The OIG investigated an allegation that a National Park Service (NPS) contractor in the U.S. Virgin Islands attempted to provide a cash bribe to an NPS employee. We also investigated allegations that a park supervisor influenced Government personnel to hire a family member as a contractor, that another supervisor prepared fraudulent Government documents to support an improper payment to a contractor, and that two supervisors received free personal work or discounts from a contractor in return for work or promises of work.We found that in June 2018, an NPS contractor gave an NPS employee $500 cash as an illegal gratuity for hiring him to do contract work at the park. The employee immediately reported the incident and turned the money over to the park’s acting superintendent, who provided it to our office.In addition, we found that a park supervisor gave the appearance of a conflict of interest when she told park staff about her family member’s qualifications, but we found no evidence the supervisor was directly involved in hiring the family member as a contractor.We further found that another supervisor failed to follow park guidance by preparing a micropurchase approval form after the contractor had been paid instead of completing the approval form before the work was completed. We did not, however, find that the payment was improper because the contractor performed the work. We found no evidence that two supervisors received free or discounted personal work from a contractor in exchange for work or promises of work.We presented our illegal gratuity finding to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of the U.S. Virgin Islands, which declined prosecution.
VI
United States
