Our EPA at work - managing their independent contractors

And doing just a real fine job there Skippy -- from Government Executive:

Secret Man Caves Found in EPA Warehouse
A warehouse maintained by contractors for the Environmental Protection Agency contained secret rooms full of exercise equipment, televisions and couches, according to an internal audit.

EPA�s inspector general found contractors used partitions, screens and piled up boxes to hide the rooms from security cameras in the 70,000 square-foot building located in Landover, Md. The warehouse -- used for inventory storage -- is owned by the General Services Administration and leased to the EPA for about $750,000 per year.

The EPA has issued a stop work order to Apex Logistics LLC, the responsible contractor, ensuring the company�s workers no longer have access to the site -- EPA security officials escorted contractor personnel off the premises on May 17 -- and ending all payments on the contract.

Since awarding the contract in May 2007, EPA has paid Apex Logistics about $5.3 million, most of which went to labor costs. Conditions at the facility �raise questions about time charges made by warehouse employees under the contract,� the report said.

�The warehouse contained multiple unauthorized and hidden personal spaces created by and for the workers that included televisions, refrigerators, radios, microwaves, chairs and couches,� the IG report said. �These spaces contained personal items, including photos, pin ups, calendars, clothing, books, magazines and videos.�

A bit more:

In addition to the secret rooms, the IG found an incomplete and inaccurate recordkeeping system; numerous potential security and safety hazards, including an open box of passports; and �deplorable conditions� -- such as corrosion, vermin feces and �pervasive� mold.

Over 1,200 comments including this one which was my first question:

Can someone tell me why the *EPA* has a box of passports???

Google brings up about a dozen Apex Logistics -- the one I think it is is only shown in this Manta corporate profile:

Apex Logistics, LLC
9015 Rhode Island Avenue
College Park, MD 20740-1929
Phone: (301) 220-1818
Business Management Consultants in College Park, MD

No apparent website, the office is a modest two-story building. Timothy Graham is mentioned on the Manta profile but nowhere else on Google. Fox Muldar would be very interested -- talk about a shadowy non-governmental entity...