Pool Parties and Golf - Your Tax Dollars at Work

(CBS)  With a $13 trillion debt, why is the Department of Justice spending money on parties and rollercoaster rides rather than investigating crime, drug cartels, prosecuting terrorists?

Untold millions of your tax dollars are paying for recreation in the name of crime prevention: pool parties, rollercoaster rides, and police donut-eating contests. The idea is that fun activities keep kids out of trouble, build self-esteem and prevent crime.

CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports the problem is the money comes from the Department of Justice - which doesn't even have enough resources to keep up on analyzing foreign intelligence.

Now, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)has found nobody is measuring just how much is spent on the recreation - or whether it even works.

Sen.Tom Coburn, R-Okla., estimates well over $100 million tax dollars over five years has been spent on recreation to fight crime. Coburn says poor tracking leads to questionable spending. At least $200,000 was spent for officials to attend conferences at golf resorts in Florida and Palm Springs, or a film festival featuring "Santa, The Fascist Years."

Many of the grants are earmarked by Congress without the normal public review. Justice Department officials told the GAO that it makes them harder to scrutinize. So they rely on recipients to follow the rules: not all of them do.

Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens earmarked $1.7 million to a group run by a couple who were his friends. They were convicted of stealing $450,000 and spent some of it on a wedding reception for their son - who happened to work for Senator Stevens.

Just last month, an Oklahoma City program was found to have misspent hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal crime prevention funds on things like a giant flat screen TV, 40 pairs of binoculars and $200 Japanese-style swords. Police said most of the binoculars were never used and there was "no legitimate purpose" for the swords.

Twelve other federal agencies and 99 programs fund similar community programs to keep kids out of trouble. Critics want more accountability.

[cleric60]

It's called spending the taxpayers money-not your own. It's called corruption of power. It's being going on for in all governments since the beginning of "kings". Take from the working poor and middle-class and enjoy yourselves on their hard-earned mony.

[h1jen1]

Interestingly, DOJ WON'T have to answer to the latest federal agency created in the 'Financial Reform' bill..
http://h1jen1.wordpress.com/2010/07/26/financial-reform-party-at-doj/

[waggywow2]

Just love seeing my dollars at work!

Lou
www.real-anonymity.at.tc

[perish2]

Cut everyone's in government by 10% and no one anywhere in the government should make over 100K yearly. Any theft is immediate dismaissal and possible jail time if crime is worth it. Don't want to spend big money prosecuting someone who stole a stapler. Anyone in a justice or law enforcement position who breaks any laws gets double the penalty of all others. If ignorance of the law is no excuse for wrongdoing, then, full knowledge should carry a greater penalty. Independent review of all justice dept and law enforcement complaints or allegations. No more of anybody investigating their own. No internal reviews, ever.

[book_of_wally]

Donut eating contests? Curse you CBS, coffee has now come through my nose!

[mrjustice1]

"UNFAIR!!!"
SEZ THE PEOPLE

We thunk that you leaders' incentive was to serve your nation and the people - not the monarchy - but instead, you selfish, greedy, piggy leaders created a new hierarchy/class of immune-from-prosecution, and above-the-law, privileged class of powerbokers, not to mention WASTEFUL SPENDERS.

Ooooooooooh - that's sooooooo not nice!

That sure smells like...
... a stink.

It makes the people wanna "come and getcha".

[mike 901]

Jail seems appropriate.

[wyodutch]

Getting closer to the point when we have to push the reset button on the federal government. It long ago ceased representing We, The People... and it's time that We, The People reminded the rotting federal government who it was supposed to be working for.

[mrjustice1]

Ya mean it's time to overthrow the govt?

We thunk that you leaders' incentive was to serve your nation and the people - not the monarchy - but instead, you selfish, greedy, piggy leaders created a new hierarchy/class of immune-from-prosecution, and above-the-law, privileged class of powerbokers.

ooooooooooh - that's not nice!

That sure smells like...
... a stink.

It makes the people wanna "come and getcha".

[mrjustice1]

Ya mean it's time to overthrow the govt?

Or just get rid of the VERY MANY selfish wasteful lawmakers and leaders who continue to fleece us?

[Vet_Turner]

by BCSBUDDY July 23, 2010 8:54 PM EDT
These programs (recreation, community activity centers and etc) are all worthless programs. They are just a way to employ "community organizers" and give the democratic leaning politicians something they can say they did. I have worked in these centers as part of a college course and I can promise you 90% of these programs are totally useless. The kids use these areas and events to plan their next heist, figure out where to steal their next car or determine where they can get drugs. This money is TOTALLY WASTED. There are some great programs, Big Brother, Big Sister, etc. and they deserve funding. The others need to be gone NOW.

--

Certainly says more about the influence you had on kids who needed adult role models then it says about programs designed to give the kids a boost.

[BCSBUDDY]

You have got to be a democrat, blame everything on someone else, not the responsible party. Do I hear echos of "It's Bush's fault"????

[Vet_Turner]

What does this say about who? That your beloved war monger of a President invaded a country under false prestenses, put the country on auto-pilot and went on vacation until the financial system crashed. You sound like one of Rush little ditto-heads - vomitting out of the garbage of Obama not taking responsibility for the country. Of course he is but when people like you want to pin the entire deficit and lack of jobs on the administration while also saying that the government has no business interferring, all gloves are off. Why don't you take a little responsibilty. ....or do you just want to wine about the program you were assigned to and say how you couldn't make any progress with the kids so blame it on the program? Nicely done!

[Vet_Turner]

by barb21064 July 23, 2010 7:26 PM EDT
I can't believe that congress is wasting millions of dollars of our tax money on such programs as "crime prevention" under the Department of Justice and no one is putting a stop to this, especially in a time of such high budget deficits and thousands of people out of work. Why is this allowed? Why isn't the Government Accountability Office doing something about it? There is so much hidden wasteful spending that most taxpayers would never even know about if it weren't for seeing it on CBS News. We need to be informed so we can vote out these idiots in November and start making congress more accountable for the way they spend OUR MONEY!!!!!


You found out about it because of the government accountability office. Say, "Oh!"