GSA chief resigns over pricey Vegas conference

GSA chief resigns over pricey Vegas conference

The head of the General Services Administration is resigning and two top aides have been fired over a $ 835,000 training conference in Las Vegas that included a mind reader and commemorative coins.

"The president was informed before his trip to South Korea, and he was outraged by the excessive spending, questionable dealings with contractors, and disregard for taxpayer dollars," said White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew.

Obama "called for all those responsible to be held fully accountable given that these actio ns were irresponsible and entirely inconsistent with the expectations that he has set as President," Lew said.

The Washington Post, which broke the story, reported that GSA Administrator Martha Johnson submitted her resignation to the White House on Monday. Public Buildings Service chief Robert A. Peck and Johnson's top adviser, Stephen Leeds, were forced out Monday, White House officials said. Four GSA employees who organized the four-day conference have been placed on adminstrative leave pending further action."

The Post added:

The resignations come as the agency's inspector general p repares to release a scathing report on the training conference, held at a luxury hotel outside Las Vegas in October 2010.

Organizers spent $ 835,000 on the event, which was attended by 300 employees. The expenses included $ 147,000 in airfare and lodging at the hotel for six planning trips by a team of organizers. Among the other expenses were $ 3,200 for a mind reader; $ 6,300 on commemorative coin set displayed in velvet boxes and $ 75,000 on a training exercise to build a bicycle.

Here is Lew's full statement:

"On his first day in office, President Obama made clear that the people who serve in his Administration are keepers of the public trust and that public service is a privilege. Under his leadership, this Administration has taken historic steps to protect taxpayer dollars and eliminate waste across the federal government.

When the White House was informed of the Inspector General's findings we acted quickly to det ermine who was responsible for such a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars. The President was informed before his trip to South Korea, and he was outraged by the excessive spending, questionable dealings with contractors, and disregard for taxpayer dollars. He called for all those responsible to be held fully accountable given that these actions were irresponsible and entirely inconsistent with the expectations that he has set as President."