From the Federal Times Fedline blog:

Senior Writer Stephen Losey won the first place award for investigative journalism for “Did top postal exec break contracting rules?”, which examined how former U.S. Postal Service executive Robert Bernstock awarded millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to his former business associates. “This look into non-bid contract giving by one official at the financially strapped Postal Service yielded what makes investigative journalism worth the effort: Response in the form of the probed official’s resignation and a rebidding of contracts under the microscope,” the judges said. “Congratulations to Losey and his editors for meaningful work that may have helped save taxpayers some money, but more importantly reminded readers of the importance of fairness and ethics in the public realm. Losey’s enterprising efforts should be praised for training a light on shadowy places.”

via Federal Times wins three SPJ Dateline Awards – Fedline – The Federal Times Blog – federal news, government operations, agency management, pay & benefits.

Update 2: As of Saturday morning July 17 the mysterious “PCC Blog” seems to have vanished- but never fear! We saved a copy of it!

It’s probably not what you expect to find on what the US Postal Service refers to as its “award winning” web site, but there it is- an article entitled “Residential Water Heaters Buying Guide”:

Whether you are building a house from scratch, remodeling a home or simply trying to replace the broken water heater, knowing as much as you possibly can about residential water heaters is important. Many people are not aware that there are actually two main types of water heaters for the home. There are electric and gas water heaters.

… and so forth. I came across this item, along with “Studies on Diabetes I Found Interesting” and my favorite, “shop til you drop at the post office” while visiting the USPS’s PCC Insider web site. The May 19 Special Edition has a link labeled “PCC blog. Click here”. Click on the link and you are presented with the advice on water heaters!

The articles aren’t actually on USPS.com- the link takes you to 2pccblog.com, which is not registered to the USPS. A casual user (or PCC member) wouldn’t know that, however, since the link doesn’t even use the standard USPS.com “exit” page which warns you when a link takes you away from the USPS site. Ironically, the PCC Insider page with the link to the water heater blog also features a picture from the National Postal Forum that just happens to include Bob Bernstock, the guy who awarded a $4.5 million no bid contract to some former cronies to “to help modernize the Postal Service’s Web site”.

Update: It looks like the water heater blog is pretty important! We’ve found links to it from other USPS PCC sites, the 2009 Comprehensive Statement on Postal Operations, and in a press release on National PCC Day 2008, which heralded the site as “the first official postal blog”. The press release is dated September 17, just a week after the domain 2blogpcc.com was created by a Garth Williams of Portland Oregon, who is still listed as the registered owner. The first entry in the blog’s archives is dated September 26, 2008, and is entitled “how can the postal service better meet your needs” (capitalization as in the original). The post begins:

I am recovering from Mid-Terms{which BTW we, as students, did not do very well on. More about that later.}… I will be studying and re-working items for my return to school after “Spring Break” which is this week. HoHummm…

While resting my mind from Graphic Design I found the following:

Idchicks193 In a remarkable speech over the weekend, Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt recommended that Americans start storing canned tuna and powdered milk under their beds as the prospect of a deadly bird flu outbreak approaches the United States. {see link} : You gotta be kidding me… “Under our Beds”?

One of the press releases describing the site promises “links to local PCC locations, to the Postal Service’s Rapid Information Bulletin Board (RIBBS) and to the National PCC site.” Sure enough, there is a blog entry at 2blogpcc.com headlined “business service network links usps and customers”. Here’s how it begins:

Pcsnowman ~Does anything sit on your computer? If so what is it and why is it there? I sit at this machine much too often and I needed something fun smiling back at me. That’s my PCsnowman over there. I collect snowmen… :-} He is a little beanbag guy that I can place in many positions. {don’t ask which ones} Wish he could talk or sing!

Curiouser and curiouser…

The Washington Times, which first broke the story of the Bernstock scandal, carried a story on the OIG report into the affair yesterday, highlighting the role played by USPS Chief Counsel Mary Anne Gibbons, who, according to Bernstock, “covered her ears” when he disclosed possible violations of ethics rules to her. Gibbons also told investigators that there were two sets of rules in the USPS- one for executives, and another for everyone else:

The Postal Service’s top attorney, Mary Anne Gibbons, told investigators she thought there were two sets of rules governing the so-called “de minimis” policies on the use of postal equipment for outside activities: one rule for hourly employees and another for executive employees such as Mr. Bernstock.

“Gibbons said, for example, that Bernstock had the ability to conduct nonpostal activities from his office behind a closed door and would not encounter a perception problem because other employees would not know that he was engaged in activities not related to the Postal Service,” the report stated.

