Dallas scandal has SFUSD ties
The Dallas Morning News reports this weekend (7/23/05) on ethical questions about Dallas schools Assistant Superintendent Ruben Bohuchot. Bohuchot has been getting frequent free use of a luxury yacht provided by a company that’s a major technology supplier to the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) — for which Bohuchot is in charge of technology. And the supplier bestowing such generosity on Bohuchot, Houston-based Micro System Enterprises, “has secured federally funded Dallas school district contracts potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars since 2003.” That funding comes from the federal E-rate program for school technology.
This is of interest in SFUSD because Bohuchot used to be our own district’s chief technology officer. In late 1997, SFUSD hired him away from Carrera Consulting Group Inc., which had worked with SFUSD on setting up a PeopleSoft computer system so problem-plagued that it landed in SFUSD’s annals of scandals. Then Bohuchot left for Dallas in September 1999 with his SFUSD boss, then-Superintendent Bill Rojas, who took a new job as DISD superintendent. And is it just coincidence that another Rojas crony here, Tim Tronson, got nailed for (among other items), a scam involving the federal E-rate program?
It makes you want to refer to Rojas as “He Who Must Not Be Named” — at least if, like me, you’ve just finished the new Harry Potter. The complexities, intrigues and odd coincidences have a strangely familiar — and sinister — ring. Rojas himself, of course, has donned the Invisibility Cloak.
The link to the Dallas News story will die in a few days (sounds like a wizard’s curse). Here are some interesting excerpts, and I’m pasting the whole story into the “comments” section — click at the end of this blog post.
Dallas schools' chief technology boss has for years accepted the free, regular use of luxurious sport-fishing yachts owned by a top provider of computer hardware to DISD, records and interviews show.
Ruben Bohuchot, a Dallas Independent School District associate superintendent, told The Dallas Morning News that the sea voyages grew out of his relationship with Frankie Wong, president of Houston-based Micro System Enterprises. Micro System has secured federally funded Dallas school district contracts potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars since 2003.
. . . On Friday, a day after The News raised questions, DISD officials said they had opened an investigation of Mr. Bohuchot, 56, who earns $143,492 in addition to a $4,000 annual car allowance. District policies prohibit employees from taking gifts or favors from vendors other than novelties such as key chains and coffee mugs.
There are a number of state and federal laws prohibiting the exchange of benefits between public officials and vendors.
. . . Since 2003, Micro System has been designated as the recipient of more than 96 percent of all funding DISD has applied for — $369 million in all — through the federal E-rate program for school technology. The E-rate program has been beset by allegations of waste, fraud and bid-rigging nationwide.
And here’s the entire text of a sidebar on Bohuchot’s background:
Official's faced tough questioning in past
2 inquiries in 2 years cleared Bohuchot, according to DISD
09:23 PM CDT on Saturday, July 23, 2005
By JESSICA LEEDER and PETE SLOVER
The Dallas Morning NewsRuben Bohuchot has endured tough questions before in his decades in information technology.
In his last job, Mr. Bohuchot, 56, was at one point in charge of fixing chronic problems with PeopleSoft human resources software that the San Francisco Unified School District was struggling to adopt.
He came to the Dallas Independent School District as chief technology officer in September 1999, following his former San Francisco boss, Waldemar "Bill" Rojas, who had taken over in Dallas as the highest-paid superintendent in America.
When Mr. Rojas was fired less than a year later, Mr. Bohuchot stayed on with a mandate to manage the district's complicated information systems and bring classrooms into the 21st century technologically.
Mr. Bohuchot has since overseen hundreds of millions of dollars worth of technology deals, including an estimated $125 million agreement under the federal E-rate funding program for fiscal 2003. The deal ranked DISD as the top E-rate applicant in the country based on per-student dollars secured through the program.
Along the way, Mr. Bohuchot has been accused by anonymous whistleblowers of taking kickbacks in return for influencing district contract awards.
Mr. Bohuchot denies the allegations and says he was cleared by internal and external reviews.
