National Parks

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined allegations regarding the conduct of the Yosemite Law Enforcement Office (LEO) during a drug investigation.

GAO found that: (1) concerning the allegation that information on the background and conduct of many LEO investigators and informants which would have diminished their credibility before the grand jury was not contained in LEO files, one investigator with a conviction for possession of a small amount of marijuana was hired and given a law enforcement commission; (2) although a required search for one drug buy was not performed, the lack of a pre-buy search would be immaterial in court proceedings since the buy was tape-recorded; (3) physical controls over access to the evidence room were found to be less than fully satisfactory; (4) although some investigators were provided assistance in writing their reports, the investigators who wrote the original notes also signed the final reports; (5) disbursements of imprest funds were not properly documented and funds were used in violation of federal personnel regulations; (6) there was no evidence that government vehicles were used without proper authorization; and (7) one investigator received a supplemental second salary for work he performed during his regular duty hours without taking annual leave. GAO also found imprest funds disbursements where LEO staff had signed as either the requesting or approving official without knowing how monies were being used, and imprest funds were used to purchase information which was not documented in accordance with fund guidelines.