WASHINGTON - Employees of the federal agency in charge of collecting royalties from oil and gas companies accepted gifts from industry representatives, engaged in "sexual relationships with industry contacts" and engaged in "alcohol abuse" while socializing with industry representatives, the Interior Department's top watchdog said.

WASHINGTON — As Congress prepares to debate expansion of drilling in taxpayer-owned coastal waters, the Interior Department agency that collects oil and gas royalties has been caught up in a wide-ranging ethics scandal — including allegations of financial self-dealing, accepting gifts from energy companies, cocaine use and sexual misconduct.

In three reports delivered to Congress on Wednesday, the department’s inspector general, Earl E. Devaney, found wrongdoing by a dozen current and former employees of the Minerals Management Service, which collects about $10 billion in royalties annually and is one of the government’s largest sources of revenue other than taxes.

“A culture of ethical failure” [ed. my emphasis] besets the agency, Mr. Devaney wrote in a cover memo.

Labels: politics

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