He has been investigated twice in the past two years, the first time voluntarily by the district in an external audit he requested to clear his name.
"I wasn't happy about it," Mr. Bohuchot said in an interview Thursday, adding that he agreed to allow KPMG auditors to inspect his personal bank records, income tax filings, credit card and other financial statements.
"I asked for it. I wanted it done. Quite frankly, I was tired of all the allegations ... all the anonymous letters and the innuendo," he said. District officials never released the audit – or even publicly disclosed the inquiry – but officials say it cleared Mr. Bohuchot.
The second investigation, last year, was conducted by federal employees in charge of monitoring the E-rate program. At the time, DISD spokesman Donald Claxton said the investigation was prompted by allegations directed towards someone in the technology department, and not for the first time.
Mr. Claxton did not name the individual, but said: "Somebody doesn't like him, and they've been trying to smear him for years. It certainly seems they have their facts in error."
At the time, Mr. Claxton said representatives of the National Exchange Carrier Association, which changed its name to NECA Services Inc., spent two days in Dallas examining the bidding process used to hire vendors who did telecommunications work in DISD.
The district said investigators found no merit in the complaint alleging misuse of funds.
"It's nice when outside organizations come in and give us a clean bill of health," Mr. Claxton said.
Last week, the spokesman said E-rate investigators never submitted written findings to the district.
That sidebar didn’t mention the history of Bohuchot’s hiring in SFUSD. To make a long story (SF Weekly, 11/22/00) short, the SFUSD Board of Ed bought a PeopleSoft computer system without knowing that they couldn’t get it working without spending additional megabucks on a PeopleSoft-connected consultant such as Carrera. (This apparently wasn’t a unique situation, as this 9/21/04 report in the Toledo, Ohio, Blade indicates.) Some eyebrows were raised when SFUSD then hired Bohuchot away from Carrera. Less than two years later, Rojas whisked Bohuchot away to Dallas with him. DISD fired Rojas in less than a year.
Meanwhile, for those who need a refresher in SFUSD’s own Rojas-crony-implemented E-rate scandal, here are some excerpts from a 5/27/04 press release from the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office:
The E-Rate false claims case arose out of an investigation into the actions of SFUSD Custodial Supervisor Desmond McQuoid. Without proper authorization from SFUSD, McQuoid applied to the E-Rate program in January 2000 for funding to construct a computer network with video conferencing capabilities for SFUSD. In these efforts, McQuoid was supervised by Tim Tronson, former director of operations management and one time interim director of the Facilities Development and Management Division, who was indicted by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office on unrelated charges.
As a result of two funding applications made by Desmond McQuoid to USAC during the 2000-01 Fiscal Year, USAC [E-rate program administrator Universal Service Administrative Co.] agreed to pay vendors associated with McQuoid a total of $49,129,206.37. SFUSD was supposed to contribute an additional $10,233,949.03 in matching funds for the work outlined in these two applications despite having never budgeted any matching funds—because McQuoid never notified the budget office or any other relevant district official (other than Tronson) of his activities.
The vendors associated with the two applications, including NEC/BNS, would have received a total of $59,363,155.40. According to the funding applications, these funds would have been used to create an incomplete computer network that would, by itself, have been inoperable. Some combination of 151 schools in the district would have been saddled with equipment that would have been useless. There would have been a phone system with no phones, and there would have been a computer system with no computer work stations. (USAC does not fund those pieces of equipment.) There would not have even been servers, as USAC rejected that portion of McQuoid’s applications. All the USAC award would have paid for was cabling, routers and switches, and a phone switch to reroute phone lines in 46 of the 151 schools.
When McQuoid’s E-Rate applications came to the attention of Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, who had recently come into office, she declined to accept the awarded monies due to her suspicions about the bidding and application process. She then asked the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office to investigate.
— Caroline
Labels: SFUSD Politics
8 Comments:
Here's the Dallas News story about Bill Rojas associate Ruben Bohuchot.
