HOUSTON—More than one year after Governor Rick Perry fired the top three generals in the Texas National Guard after allegations of double-dipping surfaced, the state’s efforts to collect repayment from them have largely failed.
The three generals were fired after 11 News exposed allegations of them wrongfully taking double pay from both the state and federal government for work done at the same time. The allegations were later upheld by a state auditor’s investigation.
One year ago, Governor Perry said he expected repayment to be complete, and in a timely manner. Records newly uncovered by 11 News revealed just one former general paid the state back after receiving demand letters from the Texas National Guard, which were sent out in June of 2009.
Records show former Adjutant General Charles Rodriguez, the state’s former top commander, paid back all the money investigators found that he wrongfully took. However, Generals Alan Dehnert and John Furlow, the former commanders of the Air and Army National Guard in Texas, have not paid anything back at all. The state is demanding $21,089 from Dehnert and $129,443 from Furlow.
In addition, 11 News uncovered documents which reveal even more former guard generals may have been involved in double-dipping. The Texas National Guard also sent demand letters out for repayment to former generals Wayne Marty and William Goodwin. Marty is expected to pay back $30,621, and Goodwin owes $34,853, "as a result of using emergency leave while serving on federal military orders," according to demand letters signed by the state property and fiscal officer for the Texas Military Forces Joint Force Headquarters.
Generals Dehnert, Furlow, Marty and Goodwin have all failed to pay back even one dollar of the money the state set a deadline for that expired on July 31, 2009.
When asked about the nonpayments, the governor’s deputy press secretary said Perry still expects full repayment from every general in question.
"The reimbursements have not been as timely as the governor would have liked, but the process is moving forward and this matter is being investigated," said Katherine Cesinger.
Cesinger also said that "the names of the generals who did not reimburse the state were provided to the Attorney General’s Office, which is responsible for investigating this matter and collecting money owed."
However, the National Guard’s former fiscal officer in charge of watching out for fraud on behalf of the federal government thinks officials should be acting much faster to send a more serious message to deter fraud in the future.
"I think the federal government, the Department of Justice, needs to indict the generals," said Col. Sheila Hooten, the now-retired and former United States Property and Fiscal Officer.
Hooten served in the military for more than 30 years, including a one-year training stint at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government as a national security fellow.
Hooten helped blow the whistle on the double-dipping generals. However, she says the state of Texas is not the only government agency that needs to act.
11 News: The federal government got taken too?
Hooten: Absolutely.
Hooten says generals in the Texas National Guard are limited by federal regulation to taking 60 days of pay as general officer on federal orders. But Hooten says while some generals were still getting paid by the state government, they also claimed as much as 180 days in a year on federal orders. The problem, she says, is that no one in the federal government ever issued orders or gave authorization for Rodriguez, Dehnert or Furlow to exceed their 60-day cap.
"They did not have the proper authority," she said. "Washington D.C. was called and said ‘no way, we never sent a letter to the state of Texas authorizing any extension of days.’"
Hooten adds, the generals continue to benefit from all those extra days on federal orders with larger payments in retirement.
11 News: The more federal man days you pile up, the more money you make in retirement?
Hooten: The more points you have, the higher your percentage will be.
11 News: What is your message to the U.S. Attorney?
Hooten: My message is to get on it.
Gregg Cox, head of the public integrity unit for the Travis County District Attorney, says before he takes the state’s case to a grand jury he is "awaiting action from other agencies."
The FBI has never publicly confirmed an investigation, but Hooten and others have told 11 News they have been interviewed by the federal agency. Hooten said she provided documentation to the FBI which shows the generals exceeded their limit of days to take federal pay, and did so without authorization.
We tried to call General Furlow for comment and he hung up on 11 News. He did write a letter to the state saying he thinks the state is going after him for political reasons, and said he doesn’t think he owes anything. General Dehnert wrote a similar letter and told 11 News he does not want to try his case in the public, while General Marty hired a lawyer to fight the state’s repayment efforts. Our attempts to reach General Goodwin were unsuccessful.
Governor Perry says his office did what it could to demand repayment to the state, and says it is now up to the Attorney General to collect monies overpaid to the generals from the state.
Hooten says the federal government also needs to step in to prevent larger-than-earned pension payments which would continue year after year until the generals pass away.
After our calls to the Attorney General’s office, spokesperson Jerry Strickland says they are prepared to use all means necessary to collect, up to and including filing a lawsuit against the generals.
