Interior Dept. takes action after scandal
By DINA CAPPIELLO
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Published: November 21, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Interior Department has taken disciplinary action against more than a half dozen workers who accepted lavish gifts, partied and in some cased engaged in sex with employees from the energy companies they regulated.
The actions announced Friday range from demotion to termination. The Interior Department would not confirm how many employees were fired, citing privacy.
The eight employees at one time worked in a Denver office in charge of collecting billions of dollars in federal oil royalties.
An Interior Department Inspector General report issued in September referred to a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" in the office, where government employees were using illegal drugs and getting drunk with oil company employees.
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