David C. Farmer, Trustee vs. Harmon - Witness General Eric Shinseki

THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFFICE OF THE U.S. TRUSTEE

David C. Farmer, Successor Trustee
vs.
Bobby N. Harmon

(Formerly Mary Lou Woo vs. Harmon and James Nicholson vs. Harmon)

CV05-00030 DAE/KSC

United States District Court, District of Hawaii

Judges: David A. Ezra; Kevin S. Chang

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GENERAL ERIC SHINSEKI

Eric K. Shinseki is the former U.S. Army Chief of Staff under Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

From wikipedia:

Eric Ken Shinseki (born November 28, 1942) is a retired United States Army General and served as the 34th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1999 - 2003). He is the first Asian American in U.S. history to be a four-star general, and the first to lead one of the four U.S. military services.

During his tenure, Shinseki initiated an innovative but controversial plan to make the Army more strategically deployable and mobile in urban terrain by creating Stryker Interim-Force Brigade Combat Teams. His long-term initiative was called Objective Force and the main long-term weapons program he pushed was the Future Combat Systems.

Shinseki is famous for his remarks to the U.S. Senate Armed Services committee before the war in Iraq in which he said "something in the order of several hundred thousand soldiers" would probably be required for post-war Iraq. Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz publicly disagreed with his estimate.

When the insurgency took hold in post-war Iraq, Shinseki's comments and their public rejection by the civilian leadership were often cited by those who felt the Bush administration deployed too few troops to Iraq. On November 15, 2006, in testimony before Congress, CENTCOM Commander Gen. John Abizaid said that General Shinseki's estimate had proved correct.

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For the latest updates, see

VAMPIRES IN THE DEPT OF VETERAN’S AFFAIRS

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September 13, 2010

VA Made Secret Deal with Prudential;

Families Lose Millions to Insurance Giant

Bloomberg Markets Magazine

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs failed to inform 6 million soldiers and their families of an agreement enabling Prudential Financial Inc. to withhold lump-sum payments of life insurance benefits for survivors of fallen service members, according to records made public through a Freedom of Information request.

The amendment to Prudential’s contract is the first document to show how VA officials sanctioned a payment practice that has spurred investigations by lawmakers and regulators. Since 1999, Prudential has used so-called retained-asset accounts which allow the company to withhold lump sum payments due to survivors and earn investment income on the money for itself.

The Sept. 1, 2009, amendment to Prudential’s contact with the VA ratified another unpublicized deal that had been struck between the insurer and the government 10 years earlier — one that was never put into writing, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its November issue. This verbal agreement in 1999 provoked concern among top insurance officials of the agency, the documents released in the FOIA request show.

For a decade, until the contract was formally changed, Prudential wasn’t fulfilling its obligations to survivors of fallen service members, says Brendan Bridgeland, an insurance lawyer who runs the non-profit Center for Insurance Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

‘Violated Terms’

“It’s very clear they violated the original terms of the contract,” says Bridgeland, who is retained by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to represent consumers.

“Every veteran I’ve spoken with is appalled at the brazen war profiteering by Prudential,” says Paul Sullivan, who served in the 1991 Gulf War as an Army cavalry scout and is now executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington. “Now vets are upset at the VA’s inability to stop Prudential’s bad behavior.”

That the VA allowed Prudential to issue retained-asset accounts for 10 years while the contract required lump-sum payouts is “more evidence that the VA was asleep at the wheel for a decade,” says Sullivan, who was a project manager and analyst at the VA from 2000 to 2006.

“When grieving families check the box that they want a lump sum, they should get it. We remain disappointed and irate at the VA’s failure to provide advocacy for veterans,” he says.

State and U.S. Probes

Since July 28, when Bloomberg Markets first reported that Prudential sent checkbooks instead of checks to survivors requesting lump-sum payments, state and federal officials have demanded the retained-asset system be investigated and reformed. The VA itself launched a probe of its life insurance program the day the first story was published.

The next day, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo launched what he called a “major fraud investigation” of Prudential and other life insurers over their use of retained-asset accounts. Since then, Cuomo’s office has issued subpoenas to Prudential and at least 12 more insurance companies.

The insurance departments in Georgia and New York have also opened probes. The U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee plans to hold hearings into Prudential’s use of retained-asset accounts to pay money owed to fallen soldiers’ survivors.