The link will die in a few days. Here it is for those who want to give it a try:
http://tinyurl.com/d2yzq
Something fishy: DISD official, vendor share yacht
Exclusive: DISD official, vendor went fishing, yacht-buying together
11:11 PM CDT on Saturday, July 23, 2005
By PETE SLOVER and JESSICA LEEDER / The Dallas Morning News
EXCLUSIVE: Dallas schools' chief technology boss has for years accepted the free, regular use of luxurious sport-fishing yachts owned by a top provider of computer hardware to DISD, records and interviews show.
Ruben Bohuchot, a Dallas Independent School District associate superintendent, told The Dallas Morning News that the sea voyages grew out of his relationship with Frankie Wong, president of Houston-based Micro System Enterprises. Micro System has secured federally funded Dallas school district contracts potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars since 2003.
He and Mr. Wong both said that Mr. Bohuchot's use of the 59-foot Sir Veza II – purchased for $789,000 – and a predecessor vessel in no way influenced the contracting process. They also said Mr. Bohuchot did not help Micro System win district business even though he wrote the specifications for jobs and negotiated the final terms of contracts after they were awarded.
"I have not been involved on a procurement decision on these contracts," Mr. Bohuchet said.
Said Mr. Wong: "I don't think it's wrong, but I know a lot of people would think it's wrong. ... At one point we became friends. I can't control that."
On Friday, a day after The News raised questions, DISD officials said they had opened an investigation of Mr. Bohuchot, 56, who earns $143,492 in addition to a $4,000 annual car allowance. District policies prohibit employees from taking gifts or favors from vendors other than novelties such as key chains and coffee mugs.
There are a number of state and federal laws prohibiting the exchange of benefits between public officials and vendors.
Mr. Wong is one of three Micro System executives who are principals in a Delaware corporation that purchased the Houston-based boats Sir Veza and Sir Veza II. He said his seagoing with Mr. Bohuchot is strictly social, though he acknowledged his friendship arose from their professional contact.
"When Ruben comes down, he's my friend; we don't ever talk business," Mr. Wong said. "When you work with someone 10 hours a day over three to four years, you kind of develop that relationship. I know it's probably not right, but we always separate the business side from the personal side."
Said Mr. Bohuchot: "He'd call me and say, look, if you want to use the boat to go fishing, help yourself."
Relationship with Wong
In an interview with The News on Thursday that was attended by his boss and a district press officer, Mr. Bohuchot initially described his relationship with Mr. Wong as "a beer and lunch occasionally."
But, when pressed, Mr. Bohuchot confirmed:
•Since Mr. Wong first purchased a 46-foot boat in October 2002, Mr. Bohuchot has used the vessels "every five or six weeks," including an outing with his family this month to Key West, Fla.
•He has taken the boat on voyages with no Micro System executives present, and he has been consulted by the yacht's skipper on operational questions, such as whether to ride out Hurricane Dennis during the recent trip.
•He and a Micro System vice president entered and won third place in the four-day Key West Marlin Tournament last year. The entry fees, paid by Mr. Wong, were at least $1,500.
•Mr. Wong or his company provided Mr. Bohuchot some meals and covered all expenses of the boats' operation, including wharf fees, purchase payments, insurance, fuel, repairs, and a full-time skipper and part-time crew.
•He helped choose the name Sir Veza for the two boats. Mr. Bohuchot said he recommended the name after it was suggested by "a friend of mine." Mr. Wong said the two decided the name together, drawing their selection from 10 finalists placed in a hat.
•He accompanied Mr. Wong to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last year to help select the 59-foot Viking yacht that would be purchased and rechristened Sir Veza II. Mr. Wong said he paid expenses other than airfare for the trip; Mr. Bohuchot said he got his ticket through a frequent-flyer award.
Mr. Wong said he wanted to buy a bigger boat to replace the original but didn't know much about such matters. Mr. Bohuchot stepped up.
"He volunteered," Mr. Wong said. "He said, 'I know a lot about boats.' "
Mr. Bohuchot said Mr. Wong appreciated his expertise in things maritime.
"I was involved in boating for years. I've got friends that own boats in Hawaii, the Bay Area, Michigan and in Florida."
