SEC porn scandal results in zero firings, agency says

By Ed O'Keefe

None of the Securities and Exchange Commission employees caught using government computers to view pornographic images has been fired, according to the agency.

The SEC inspector general investigated 28 employees and five contractors for accessing inappropriate images and Web sites, according to a report released late last week.

Of the employees, eight resigned and six were suspended for periods lasting one to 14 days, the inspector general, H. David Kotz, said in an letter Tuesday to Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa). Five were issued formal reprimands, six were issued informal counseling or warning letters, and three are currently facing disciplinary action.

All five contractors caught were removed from their contracts, Kotz added.

The SEC comes up with different numbers, but they also add up to no firings.

The staffers accessed pornographic Web sites and images by using Google and Yahoo search engines and by successfully disabling Internet filters on their computers, Kotz said.

Grassley on Tuesday asked SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro to clarify why the workers faced different levels of discipline. Schapiro sent a memo Friday stating that any employee who violates the agency's computer usage rules will be fired.

The Iowa Republican also asked Schapiro for specific salary and disciplinary information for the 33 workers and contractors.

"We look forward to responding to Senator Grassley in detail," SEC spokesman John Nester said in an e-mail.

Grassley's office also distributed a whistleblower complaint sent to his office regarding an assistant regional director at SEC's Los Angeles office who made 1,800 attempts to access pornographic Web sites from his agency computer.

The letter, purportedly from an SEC employee in the agency's Los Angeles regional office, described poor morale and high turnover partly due to the official getting "a free pass" from agency management for his inappropriate computer use.

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