Opinion ID: 556612
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Report to the FBI

Text: 8 On May 24-25, 1982, Vasbinder represented OVR in a joint state-and-federal review of a grant given by a federally funded program called Projects with Industry (Project). The review was conducted to audit the use of Project moneys given to the International Center for the Disabled (ICD), a rehabilitation facility that accepted client referrals from OVR. In the course of this review, Vasbinder discovered several practices that appeared to him to be improper, if not unlawful. It appeared that there were overcharges and duplicative billing and that an effort had been made to code the billing in a way that would mask the improprieties. In particular, Vasbinder testified that in many of the files he examined, there appeared three vouchers for placement of one individual; in addition, the amount of each voucher, $900 +, was higher than OVR would usually pay; and though the vouchers were coded as requests for reimbursement for training rather than for placement, one of the recipient organizations was not devoted to training the handicapped but was merely an employment agency. Vasbinder was also aware that both the founder and the director of that employment agency had long-time personal relationships with Switzer; he had heard Switzer refer to one of them frequently as his protege. 9 Vasbinder immediately showed his findings to OVR's downstate regional director Mary Brady, in whose territory ICD was located. Brady, a grade 32 employee (several grades higher than Vasbinder) who also reported to Switzer, instantly recognized the apparent improprieties. However, no corrective action was forthcoming. 10 Vasbinder was aware that some years earlier, the FBI and other law enforcement entities had investigated a kickback scheme involving OVR, resulting in the conviction and imprisonment of an OVR employee and at least one private vendor. He was also aware that another OVR employee had been disciplined for reporting improprieties at ICD. As a result, Vasbinder feared that he had walked into a hornets' nest and that [he] was going to get stung. He testified: 11 I was concerned that I would be in trouble for reporting a problem of moneys that involved the bosses' [sic ] friends. I was concerned that I would be reporting a problem regarding a politically powerful rehabilitation facility. I knew that another OVR employee had been transferred after raising concerns about fee payments at ICD for other things other than placement. 12 Accordingly, both fearful of being personally implicated in a coverup of the apparent improprieties and concerned that his supervisors might be involved in the wrongdoing because of a relationship with the private facilities involved, in August 1982 Vasbinder contacted the FBI. The FBI thereupon commenced an investigation. 13 In late October 1982, one of the FBI agents assigned to the investigation instructed Vasbinder to inform Scott of the possible improprieties Vasbinder had discovered during the ICD audit. Vasbinder did so and disclosed that he had reported his discoveries to the FBI. Following this meeting, Scott ordered an OVR audit of the Project program. The OVR auditor discovered other problems with respect to rates charged and services rendered by private facilities, and these discoveries resulted in OVR's changing some of its procedures and requesting credits from several such facilities. The audit did not turn up problems of the sort found by Vasbinder; according to Vasbinder, however, the auditor failed to look at certain files, called to the auditor's attention, that would have disclosed these problems. 14