Mr. Bohuchot said he paid his own travel and lodging expenses during the yacht trips, mainly along the Texas Gulf Coast, but he didn't respond to requests that he provide documentation of those payments.
Consortium
Since 2003, Micro System has been designated as the recipient of more than 96 percent of all funding DISD has applied for – $369 million in all – through the federal E-rate program for school technology. The E-rate program has been beset by allegations of waste, fraud and bid-rigging nationwide.
District officials said the company is the lead partner in a consortium of vendors who split E-rate funding. Spokesman Donald Claxton said Friday that the consortium is "paid as a whole, and we are not aware of the percentage breakdown."
Mr. Bohuchot said Micro System won its E-rate contracts and other deals with DISD without his influence, based on low price and good service. He also noted that vendors on all computer contracts over $50,000 are chosen by a committee and that he has no contact with or influence over the committee.
He said his role in the process included:
•Preparing the bid specifications.
•Making initial contact with potential vendors.
•And negotiating final contract terms.
Documents show Mr. Bohuchot also signed the forms submitted by the Dallas district to secure E-rate dollars.
Before the subject of boat use and travel came up in his interview with The News, Mr. Bohuchot volunteered that in 2003 he had been anonymously and wrongfully accused of taking gifts and trips, including "a cruise" from vendors. Later, he said, he was cleared.
In November 2003, Superintendent Mike Moses disclosed the accusations to DISD trustees in a memo without giving specifics.
Dr. Moses said both he and Larry Groppel, the deputy superintendent who would serve as interim superintendent after Dr. Moses' departure last year, met with Mr. Bohuchot "several times ... about the allegations."
"Obviously, I believe these allegations are false, or the individual would bring them forward by name, rather than do so anonymously," Dr. Moses wrote.
Both Dr. Moses and Dr. Groppel declined interview requests through DISD Friday.
By all accounts, Mr. Bohuchot volunteered for an audit of his personal finances by outside consultants from KPMG. He said he provided auditors access to his bank and credit card records, income tax papers and anything else they wanted.
The auditors, who were paid $50,000, told the district in about March 2004 that they had found no support for the anonymous whistleblower's charges, Mr. Bohuchot and school district officials said. They declined to release the written results from that audit, saying they concerned a private personnel matter.
DISD trustee Ron Price said he talked by phone to Mr. Bohuchot Friday morning.
"He told me he hasn't violated any rules or policies," Mr. Price said. "He's been thoroughly investigated just a year ago. The guy came out squeaky clean."
Records suggest that the trips on Micro System's yachts were well in progress by the time of DISD's internal questioning and the KPMG audit; according to Coast Guard documents, Sir Veza was named in March 2003, a rechristening in which Mr. Bohuchot said he participated.
History
Mr. Bohuchot, who joined DISD in September 1999, said Micro System began doing business with the district after a sales representative's cold call in about 2000.
In October 2002, Statewide Marketing LLC, a company whose management is confidential under Delaware corporation laws, purchased the 47-foot fishing yacht Shadana, which was renamed Sir Veza.
Mr. Wong signed a $260,000 promissory note for the boat, listing himself as the company's managing member.
About three months later, DISD notified federal E-rate officials they were seeking funds for deals with Micro System totaling more than $157 million. In late March 2004, federal officials authorized expenditures of up to $125 million of that amount. Of that, DISD's responsibility under the E-rate deal is estimated to be more than $15 million.
The money is to cover technology upgrades, such as Internet cables and other equipment, at dozens of Dallas schools.
Within 12 weeks of the federal approval, Mr. Wong and Mr. Bohuchot had picked out a new boat. On June 11, Statewide Marketing traded in the Sir Veza to a Galveston yacht broker. Two weeks after that, the company spent $789,000 on the 59-foot Viking yacht, Therapy.
"They were in a hurry," said Tony Dinos, the Fort Lauderdale yacht broker who handled the sale, about a month before the Key West Marlin Tournament. "They wanted to do that tournament."
