Former Interior Dept. official gets probation

NEW ORLEANS


Tuesday’s sentencing follows months of scandal at MMS and the Interior Department.

In reports last September, the department’s Inspector General chronicled a “culture of substance abuse and promiscuity” at an MMS office in Denver from 2002 to 2006.

…In Las Vegas on Monday, a retired Interior Department official named in a September Inspector General’s report about lavish gifts and rigged contracts at MMS was sentenced to probation and a $2,000 fine for violating federal conflict of interest rules.

Last week, new Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called for a complete review of ethical misconduct and reforms at the Interior Department, raising the possibility that investigations closed by the Bush administration may be reopened.

AP