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Return to Article: Protective service under fire for oversight of contract guards

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  Even if Waites is directly responsible, the government is primarily responsible? Whom does Ms. Holmes-Norton think she's kidding?

  This statement reflects the attitude of much of Congress. It places the FPS in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't situation." Sorry you're underfunded and short staffed guys...oops GOTCHA!

  This whole sorry episode appears to be little more than an excuse for some members of congress to score points at the expense of DHS. They decry the contracting methods, the length of time it takes to properly review invoices for payment and the lack of staffing to make this program work properly- and management responds by imposing unrealistic deadlines and goals.

  More to the point, one must ask what purpose is served by all this furor? If Congress were REALLY concerned about the problematic FPS guard program they would provide relief, not just criticism.

  Concerned Citizen Posted September 5, 2007 7:45 AM
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  To Victim from the past: If the government does its job, Weldon will be put away for a very long time this time. He is a menace to society. I believe the only way he could have gotten into the political arena was through JK, period. Weldon Waites couldn't earn a pauper's living without cheating!

  Victim#2007 Posted September 4, 2007 11:34 AM
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  The contract companies(like Waites ) are corrupt, the unions are corrupt for the pathetic guards and yes we should be hiring Federal Employees, instead of companies making a fortune and the poor contract guard making next to nothing.

  Waites never learns, he even had a state congressman from SC on his payroll and the mans face right on the website. After being in prison 5 years for similar infractions would you not think that he has realized that he is not above it all. Just ask Caleb Burris how he likes him ,now. Caleb could go to jail ,too. I have just been waiting to see these articles, I am a victim from the past.

  Victim Posted September 1, 2007 10:26 AM
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  Messner has it exactly right! Anything that Weldon Waites becomes involved in goes to hell in a handbasket rather quickly when a dollar is involved, and he takes no prisoners! Make no mistake about it; those hard-working people not getting paid didn't bother him one single bit. When the chips were falling, he was worrying about how to get the last of the funding to stick away in a hole somewhere to retrieve if and when this blows over. He's a pathological liar and very good at it and is the reason he is able to surround himself with good people, only to ruin them at his first opportunity. Van, don't believe for a moment that Weldon Waites would put personal dollars into any enterprise. His poor wife is the one who had money; not Weldon. He uses his insurance business to find out what people have and then he moves in for the kill! Even a widow's coffer is money at the end of the rainbow for Weldon Waites. He's well known around Columbia, South Carolina for being a liar, a cheat and a sniveling coward. Hats off to Messner for doing her homework on this convicted felon who has spent his entire life conning any and everyone who has the misfortune to befriend him!

  Victim#2007 Posted August 21, 2007 2:49 PM
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  As a retired law enforcement officer working contract security since 09/11/01. I have an idea. Get rid of the middleman contractors and train and pay the security officers a living wage! Nah! Too simple. Instead we have a corrupt contractor and a completely useless highly paid Federal Police force. Too many persons getting their hands greased. The actual security officer and the host agencies are the LOWEST priority. Upon transfer from GSA to DHS the job qualifications have gone up but the pay reflects a parking lot security guard. Soon most of the better officers will have gone to law enforcement. What FPS really wants is a $12. an hour police officer to do their job while they sit at Starbucks and occasionally pose in full riot gear for internet photo ops!

  ronald parvanian Posted July 12, 2007 11:51 PM
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  I totally agree with many of you fellows.Many companies abuse of the contract guards fringe benefits and exclude the guards to see the contract wich falls under FOIA. here in south texas thinks are really bad where nepotism exist extremely and the FPS dont do anything. fellows we dont know what to do. companies here dont respect federal contract service labor laws anybody can help with an advised?

  CONTRACT GUARD Posted July 3, 2007 10:27 PM
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  What oversite? On our contract, no one has seen anyone from FPS who has asked us anything, let alone actually care, and they let these contractors come in and do anything they want. Steal our money and refuse to follow the US Labor Laws, violate the service contract act, it's just an outrage! We get treated so bad that most of us are ready to walk off right now. The worst! Just inhumane working conditions, crappy cops, and criminal contractors! Then, there are the absurd building security committies

  SPIFAREP Posted June 28, 2007 5:39 PM
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  To Concerned Citizen, the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act enforced by the Department of Labor requires that all employees under contract to the federal government be paid at the prevailing wage rate set by the Labor Department.

  If this is not happening, Mr. Schenkel has this little thing called the Division Director of Mission Support, who oversees the Contracting Officers in each of the Regions. Someone in that daisy chain had better start doing his/her job.

  You say this is beyond Mr. Schenkel's control; I say it is probably beyond his competence.

  Pure275 Posted June 27, 2007 4:53 AM
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  Weldon Waites has done time for Bank Fraud and money laundering and thinks he is smarter than the average crook. He did this same type of thing in insurance and his poor wife was made president of this Company and might take the fall.

