Lavish Vegas Conference Organizer Leaves GSA

The  regional commissioner behind the lavish $800,000 General Services Administration  conference in Las Vegas has left the agency. Jeffrey Neely had been on administrative leave since April, The Washington Post reported.

“GSA is in the process of completing its review of activities associated with the Western Regions Conference and pursuing all available avenues for appropriate disciplinary action against those responsible,” a GSA spokesman told the Post.

“Jeff Neely was placed on administrative leave based on his involvement in the WRC. As of today, he’s no longer employed with GSA.”

Neely is the latest casualty in the affair that also led to the resignation of GSA Administrator Martha Johnson, the firing of her two top lieutenants and nine other employees being placed on administrative leave. There are a series of congressional investigations into the conference and the inspector general’s office has asked the Justice Department to conduct a criminal probe, the Post reported.

Neely appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last month and invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to testify. According to an inspector general’s report, Neely had planned for the 2010 employee conference to be “over the top” and the event included a magician and a $75,000 bicycle-building exercise, the Post reported.

GSA Acting Administrator Daniel Tangherlini canceled 35 scheduled conferences and the Obama administration has placed new restrictions on all federal travel and meetings as a result of the scandal, according to the Post.