Dennis Wagner

The Republic | azcentral.com

Chief Administrative Judge Stephen C. Mish on Monday held that Helman%27s firing was warranted.

Helman got free tickets and a Disneyland trip from lobbyist Dennis %22Max%22 Lewis%2C her ex-boss.

Mish concluded Helman%27s acceptance of gifts and her failure to report them was a fireable offense.

As Arizona military veterans waited months for doctor appointments in a broken health-care system, then-Phoenix VA hospital Director Sharon Helman went on a weeklong vacation to Disneyland secretly financed by an industry lobbyist, according to an administrative-law judge and documents obtained by The Arizona Republic.

E-mail records and receipts examined by Chief Administrative Judge Stephen C. Mish indicate that Helman also got free concert and airline tickets and other perks from lobbyist Dennis "Max" Lewis, her previous boss.

Based on that revelation, Mish on Monday upheld Helman's firing by the VA and rejected her appeal.

Helman, former director of the Phoenix VA Health Care System, has been publicly silent since she was placed on administrative leave in May in connection with alleged mismanagement and patient-scheduling fraud at the medical center.

But in a brief e-mail response to Republic inquiries, her attorney denied wrongdoing. "Sharon did not engage in a conflict of interest or any other improper conduct," wrote Justin Shur, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who formerly served as deputy chief of the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section.

Helman's termination by the VA ultimately hinged on three sets of allegations: delayed care for veterans and falsified data on appointments; wrongful retaliation against whistle-blowers; and misconduct in the acceptance of gifts from Lewis. She appealed all three sets of charges.

In a ruling released on Tuesday, Mish delivered scathing criticism of the VA for failing to gather and submit evidence in support of the first two charges.

He said materials submitted by VA officials did not prove Helman's guilt in the scandal tied to delayed care, despite an Office of Inspector General report that found her culpable. And while he found that Helman was responsible for retaliation against VA employees who blew the whistle on fraudulent scheduling practices and other misconduct, he ruled that her misbehavior did not merit termination.

However, Mish concluded, Helman's acceptance of multiple gifts from a lobbyist — and her failure to report those gifts as required — was wrongdoing for which she could be fired.

"I conclude the appellant's offenses are serious and more likely than not intentional," he wrote in a 61-page decision. "I conclude (Helman) has little rehabilitative potential. She has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing in the course of this appeal and attempted to deflect attention from her own actions by pointing to political considerations and complaining the agency has been looking into her private life."

Lewis spent four decades as a VA administrator, and played a role in Helman's career advancement before retiring in 2009. He is listed as vice president of Jefferson Consulting Group, a Washington, D.C., firm that represents health companies and other businesses seeking contracts with the VA.

Lewis did not respond to Republic inquiries delivered by phone, e-mail and letter. Other executives at Jefferson Consulting declined comment.

At VA national headquarters and the Phoenix VA medical center, officials have to date refused to provide relevant e-mails, Helman's appeal and other records that were requested Nov. 13 under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

But documents independently supplied to The Republic — and referenced in Tuesday's Merit System decision — show a daisy-chain linkage between Jefferson Consulting and Phoenix VA business dealings at the same time Lewis was bestowing gifts worth thousands of dollars on Helman.

Among the alleged presents:

An eight-day vacation in February for Helman's family of seven at the Disneyland Hotel, including park-hopper tickets, Universal Studios VIP passes and other premium features. The total cost: $11,205. Registration documents provided to The Republic include a booking agent's notation that Lewis made the Disneyland reservation as "a secret gift to this family and only Sharon knows the source but even she does not know the cost."

A Jeep tour in Sedona in November 2012. Lewis sent a copy of the confirmation to Helman from a personal e-mail address, according to records.

Tickets for Helman and her daughters to attend a Beyonce concert Dec. 7, 2013, at the US Airways Center. A Ticketmaster receipt from the $729 purchase was forwarded from Lewis' personal e-mail account. Six days after the concert, in an open message to Phoenix VA Health Care System employees, Helman gushed about her family's experience at the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour Starring Beyonce: "What a memory!" she wrote. "They danced, they sang ... What inspires you?" The e-mail concluded by noting that a VA forum that week was also inspirational, with displays boasting of dramatically reduced wait times for doctor appointments. "All of our posters validated how we continue to give back to veterans," Helman wrote. A VA inspector general report later concluded that Phoenix patient-access data was phony and that some veterans had died awaiting care. Investigators concluded that Helman knew the statistics were inaccurate, but reported them as true to earn bonus pay.

Flights to Vancouver; Portland, Ore.; Eureka, Calif.; El Paso; and Chicago. One of the airline tickets created confusion in August 2012. According to internal e-mails, executive secretary Karen Craig sent Helman a message saying they had just received a boarding pass for someone named Dennis Lewis. "This is odd," Craig wrote. "Do you want me to refer this to travel to see what's going on or who this is?" Helman responded, "Oh. ... this is a consultant that I know that I must have got in error. I'll resend to him."

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics spells out rules pertaining to gratuities: "Executive branch employees may not accept gifts that are given because of their official positions" or that come from individuals doing business with the agency.