  Roger Posted June 26, 2007 6:07 PM
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  I watched with great interest the oversight hearing last Thursday and have read the written testimony posted on the subcommittee's web site, articles in the Washington Post, and the article on govexec.com. Although both Messner and Waites testified under sworn oath, it is interesting that no one seems to have regard for the fact that Waites put at least $900,000 into the company and took out a personal loan for $1,000,000 to help cover payroll and other costs. Do the math, as they say. That means he personally now has a loss of nearly $2,000,000 and only owned his controlling share for two years. Doesn't anyone else see that this was a fragile enterprise from the beginning? And, what about the other owner? If I have read the facts accurately, he walked away from the original sale with at least $5,000,000 in his bank account. Did he offer help? Surely he knew. He was on the payroll and was provided office space. Did he have no responsibility in this fiasco?

  Although Messner's histrionics appeared to have great appeal in the hearing, I am interested in seeing a bit more balance in this story. She says in a recent post to the site that she has plenty of time to offer her insider's view now that she is unemployed. I'm guessing she's going to have lots of free time for a while. If it were my responsibility to hire and fire at a security company, I doubt I would consider hiring her. Her dramatics and treachery don't interest me much.

  There appear to be lots of small companies surviving on government contracts. Perhaps it is time for DHS to know more about those companies, not excluding how financially secure they are.

  Van Posted June 26, 2007 7:24 AM
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  I have been with FPS over 20 years, and after reading these comments, need to say FPS is a real Police Department, and are the first responders within the U.S. Government. Like any other Police Department in the country, we depend on contract security officers to assist us. We all need to work together to keep this country safe. (Team Concept) You will always need the Police Officer to respond to the securty officers needs, who are posted to protect facilities they are assigned too. The Police Officer our the ones who will investigate, arrest, cite,and will be there to help those in need and keep them safe. FPS like all other law enforcement agencies has had thier share of problems. Lets start fixing the problems in a more positive way, putting an agency or the Police Officers and security officers down, never solved anything. We all have the same mission and thats to keep the Homeland Safe.

  George Santos Posted June 25, 2007 8:35 PM
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  FPS is the butt of all real police jokes. They are the most lame of all Homeland Security. Their not even real police in the sense of real world cops. Their just a bunch of wanna-be rejects who wouldn't make a pimple ona real cops butt!

  Former Guard Posted June 23, 2007 9:33 PM
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  8900 federal buildings to protect with 1150 staffers equates to roughly 8 buildings per person. 24 hour coverage of those buildings equates to roughly 36 buildings per person (factor of 4.5 FTE). FPS is spread too thin to be effective.

  The money didn't follow FPS when it came under the umbrella of the DHS. FPS is underfunded.

  And before you rag on the guards themselves, keep in mind they do not control the money, most have never seen the actual contract documents, and they want all the training they can get (most getting advanced training on their own time and dime). Remember also that, other than a handful, 500 STARTECH guards remained on post without being paid for over a month.

  Overhaul is definitely overdue. If you want an insider's insight, feel free to contact me. I have plenty of time now that I'm unemployed.

  Ann Marie Messner Posted June 23, 2007 12:05 AM
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  The last I heard FPS had its own criminal investigators, what are they doing exactly?

  Someone needs to seize the outstanding balance of the $1.8 million owed StarTrek based on the felonious activity of the felon who owned the company.

  ICE needs to do a worksite enforcement operation on the 15,000 contracted guards and their companies. I would estimate that 5% of the guards are illegal or felons themselves.

  These contracted guards have no training in recognition of appropriate ID outside of the Kmart special building IDs any two year old can make on their Apple laptop.

  Try stopping by the VA, some Nigerian with or without a greencard who never served in the Armed Forces will jerk you around because he is cranky after staying up all driving a cab.

  Ben Dover Posted June 22, 2007 11:03 AM
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  I would like to know how the source selection was conducted. What were the evaluation factors? Was Past Performance used? Was this a Small Business set-aside?

  Alan Posted June 22, 2007 10:20 AM
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  This story only emphasizes the issue of what is or is not inherently a governmental function. Contracts are only vehicles to accomplish a means with limited authority for oversight. If congress wants to micromanage the contractor then why have a contract. When do we hold the contracts accountable for performance?

  Steve Posted June 22, 2007 8:46 AM
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  Okay, now this is getting silly. Surely Ms. Holmes-Norton has something better to do than to upbraid Mr. Schenkel on something beyond his control? The simple fact of the matter is that guards are NOT FPS employees. Mr. Schenkel has no authority to demand that contractors pay their employees, nor SHOULD the FPS get involved in the micromanagement of the guard company's finances.

  If this type of micromanagement is the intent of Congress, then the simple answer is NOT to have guards at all, but to require ALL protection be provided by Police and federal employees. If they don't want to fund the necessary staffing for that level of security- then Congress needs to get a clue, and Mr. Schenkel and Ms. Lewis need to tell them (politely) to get a life.

  Concerned Citizen Posted June 22, 2007 7:58 AM