On July 21, 2004, Therapy was rechristened Sir Veza II, just in time for the opening day of the fishing contest. Over three days, Mr. Bohuchot and Micro System executive Bill Froechtenicht each caught a sailfish, netting the $5,000 third-place prize among 76 boats.
Last December, Micro System got the first of nearly $30 million in federal funds it has collected so far through E-rate, according to Funds for Learning, a for-profit consulting firm that collects data on the program and advises vendors and districts seeking federal funds.
Mr. Wong said he didn't know how much his company has earned on Dallas school contracts, even in ballpark figures, or what percentage of the E-rate consortium funds go to his firm. He also couldn't say if DISD is the biggest customer for Micro System, which does business with school districts in eight states.
The company Web page says the firm earns about $150 million a year, but it's unclear if that represents profits or total sales.
E-mail pslover@dallasnews.com
and jleeder@dallasnews.com
CONTRACTS IN QUESTION
The Dallas Morning News asked DISD nearly two weeks ago for a complete list of contracts with Micro System Enterprises, but the district has not responded.
However, The News was able to compile a partial list of contracts between DISD and the company through public documents obtained from the agency that administers the federal E-rate technology grant program and from Funds for Learning, a for-profit consulting firm that gathers data on E-rate grants.
The documents show that:
• In 2003, DISD's application for E-rate funding helped Micro System secure a $110 million federal funding commitment. The company has until Sept. 30, 2005, to draw down on this commitment. Under E-rate policy, DISD is subject to paying Micro System an estimated additional $15.2 million. DISD officials said Micro System is the lead partner in a consortium of vendors who split E-rate funding, but they did not respond to requests for details about that split.
• In 2004, DISD applied for $161 million in E-rate funds for Micro System. The application was denied because of administrative reasons involving a missed deadline.
• This year, DISD applied for $57.7 million in E-rate funds for Micro System. The application is pending. If approved in full, DISD will be required to pay the company an estimated additional $10.2 million.
• From 2003 to 2005, more than 96 percent of all E-rate funding applied for by DISD – more than $369 million in all – was to be spent with Micro System.
SOURCES: Universal Service Administrative Co.; Funds for Learning
I think all contracting at SFUSD has been suspicious. School bond construction contracts need investigating too. Take that asbestos "removal" contract in my kids' SF elementary school some years ago, where the asbestos floor tile wasn't removed, it was just painted over with clear polymer instead. Oh yes, and that district-wide heater contract going on for years, where boilers exploded and my kids were burning-up with the heat running full-blast on the hottest of days in their classrooms. I wonder, how is shoddy work like this tolerated without correction, why don't or why haven't our district officials demanded proper and decent work from contractors? Are they bribed?
Dallas Morning News editorial
7/26/05
Adrift at DISD: Official's use of yacht doesn't look good
12:12 AM CDT on Tuesday, July 26, 2005
With authority comes responsibility.
Ruben Bohuchot has figured out the authority part. It's the responsibility part that seems to be a bit of a struggle for him.
As disclosed in The Dallas Morning News on Sunday, the Dallas Independent School District's information technology chief received substantial gifts, including regular use of a yacht, from the president of a Houston-based company. The problem? The company, Micro System Enterprises, has potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts with the district through the E-rate program, a federal plan to help libraries and schools pay for improving Internet and other technology connections.
Mr. Bohuchot told News reporters that he's done nothing wrong and didn't steer contracts to Micro System. He and Micro System president Frankie Wong are just good friends whose friendship grew out of their close professional working relationship, says Mr. Bohuchot.
Maybe so, but Mr. Bohuchot also prepared the bid specifications, made initial contact with vendors and negotiated the final terms. Other E-rate programs across the country face scrutiny for waste, fraud and bid-rigging; Mr. Bohuchot has previously faced allegations of improper dealings with a vendor.
And he's wondering why folks are asking questions about his dealings with Micro System?
