and off-site pre-conference meetings to prepare for the October 2010 conference.

The eight pre-conference trips alone cost the government $130,000, according to the GSA Inspector General’s investigation of the 2010 conference. Inspector General Brian Miller has referred his case to the Justice Department for possible criminal investigation.

(Image Credit: Google Plus)

GSA spokesman Adam Elkington refrained from commenting on the photographs, and Neely attorney Burton also declined to comment.

The pictures suggest Neely and his wife rather enjoyed their stay at the luxurious M hotel, where the conference was ultimately held. The controversy surrounding the wasteful spending at the conference has cost GSA administration Martha Johnson her job, with other GSA officials such as Neely put on administrative leave. The 31 pictures on Deborah Neely’s Google+ page are contained in the album “M Hotel@Vegas Nov2009.” ... continues...

(Editors Note: As this government largess story unfolds, we will not be too shocked at how public servants abuse their office and authority. It happens on every level of government, local, municipal, state and federal. Perks that can only be garnered in the employ or protection of the government class. Elected representatives and their appointees along with agency heads have been milking taxpayers dry with luxuries they somehow feel entitled to graft, too which they would have never achieved had they worked in the real world. The conferences, out of district missions and field trips are only the tip of the iceberg. Dig into the goings on in your neighborhood, watch as public services diminish and local officials become more isolated and aloof, promoting some myth or scheme to expand government, as they enjoy the fruits of taxpayer sacrifice for the greater good, always demanding more revenue. There is so much to do, so little time to play, so many friends and family to bring into the fold. And with every election cycle the circle just gets bigger and our tax burden is growing exponentially. It's all bullsh*t.)