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Dayton
Daily News
Another
IRS official takes the
Fifth
By Jamie Dupree
June 26, 2013
For
the second time in a month, an
IRS official has taken the Fifth Amendment before a Congressional
committee,
this time in an investigation about whether that official helped a
friend win a
$500 million IT contract with the tax agency.
"Mr.
Chairman, on the advice
of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer any questions and invoke
my Fifth
Amendment privilege to remain silent," said Gregory Roseman, the Deputy
Director of Enterprise Networks and Tier Systems Support at the IRS.
While
this investigation has
nothing to do with the questions of IRS targeting of Tea Party groups,
the move
to take the Fifth by Roseman came at the same witness table where Lois
Lerner
had done so in late May; she could be hauled back before the same panel
in
coming weeks.
After
Roseman was excused by
Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the panel delved into questions for
IRS
officials and Braulio Castillo, who heads Strong Castle, Inc., the
company that
lawmakers say was helped by Roseman.
"Prior
to January 2012, when
Braulio Castillo purchased Signet/Strong Castle, the business had
$250,000 in
annual revenue," read part of a report from the House Oversight
Committee.
"In
just six months, it won
over $500 million of potential awards – overwhelmingly these awards
came from
the IRS," the panel found.
While
some witnesses are ready for
the rough and tumble of a Congressional hearing, Castillo was obviously
a
neophyte, and was drummed by members of both parties.
"You
need to look in the
mirror," said a disgusted Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who repeatedly
chastised Castillo, all but accusing him of lying to investigators and
Congress
about his business dealings.
Lawmakers
also zeroed in on how
Castillo had secured a special designation from the Small Businss
Administration as a "Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned" small business…
Read
the rest of the article at the
Dayton Daily News
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