FAA orders a closer look at contracts

The order came from Michael A. Cirillo, who is vice president for system operations services at the FAA's Air Traffic Organization. One of the employees to be retained, according to the e-mail, was Cirillo's wife, Patricia. The other employee mentioned in the e-mail was Janie Miller, who is a former FAA administration and budget analyst who worked for Michael Cirillo for several years before retiring in June 2003 after 40 years at the agency, the FAA said. Srite said Miller was performing the same role at Crown that she did at the FAA. Efforts to reach Miller were unsuccessful.

Srite said she felt uncomfortable being directed to retain Patricia Cirillo and Miller and she reported a possible ethics violation to the FAA's legal counsel. She said she did not receive a response, but was asked about it by FAA attorneys weeks later when the agency was working out its settlement with Crown. "They said I did the right thing," to report the e-mail. The FAA said Michael Cirillo is no longer overseeing the Crown contract because of the inspector general's inquiry, and that the contract has been moved to another division.

Crown said Miller and Cirillo's wife no longer work at the company. Michael Cirillo declined to comment for this story through the FAA's spokesman, Greg Martin. A phone message left at the Cirillo home was returned by the FAA, which said the Cirillos declined to comment.

"Mr. Cirillo has had an unblemished record at the FAA," Martin said. "It's only fair to reserve judgment pending the outcome of the inspector general's investigation."

Khan said Crown provided "backup data" to the inspector general that show "there is no validity to the allegations" and that "substantiate all of our invoices," he said in a written statement. "It's important to get this matter resolved as soon as possible. We are a small minority business and we depend on our good reputation."

Khan and other employees said they fear that the federal audit and allegations will hurt the small company's reputation and future business, of which 90 percent is with the FAA. Khan said in an interview that the allegations of wasteful spending are unfounded and a result of a misunderstanding. "I believe we did a great job," Khan said, pointing to his long history of work with the FAA and to an "outstanding performance recognition award" the firm won from the agency in the late 1990s. "We stand on our reputation and the good work we do and we live by that."

This week, the FAA announced management controls for support service contracts, including ethics training for FAA employees and a new conflict-of-interest clause that requires contractors to disclose whether they plan to use employees who are relatives of current FAA employees. The FAA said it also will require open bidding for all new support service contracts worth $1 million or more or for modifications to existing contracts worth more than $1 million in new work. The agency's chief financial officer will review any contract over $10 million and the FAA will require contracting officers -- not their technical representatives -- to sign off on all invoices submitted by contractors.

Although the inspector general hasn't yet issued a report, the FAA said its chief legal counsel will review all new task orders for contracts the FAA has with Crown, and any new contracts with the firm. "They've been a long-standing contractor, yet we need to acknowledge there are certain concerns that have come about from this particular contract and we need to proceed with due caution," said Martin, the FAA spokesman.

Srite said she had no qualms about bringing her concerns to higher officials at the FAA and the outside audit agency, although she said she will not be surprised if her career suffers.

"It's our personal obligation, especially when representing our government, to represent the public interest," Srite said. "My purpose was never to harm anyone. I came to work and I sat in a chair and all I knew how to do was contracting. I went about the procedures I thought were right."

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