Old Troubles Dog GSA Official

By Jonathan Strong, Roll Call, April 26, 2012 (excerpt)

Jeff Neely, the embattled General Services Administration official at the center of a scandal over a lavish Las Vegas conference, was reprimanded in 2011 for appearing in a campaign ad for Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), documents obtained by Roll Call show.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Neely’s participation in the ad for Inouye’s 2010 re-election campaign violated the Hatch Act, but it did not discipline him beyond a warning.

The footage of Neely used in the ad was from a June 2010 groundbreaking ceremony heralding the $212 million renovation of the Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Federal Building and Courthouse in Honolulu.

 Here's some footage that didn't make it into Inouye's commercial....

The project was part of the 2009 economic stimulus law and was designed to transition federally owned buildings into “high-performance green buildings,” according to a GSA prospectus.

“The man who provided the leadership, and the guidance, and the touch was Jeff Neely,” Inouye said at the ceremony, according to a video of the event.

“If it weren’t for him, if it weren’t for his leadership, we would not be here this morning to inaugurate the beginning of this process. On behalf of all of you and behalf of the people of Hawaii, Mr. Neely, we thank you very much,” Inouye said.

“Prior to the recent press reports, Senator Inouye and his staff were unaware of the disappointing allegations that Jeff Neely and his staff wasted and misused taxpayer funds. Neither Senator Inouye nor his staff knew Mr. Neely in anything other than a professional capacity. Senator Inouye and his staff worked with the GSA Region 9 office only on issues relevant to GSA’s mission,” said Peter Boylan, Inouye’s deputy chief of staff.

The revelations about Neely’s Hatch Act violation come as officials ramp up legislative efforts to address the GSA scandal….

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