GSA Bash Organizer Steps Down

The General Services Administration official who organized that extravagant and much-derided Las Vegas conference has left his post. Jeff Neely was acting regional commissioner when the $800,000 conference occurred; after an investigation, he was placed on administrative leave in April. The GSA is continuing to pursue "all available avenues for appropriate disciplinary action against those responsible," says a rep; the inspector general's office wants a criminal inquiry into Neely, the Washington Post reports.

Investigators found that under Neely, government property was stolen and funds were misspent—for instance, on personal travel. He wanted the conference to be "over the top," according to the probe. When a regional director took issue with Neely's spending, Neely "squashed (the director) like a bug," the GSA inspector general told Congress. "The guy set up a fiefdom," said a House Democrat. "Not since Jack Abramoff has someone walked with such swagger." (More Jeffrey Neely stories.)