A National Park Service (NPS) superintendent deposited annual park donations into his personal checking account, but was unaware that his actions were illegal, according to the Inspector General (IG) of the Department of the Interior (DOI).
The IG investigators found the superintendent was storing $500 in annual donations in his personal checking account as a way to manage the funds. Investigators did not find any evidence that the park funds had been misused, according to a summary of the IG report released Monday. (RELATED: National Park Official Violated Criminal Law With Sweetheart Nonprofit Deal)
While the case outlined in the Monday summary appears to be an accident for relatively small amounts of cash, NPS officials have been found guilty of committing financial crimes involving much more money.
Petrified Forest National Park’s supervisory visitor use assistant Sharon Baldwin was caught stealing park entrance fees, amassing about $316,000 between 2010 and 2016. She avoided detection for years by “altering electronic records and documentation to conceal the theft,” according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). (RELATED: Park Supervisor Made A Killing Stealing Entrance Fees)
Former NPS official Sheridan Steele accepted about $14,000 worth of gifts from a nonprofit before and after retirement. Neither Steele nor the non-profit, The Schoodic Institute, were aware the gifts were illegal. The DOJ declined to prosecute over the deal.
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