Posted on 10/09/2020 7:52:11 AM PDT by ransomnote
WASHINGTON – Ronnie Simpkins, 68, of Lusby, Maryland, a former government contract officer with the General Services Administration (GSA), was sentenced to a 21-month prison term on a federal bribery charge stemming from a scheme in which he accepted bribes from government contractors from August 2011 to August 2017. Simpkins pled guilty to the charge on December 19, 2019.
The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin, Robert E. Bornstein, acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI Washington Field Office, Criminal Division, and Eric D. Radwick, Acting Special Agent in Charge, General Services Administration, National Capital Region, Office of Investigations.
According to the government’s evidence, from 1989 until May 2019, Simpkins was employed by the General Services Administration (“GSA”) as a Contract Specialist, informally known as a Contracting Officer, in procurement related positions, and between August 2013 and May 2019, he worked as a Contract Specialist assigned to GSA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. From February 2010 to August 2017, Simpkins was assigned to a sub-division of the Federal Acquisition Service, which oversees the administration of GSA Schedule 70 contracts. “Schedules” are long-term government-wide contracts with commercial companies that provide access to commercial products and services at fair and reasonable prices to the government. “Schedule 70 contracts” provide IT solutions, services, and software to federal, state, and local customer agencies. GSA pre-negotiates the vendors’ pricing, terms, and conditions, to streamline the acquisition process while at the same time providing the best value to the end user agency.
According to court papers, Company A, a Northern Virginia corporation, held a GSA Schedule contract, which it actively advertised to prospective federal agency customers. To maintain its GSA Schedule contract, Company A was required to have annual sales in excess of $25,000—a requirement that could be waived by GSA’s administrative contracting officer. Company A was also required to pay an Industrial Funding Fee (“IFF”) of 0.75% of all its Schedule sales. Dating back to 2006, Company A maintained its GSA Schedule contract despite reporting no sales and not paying any IFFs since 2006. Simpkins oversaw the contract dating back to 2009.
Simpkins admitted that, for approximately six years between 2011 and 2017, he accepted cash, meals, and furniture from two Company A officials to use his position to help Company maintain its GSA Schedule contract. Simpkins admitted to meeting the Company A officials over a dozen times at various restaurants in Northern Virginia, the Company A officials’ residences, and other places, often outside of normal GSA business hours and on weekends. At these meetings, the Company A officials treated Simpkins to meals and gave him cash totaling “thousands of dollars into the teens.” In July 2016, Simpkins accepted more than $2,000 worth of furniture paid for by the officials. Simpkins admitted to taking more than $12,000 in cash and furniture from the Company A officials.
Simpkins admitted to using his GSA position to help Company A in exchange for these payments. Specifically, Simpkins recommended and signed Company A’s contracts with GSA, even though Company A failed to meet program requirements; deliberately neglected to notify GSA, as he was obligated to do, when Company A’s contract under his supervision no longer met program requirements; and advised Company A about ways to avoid contract cancellation despite failing to meet GSA’s program requirements.
United States District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who presided over the case, sentenced Simpkins to 21 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. The Court also imposed a $10,000 fine and ordered Simpkins to forfeit $12,108.91.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division and GSA Office of Inspector General and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section.
Well, at least some law enforcement is occurring. Need this x1000.
I’m sorry, but we are going to have to start hanging thieves.
There are too many of them and they aren’t afraid of having to go to jail.
Most contracting officers in the government are honest. They have to document the hell out of everything they do, know they are subject to serious penalties for wrongdoing, and generally try their best to avoid the appearance of any conflict of interest.
There are always going to be cases like this one but they are actually quite rare.
Prison is no longer a deterrent. Start hanging them.
Please, no more ‘reports’ of DOJ shirking their duties by picking low-hanging fruit instead of assault on the U.S. Constitution by globalists Democrats.
Barr should offer up indictments for the Russia Hoax on Monday, or tender his resignation.
lease, no more ‘reports’ of DOJ shirking their duties by picking low-hanging fruit instead of assault on the U.S. Constitution by globalists Democrats.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are some on FR who like to portray arrests and convictions of criminals as failure. It seems you’re one of them.
There are separate divisions of attorneys working on cases. Separate attorneys are working on the coup so others are working on crimes elsewhere. Although it seems like it at times, not all crime is restricted to D.C.
Really, I wouldn’t want all criminal prosecution to stop for the rest of the nation while the President dismantles the deep state - look what happens in cities where criminal prosecution halts. I don’t want the nation to become the new Portland or Seattle CHOP.
I applied for a gov contract once... I came in a little lower than the previous 3 year contract... Of course they went with someone 40 percent higher. And they do a crappy job.
We’re the people offering the bribe given jail time?
If this the rule, shouldnt Biden’s brother be in prison?
Was the award done on a best value basis? Its possible that technical factors outweighed cost. Did you ask for a debrief from the CO? You should always do that.
I just left it alone. It was my first time doing a government bid. I figured the fix was in on it and just moved on.
I had a Schedule 70 contract, but somewhat before that time.
It was a rip-off. Government-created grift.
I ended my contract before when this article says he became a CO on Sched 70 in 2010, but still, the name is familiar.
Understand and it can be a confusing process. There is often a desire by the customer to retain the services it is familiar with, and they like to also avoid disruptions from transitioning to another contractor. But sometimes they may also be happy to consider a replacement. You never really know so you need to find out as much about the situation as you can and tailor your proposal to address the needs of the customer and make it clear that you’re prepared (and have a plan) to ensure a smooth, disruption free transition of services.
Most RFP’s will tell you what the evaluation factors are. Pay close attention to them and their relative weightings. Address every requirement in your proposal. Many contractors make the grave mistake of writing vague proposals. Make your proposals sharp, clear and well organized — this makes them easier to evaluate and get credit for your skills, technical approach, and capabilities. Experience is also a critical element. Highlight your relevant successes.
Be competitive in pricing. You will almost always have an opportunity down the road to modify the contract for more money. That’s another aspect of contracting that is often overlooked and underappreciated.
Best of luck in your future bids. And again, make sure you ask for a debriefing. Contracting officers expect this and it can be a good source of insights that will help you win future work. Be inquisitive, but respectful and polite. Thank the CO and they will respect your professionalism and perhaps even be impressed, which is a very good thing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.