Mish concluded that Helman accepted at least nine of 12 gifts identified in the e-mails, and failed to disclose them as required, creating at least "the appearance of a conflict of interest."

Longstanding ties

Helman was placed on leave May 1 as the Phoenix-based crisis over delayed care for veterans blew up into a nationwide furor. She was not fired until Nov. 25, after The Republic submitted questions to the VA about her interaction with Lewis.

Ties between Helman and Lewis go back at least to 2006, when he was regional director of VA health care in the Pacific Northwest. About the same time, Helman was appointed to lead the VA hospital in Roseburg, Ore.

Under Lewis' supervision, Helman moved up to director positions at medical centers in Walla Walla and Spokane, then transferred to the top job at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Chicago, where Lewis had previously been boss. Her postings were marked by public controversies over veteran suicides, untimely care, whistle-blower retaliation and other issues.

Still, in early 2012, Helman was assigned to run the giant VA Health Care System in Phoenix.

A Nexis records search shows addresses for Dennis M. Lewis in Portland, Ore., and Spokane, Wash., while Helman was in Washington state; in Bloomingdale, Ill., when she moved to Chicago; and in Arizona since she was transferred to Phoenix. Helman today shows an address in Peoria, Ariz., as does Lewis.

Lewis retired from the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2009 after a decorated career that included a presidential award. He went to work at Jefferson Consulting Group, a company on K Street in Washington.

Jefferson consists of lobbyists and consultants representing firms aiming for government contracts, especially with the VA.

The firm is headed by Julie Susman, described in her company's online biography as a "savvy Washington insider" who previously served as an attorney and deputy staff director for the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Jefferson's online list of commercial clients includes numerous Humana Inc. and other medical-related companies, some of the VA's biggest contractors. The corporations received hundreds of millions of dollars through federal contracts. Records show Jefferson spent $290,000 this year on lobbying.

Simultaneously, Jefferson does consulting work for the VA. Federal records show the company has been paid millions in federal tax dollars for advising VA officials how to do acquisitions at the same time Jefferson lobbies the VA on behalf of commercial clients.

Four months ago, Jefferson Consulting was awarded a $4.5 million VA contract to assist with the acquisitions.

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics says former federal executives may be restricted in contacting or lobbying current employees regarding official matters.

In response to questions submitted by The Republic, VA spokesman Randy Noller said the department's Office of General Counsel gave Lewis pre-retirement ethics advice on post-government employment. Noller did not spell out the content of that advice or answer whether the VA considers Lewis' interaction with Helman appropriate.

"The VA is not aware of any documentation that would waive or authorize any conflicts of interest that may exist or may have existed," he wrote.

This month, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs announced plans for a series of hearings on VA contracting scandals. According to the Washington Times, Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., who chairs the investigative subcommittee, said the department's $15 billion procurement system has generated a "critical mass" of whistle-blower complaints about contracting abuses.

"What you have in the VA is mismanagement in the procurement system combined with a lack of oversight," he said.

More questions

Lewis went to work for Jefferson Consulting within months of retiring from the VA. According to his executive bio on the the company's website, he "provides executive level consultation on Veterans Affairs organization and policy, and assistance in implementing business strategies that result in successful partnerships between government and industry."

Around the time Lewis joined Jefferson, he was hired back at the VA as a special adviser, the bio says. Since that date in 2009, it adds, he has worked "continuously at the VA" while simultaneously serving as Jefferson's vice president.

Jefferson's corporate clients have been paid about $1.5 billion for VA contracts in the past 15 years, according to federal records. Humana Inc. has reaped at least $109 million. At one point, Lewis was registered as a lobbyist for Humana.

VA officials to date have withheld records of Lewis' contract and fee. They did not address questions about how and why a former VA administrator was retained as an adviser less than a year after leaving the department, and while representing companies that sell to the VA.

Records obtained by The Republic and the Merit System board suggest Helman was among the VA officials Lewis sought to influence, while also supplying gifts.

In August 2012, according to e-mails, Lewis advised Helman of Humana's interest in operating Community-Based Out-Patient Clinics for the VA in Payson.

On Aug. 6, 2013, Susman, Jefferson's president and Lewis' boss, wrote an e-mail to Helman: "MANY thanks for all the time you took today to talk with me. It was so helpful to learn more about your situation regarding the CBOC super clinic lease situation, as well as VA headquarters' interest in establishing a community VA dialysis clinic connected to the Phoenix medical center.

"My colleague (Jefferson Vice President) Kristy Park has passed on your willingness to talk informally and off the record with Maureen O'Neill, so you may be getting a call."

Susman did not respond to an interview request, and Park said she was not authorized to comment. Lewis' name recently was removed from Jefferson's online list of officers. But the company's website still contains the biographical page identifying him as vice president.

On Aug. 21, 2013, Lewis sent a note from his Jefferson Consulting e-mail account to Helman under the heading, "Mythbusters." It contained a link to a White House website on rules that govern federal employee dealings with vendors, and stressed there is no outright ban on personal meetings with prospective contractors.

"At least you'll know the correct interpretation the next time an acquisition person staff (sic) they 'can't,'" Lewis wrote to Helman.