Bad Old Boys Rounded Up

EXECUTIVE MEMO

Bad Old Boys Rounded Up

emember the "Good O' Boys Roundup," the allegedly racist and sexist annual gathering in backwoods Tennessee said to have been frequented by federal law officers? Well, you can stop worrying. "No Department of Justice employee ever won Redneck of the Year, Ugliest Good O' Boy or Enduro Beer competitions" at a Roundup, according to a recent report by Justice's inspector general. Furthermore, just one Justice staffer, now retired, was ever a "MOB"-a "member of the board" or "mean old bastard." The Treasury Department inspector general reported that, while "acts of racism" occurred at the 16 roundups since 1980, "our investigation did not reveal any evidence that federal agents performed these acts." Treasury's IG found 125 current employees attended one or more roundups, according to a report released in April.

The Justice IG reported in March that none of the 36 active Justice employees who attended Roundups played significant roles in the "shocking, racist, licentious, and puerile behavior" uncovered by investigators. That behavior included skits involving men in blackface, the wearing of Ku Klux Klan robes and pummeling of dolls painted black.

The Roundup was no place for women, either: "Extremely demeaning language and inappropriate touching occurred," according to the Justice report. Neither IG could substantiate charges of prostitution and the Justice IG found no evidence the "numerous liaisons" between Roundup men and local women were "anything but consensual and non-remunerative." There were, however, according to the DOJ IG, "women dancers, women baring their chests, a retired officer exposing himself with his badge displayed on his penis, people pulling trousers off attendees, and other similar behavior."

The Justice IG noted that the department's standards regulate any conduct, on duty or off, that could impair employees' effectiveness or discredit the agency. At the roundups, "DOJ employees acted as one would hope they would-they saw an event marked by excessive alcohol consumption and puerile behavior and never returned," the IG concluded.

Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin referred 31 Treasury agents for possible discipline or counseling based on the Treasury IG's report. He also announced a review of 12 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents who attended roundups and are now among 100 agents assigned to 18 cases of arson at African-American churches. "All Treasury employees are on notice that they should not attend anything like a 'Good O' Boys Roundup' in 1996 or at any time in the future, should anyone have the egregiously poor judgment to organize such an event," Rubin said.