By BILL FREEHLING
A Fredericksburg community leader and business owner was sentenced yesterday in federal court on a conflict of interests charge involving the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Andrea K. Grimsley, 57, pleaded guilty in September on one count of misdemeanor conflict of interests.
Judge John M. Facciola sentenced her yesterday in U.S. District Court in Washington.
Grimsley was overseeing a project to purchase 65,000 pistols for the Department of Homeland Security in late 2003 and early 2004, according to court records.
At the time, Grimsley was negotiating for a job with a private company attempting to profit from the handgun contract. The government charged her with participating in the process despite the conflict of interests.
Grimsley, who runs a bed-and-breakfast from a Caroline Street home that she and her late husband restored, was sentenced to one year of probation yesterday. She was also fined $1,000 and required to perform 40 hours of community service.
Grimsley has gotten involved in many community groups in Fredericksburg, including the Rising Sun Neighborhood Association and an organization formed to encourage people to understand and vote on local issues.
She's also been a frequent writer of letters to the editor, opining on issues including the location of a city homeless shelter and the proper users of a Fredericksburg commuter lot.
Grimsley could not be reached for comment for this article.
According to court records, Grimsley now works as an account executive for the company--FedBid.com--with which she was negotiating for a job during the time in question.
The Web-based company offers an auctioning process that allows federal agencies to choose contractors. Handgun contractors looking to submit a pricing quote to the government were told to go through FedBid.
Grimsley sent an e-mail to an ethics officer in the Department of Homeland Security about the possible conflict of interests, court records state. She said she would not participate in any matters involving Fedbid.
On Jan. 6, 2004, at a handgun contract meeting in Pennsylvania, Grimsley told a subordinate to make sure all prospective bidders use FedBid, court records state. The company offered her a job two days later.
Grimsley's attorney, in written papers, called the actions "an error in judgment" and an "anomaly" in Grimsley's "unblemished record of service" to the government for 30 years.
The attorney, Jeffrey T. Green, also points out that Grimsley still works with government employees in her job with FedBid and has completed a course in ethics in government contracting. Green also says that the government suffered no financial impact.
Government lawyers said in court filings that they prosecuted the case because there is no way to determine what Grimsley's motives were or whether FedBid was the best company to run the auction process.
"Taxpayers must have confidence that government contracts are awarded solely on the merits," U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein said in a news release.
Staff librarian Craig Schulin contributed to this story.
To reach BILL FREEHLING:
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com