Petrelis Files

NYT's Labaton's Reply on Tomlinson, BBG Audit

Dear Mr. Labaton:

Thanks for your reply. Had a feeling you were well aware of that audit and that you may include its findings in a future story. Any chance you can also find out what the minutes show from the "closed session" meetings of the BBG? Frankly, I couldn't find a single BBG announcement about their meetings in the Federal Register where the meetings were open to the public. No doubt the BBG would likely provide you with the minutes and transcripts, if you were to file a Freedom of Information Act request.

Best,
Michael Petrelis

In a message dated 11/7/2005 8:25:54 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, slabaton@yahoo.com writes:

Dear Mr. Petrelis:

Thank you for passing on your research about the BBG. I had seen the FY 2004 Performance and Accountability Report and it certainly appears to fit into a broader pattern of financial irregularities. I've asked whether investigators see connections between the audit problems identified in the report and the inquiry into Mr. Tomlinson and have yet to get a straight answer. (It would be hard to believe there wouldn't be some connection) I will keep it in mind as I write more articles about the agency.
Thanks again for writing.

Best,

Stephen Labaton