We'll let the proper authorities figure out whether the particulars in this case warrant action by state, federal or school district officials – action that could include Mr. Bohuchot losing his job, receiving a hefty fine or doing jail time. We already know this much: The Dallas schools and most government agencies restrict the value and nature of gifts to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest. The idea is to make sure that employees act legally in the public interest, not for personal gain.
Mr. Bohuchot apparently doesn't get the fact that appearances matter. Or, worse, he doesn't care.
Houston ISD is also experiencing unethical behavior and corruption on the part of school officials and school board members. The company MSE is involved, as well. I think a Federal investigation of e-rate abuse is in order, but by the time the feds get down here, things are covered up.
Thanks for All That, whew finally retired as a top clerical. Any questions? Not in my retirement!
Here is a Dallas Morning News editorial.
With this concrete evidence of Associate Superintendent Bohuchot receiving gratuities (bribes) that go all the way back to a DISD award of a multi-million dollar e-rate contract in 2002 with HP and Micro System Enterprises, WHERE IS LAW ENFORCEMENT???? WHAT INVESTIGATIONS ARE UNDERWAY IN TEXAS? FEDS? Where is the FBI?
Who can trust the efficacy of the DISD's internal investigation?
This Bohuchot was investigated by DISD's internal audit and KPMG auditors for e-rate fraud back in 2001 ....and 2003 and supposedly turned up nothing (and are hiding even that from the press)
Only professional law enforcement with their specialized resources .. can crack this nut.
Whitewashed internal investigations will only allow this gross public corruption to continue.
Something's Fishy in DISD: Ties with vendor raising big questions
12:06 AM CDT on Thursday, July 28, 2005
So Ruben Bohuchot says the boat a Dallas school district vendor regularly allowed him to use was not a yacht, just a 59-foot, $789,0000 sport fishing vessel.
Now that makes things better, doesn't it? To us, it's like driving a Maserati under questionable circumstances and then taking offense because your neighbors thought it was a Ferrari.
District taxpayers should be irked and deserve more credible answers than they are receiving about curious connections between associate superintendent Bohuchot, school trustee Ron Price and Frankie Wong, the president of Houston-based Micro System Enterprises. The ties surfaced after Dallas Morning News reporters began probing the circumstances surrounding a high-dollar district contract.
Mr. Bohuchot told News reporters that he never steered business to the company. Nonetheless, he prepared the bid specifications, made initial contact with vendors and negotiated the final terms of a contract that could yield the company several hundred million dollars.
Likewise, Mr. Price told News reporters that he didn't have final say over contract awards. And although he chaired the committee that considers technology contracts, he told News reporters that he doesn't remember whether the committee discussed Micro System. Oh, yes, his campaign account last year received $25,000 in contributions from Mr. Wong and two of Mr. Wong's business associates.
Are we really to believe that out of the blue Mr. Price received substantial campaign contributions from Mr. Wong, a person he said he didn't know at the time, and from two other people he says he doesn't know now? And who recommended the Micro System agreement and why?
School district officials aren't helpful, either. Although they put Mr. Bohuchot on administrative leave yesterday, they haven't released written results of an audit of his work that they commissioned, and they insist there's no written report of a federal investigation that Mr. Bohuchot says clears him.
For the sake of fact-finding, we urge the district to release its audit and do what it takes to get the federal findings into the public record. And there's enough smoke for them to ask some probing questions of Mr. Price.
Somewhere in all this is the truth. Unfortunately, all we're getting is a boatload of excuses.
They need to investigate Bohuchot's henchmen as well. In summer of 2001 the DISD Executive Director of Purchasing was caught red-handed by police destoying official contract records and putting them in a dumpster. His boss,the CFO Ray Zies, fired him.
But then Bohuchot hired this tainted unethical Deo Persaud to be his Special Projects Executive Director. He has no technology experience but is on the DISD payroll for more than $90,000 per year.
Guess Bohuchot needed some coaching to execute his criminal special projects.
Has anyone looked into who DISD is sub-contracting their business to now with certain MFG's. If the school is working on cleaning up its act by letting go of employees who have felony's, wouldn't you think that they would do the same with subs who have felony convictions?
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