|
|
A lot:
When Jennifer Lopez, Kid Rock and Ja Rule put on a concert for 1,500 troops at the height of the war in Afghanistan, it was seen as another success for the United Services Organization, which for 63 years has been entertaining soldiers overseas.
But now the spotlight is on a team of government auditors who uncovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in unexplained expenses the USO submitted for the show.
The J. Lo gig was among several cited in a General Accounting Office report released this month that found more than $430,000 in improper, questionable or unsupported USO tour expenses charged to the Pentagon over a two-year period.
But the investigation, requested by Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.) found that taxpayers repeatedly paid for first-class plane tickets, liquor and limousine services for celebrities, in violation of Pentagon and federal regulations.
The GAO found that in the J. Lo concert, the Pentagon had paid MTV -- which aired the performance -- for $343,910 in "production expenses," despite a complete lack of supporting documentation.
Posted by Owen at January 22, 2004 12:59 PM | TrackBack