Gag order still exists in OnSat probe

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The Budget & Finance Committee sat on the OnSat probe during a special meeting Wednesday.

Because a gag order issued against Acting Auditor General Elizabeth Begay, Legislative Counsel Frank Seanez urged the committee to conduct its meeting in executive session.

B & F Vice Chairman Leonard Chee said he had concerns about people leaving and entering the room while the committee was conducting hearings on Corrective Action Plans for various departments that had questionable audits in their relations with OnSat, the Nation’s satellite and wireless provider.

The committee had the right to decide who it would allow to remain in the room, Seanez explained.

B & F voted to go into executive session — allowing people scheduled to testify before the committee to stay in the room. That amounted to just about everyone except media representatives.

Begay was also left out of the meeting to protect her from charges of violating the gag order.

An internal probe by the OAG found nearly $700,000 in questionable and improper billing by OnSat, which Begay reported to B & F.

According to the OAG audit, internal controls were circumvented. The audit claims Navajo programs obtaining goods and services, and the Office of the Controller that processed payments, did not effectively review and validate OnSat invoices before payment. That lack of effective review led to over-billing, unnecessary purchases, and payments for inadequately supported invoices, or for goods and services not rendered.

After the initial revelations in the press, OnSat’s legal representatives secured a gag order preventing Begay from releasing any further information on the audit.

Scheduled to report during B & F’s special review were Lamont Yazzie, acting director for Head Start; Robert Nakai, program manager for the Special Diabetes Project; Arbin Mitchell, executive director of the Division of Community Development; Samson Cowboy, executive director for the Department of Public Safety; Controller Mark Grant; Domenic Beyal, director of the Office of Management and Budget; and Harold Skow, director of the Department of Information Technology.

Navajo officials from the executive branch, however, claimed the audit is incomplete and based on partial and inaccurate documents. They pointed to a second audit and the strict requirements and controls of the E-rate program as validation of their claims.

“We think there are some discrepancies,” said Patrick Sandoval, chief of staff for President Joe Shirley Jr., during an earlier interview with the Independent, Navajo and OnSat officials and legal representatives. “We think it would be unfair to us, and I don't think it would be good reporting, if you ran a story just based on the information that currently exists.”

John Christian Hopkins can be reached at hopkins1960@hotmail.com