Seattle port hires former U.S. Attorney to head audit investigation

Seattle port hires former U.S. Attorney to head audit investigation Port of Seattle Commissioners voted Tuesday to hire former U.S. Attorney Mike McKay to head an internal investigation into contracting and accountability problems within the port unearthed by a state audit late last year.
   McKay, who as a U.S. Attorney in Seattle from 1989 to 1993 was the man who decided the charges in the first U.S. flag-burning case, also served as the state's vice chair of the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign. In 1999, Seattle's mayor asked McKay to investigate police policies and procedures in the wake of allegations that a police detective stole money from a homicide victim. As a result, McKay served as vice chair of a four-member Citizens Review Panel that made more than twenty recommendations to improve the Seattle Police Department.
   McKay, now a private practice attorney specializing in white-collar crime, will head up a special committee of two port commissioners created by the commission last month to investigate the allegations of fraud and abuse within the audit.
   Released Dec. 20, the 200-plus-page audit found the port had wasted nearly $100 million in taxpayer funds on construction contracts from 2004 to 2007. Most of the what the report describes as 'unnecessary costs' were connected to two contracts related to the construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which is managed by the port authority.
   One contract awarded to consultant Parsons Brinkerhoff, ballooned from the original estimate of $10 million to $120 million without competitive bids. The audit found that port engineers could have done the job much cheaper and saved taxpayers $60.5 million.
   The second contract, awarded to construction firm TTI, came in $32.5 million higher than the port's original estimate. The audit found that the contract violated state law and details were kept from the port commission.
   Washington state auditor Brian Sonntag also found that port officials did not follow proper contract bidding procedures and in some cases allowed vendors to make decisions reserved for port officials. The audit also claims some port staff members impeded audit investigators and refused to certify the accuracy of the information that was provided. Sonntag also said that in some cases, records were altered before being turned over to his investigators.
   The audit's findings have also spurred a U.S. Justice Department criminal investigation and calls from state legislators for more oversight of the port.