But as a side note in the report, an investigator said only one standard, applying to all postal employees, could be found. That policy prohibits the use of Postal Service equipment for private business activities.

Mrs. Gibbons also said Mr. Bernstock’s use of staff to conduct private business was “unacceptable and should not have happened.”

Still, the report included statements by Mr. Bernstock saying he had asked Mrs. Gibbons back in June 2009 about using his staff on private business activities. He told the inspector general’s office that Mrs. Gibbons had “covered her ears” and said she “didn’t want to talk about the past.”

Postal Service policy requires that violations of postal law be reported immediately to the inspector general.

via Postal boss was not sent packing – Washington Times.

When Robert Bernstock was appointed to the newly created position of President (not Vice President, mind you) of Shipping and Mailing Services, the Postmaster General was enthusiastic: “Bob is a proven leader and particularly well prepared to help us meet the challenges ahead.” In particular, said Potter, “Bob has a proven record of building businesses and delivering revenue while driving down costs. His addition is a perfect complement to the strong team that’s already in place. Bob’s commitment to excellence will allow us to build on the record of service the nation’s postal customers have come to expect.”

He sounded like just the guy the USPS needed- the man described as “the savior” of the USPS’s retail business by an unnamed witness in the recent OIG report on Bernstock’s misuse of postal funds and employees. But what was it about his track record that led the PMG to welcome him so enthusiastically, and. as we know now, bend rules and skirt laws to keep him happy?

Here’s a Bob Bernstock timeline- see if you can figure out why he was supposed to be the savior of the US Postal Service: Read the rest of this entry »

The US Postal Service announced today the resignation of Robert Bernstock, President of Mailing and Shipping Services. Bernstock came under fire from critics when the Federal Times revealed in January that he had steered $1.3 million in no-bid contracts to friends and former business associates. In March the paper found an additional $4.5 million sole source contract awarded to yet another of Bernstock’s friends.

According to the Federal Times story, federal contracting experts found Bernstock’s jusifications for the no-bid deals “weak”:

“This sounds like another example from the top to steer a contract to the friends of senior government officials, which isn’t appropriate,” said Scott Amey, general counsel for the Project on Government Oversight. “This is the type of contracting that’s known to be risky, and the Postal Service can’t afford.”

Neal Couture, executive director of the National Contract Management Association, said the Tatum sole-source justification “is weak.”

“This fails the test of [not having] the appearance of a conflict of interest,” Couture said. “Whether the postal executive has decided to award the contract to someone who’s appropriate or not is almost irrelevant. This doesn’t meet most agencies’ definition of a sole-source requirement.”

Postal Service spokesman Gerald McKiernan said Bernstock was unavailable for an interview.

The Office of the Inspector general began an investigation into the contracts in March- today’s Federal Times reports that “IG spokesman Wally Olihovik said the IG’s investigation is ongoing and will be finished in early summer.”

Here is the USPS press release announcing Bernstock’s departure:

Postmaster General John Potter today accepted the resignation of Robert F. Bernstock as president of Mailing and Shipping Services, effective June 4.

Bernstock will pursue opportunities in the private sector.

Bernstock joined the Postal Service as president of the newly created Mailing and Shipping Services in June 2008, agreeing to work with the Postal Service for an initial period of two years.

“Bob led the effort to rethink and redesign the USPS customer experience. His talent, creativity and extensive business experience have benefitted the Postal Service, our customers and our employees,” Potter said.

As president, Bernstock was responsible for all product management, product development, retail and commercial products and services, as well as commercial sales. The division is responsible for more than $65 billion in annual revenue.

Among Bernstock’s achievements during his tenure at the Postal Service are:

* The Summer Sale and other groundbreaking pricing incentives that successfully generated incremental mail volume and increased revenue.

* The Priority Mail Flat Rate Box integrated marketing campaign, “A Simpler Way to Ship” that engaged employees across the country, provided consistent and unified messaging across all retail channels and led to record growth.

* A complete reimagining and revenue-focused redesign of the Postal Service website, usps.com. When complete this fall, customers will find a 21st Century system architecture that is easier to navigate, with customer-friendly interactive features making it even easier to do business with the Postal Service.

* The first Postal Service mobile applications launched earlier this year are part of ongoing efforts to channel technology for customer and business benefits.

* The first Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) “app” that allows customers to buy greetings with postage included for one price. “Postage Paid Greetings” uses a unique IMb on each card included in a package of cards. The business customer pays the postage expense when the cards are mailed.

“Bob’s work will have long-lasting, positive impact on the Postal Service and its customers,” Potter said.

via USPS News Release: Postmaster General Announces Leadership Change.