How a top climate change expert defrauded EPA out of $900K by claiming he was an undercover CIA agent and spent $260K traveling first class so he didn’t have to show up for work
John C. Beale was a high-profile policy advisory at the Environmental Protection Agency
Reported directly to Administrator Gina McCarthy during most of the 13 years of fraud
Claimed he was on covert assignments for CIA but really set home reading books or doing chores while earning $206,000 a year
Assertions that he had undercover CIA job was never checked out by EPA
Publicly retired and threw party for himself, but collected paychecks for another 18 months
He billed taxpayers for 33 plane flights between 2003 and 2011, including personal trips to London and California, which he flew first class. He stayed in five-star hotels and billed the government for expensive meals and limo rides. The total cost: more than $266,000.
He also publicly ‘retired,’ but managed to continue drawing his $206,000 salary for 18 months - despite brazenly throwing a retirement party for himself that was attended by McCarthy.
He even lied and said he had contracted malaria while serving in the Vietnam War in order to get a handicapped parking spot. He neither had malaria nor served in Vietnam, according to prosecutors.
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EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy was Beale’s boss during most of the 13 years he allegedly committed fraud
Beale is a Princeton-educated ‘senior policy adviser’ who worked as one of the EPA’s top climate change experts.
He helped rewrite the Clean Air Act in 1990, led EPA delegations at climate change conferences in 2000 and 2001, and helped negotiate carbon emissions agreements with India and China.
Beale is married to Nancy Kete, who President Barack Obama appointed the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. She is currently managing director of the Rockafeller Foundation.
The couple own a $872,000 townhouse in Arlington, Virginia, and a $626,000 vacation home on Cape Cod.
Wow.
