Treasury Officials Hired Prostitutes, Took Gifts

Treasury Department officials have been reprimanded for hiring prostitutes, golfing with the bankers they're supposed to be regulating, and taking improper gifts, according to inspector general reports spotted by the Hill that were published following Freedom of Information Act requests. Though the identities of all the perpetrators were redacted, the documents shows that in 2010, an employee of the now-defunct Office of Thrift Supervision "misused" government resources to hire prostitutes on Craigslist on three occasions. The inspector general referred the case to prosecutors, but they declined to press charges. The official retired.

In another case, a bank regulator was caught going golfing and eating out with industry executives—who usually picked up the tab. He said he thought that was "a condoned activity." Other regulators were found to have accepted improper gifts, including flowers, meals, and at least one limousine ride. But the Inspector General praised Treasury brass for giving him free reign, and said that, as a "fairly large department," some misdeeds were to be expected. "Many organizations have people who do dumb things," he mused. (More Treasury Department stories.)