‘News to Me’

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates — whose department includes the VA and who was in office when the 2009 agreement was signed — said when the VA started its probe that he had been unaware that survivors were being sent retained-asset accounts.

“Until today I actually believed that the families of our fallen heroes got a check for the full amount of their benefits,” Gates said at the time. “This came as news to me.”...

CONTINUED AT: PRUDENTIAL - A NEST ON SHAKY GROUND

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August 22, 2009

As vets await checks, VA
workers get $24M bonuses

By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – Outside the Veterans Affairs Department, severely wounded veterans have faced financial hardship waiting for their first disability payment. Inside, money has been flowing in the form of $24 million in bonuses.

(Catbird Note: That’s UP from the scandalous $3.8 million in 2006...a sign that the economy is improving?)

In scathing reports this week, the VA's inspector general said thousands of technology office employees at the VA received the bonuses over a two-year period, some under questionable circumstances. It also detailed abuses ranging from nepotism to an inappropriate relationship between two VA employees.

The inspector general accused one recently retired VA official of acting "as if she was given a blank checkbook" as awards and bonuses were distributed to employees of the Office of Information and Technology in 2007 and 2008. In some cases the justification for the bonuses was inadequate or questionable, the IG said.

The official, Jennifer S. Duncan, also engaged in nepotism and got $60,000 in bonuses herself, the IG said. In addition, managers improperly authorized college tuition payments for VA employees, some of whom were Duncan's family members and friends. That cost taxpayers nearly $140,000.

Separately, a technology office employee became involved in an "inappropriate personal relationship" with a high-level VA official. The technology office employee flew 22 times from Florida to Washington, where the VA official lived. That travel cost $37,000.

The details on the alleged improprieties were in two IG reports issued this week. VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts said the agency was extremely concerned about the IG's findings and would pursue a thorough review.

"VA does not condone misconduct by its employees and will take the appropriate correction action for those who violate VA policy," Roberts said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

On Friday, Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said if the allegations are found to be true, individuals involved should lose their jobs, and legal action should be taken.

"America's veterans served their nation honorably and with no expectations of reward," Davis said in an e-mail. "It should not be too much to ask for that same level of commitment from government employees, too."

And Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., the top Republican on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said Congress should investigate.

The number of claims the VA needs to process has escalated, and the Information and Technology Office has a critical role in improving the technological infrastructure to handle the increase. President Barack Obama has said creating a seamless transition for records between the Pentagon and the VA could help eliminate a backlog that has left some veterans waiting months for a disability check.

Much of the IG's focus was on Duncan, the former executive assistant to the ex-assistant secretary for information and technology, Robert Howard.

In one situation, a part-time intern with connections to Duncan was allowed to convert to a full-time paid position even though the individual was working a part-time schedule 500 miles away at college, the IG said.

"We have never known of any other new VA employee provided such favorable treatment," the IG said.

The individual's name and relationship to Duncan was blacked out, as were many other names in the reports.

Investigators recommended that the employees who received the college money pay it back. The largest amount awarded was $33,000.

In addition to Duncan, three other high-level employees received $73,000, $58,000 and $59,000 in bonuses in 2007 and 2008, the IG said. In 2007 alone, 4,700 employees were awarded bonuses, on average $2,500 each.

Some employees were given cash awards for services that were supposedly provided before the employees started working at VA, the IG said.

A man who answered the phone at Duncan's residence in Rehoboth Beach, Del., said she was not available, and he said not to call back.

The IG also found that Katherine Adair Martinez, deputy assistant secretary for information protection and risk management in the Office of Information and Technology, misused her position, abused her authority and engaged in prohibited personnel practices when she influenced a VA contractor and later VA subordinates to employ a friend.

The IG also said Martinez "took advantage of an inappropriate personal relationship" with Howard to transfer her job to Florida. In the nine months after she moved, the IG said Martinez traveled to Washington 22 times "to accomplish tasks that she could easily do from Florida."

The relationship between Martinez and Howard started in April 2007 and continued several months after Howard left the VA in January of this year, the IG said.

Roberts' e-mail did not address a request from the AP to speak with Martinez. Howard could not be immediately located for comment.

Indiana Rep. Steve Buyer, top Republican on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, urged quick action to fix the problems. "VA must appoint honorable individuals to these critical positions," he said.

The VA has faced criticism before in its awarding of bonuses. In 2007, the AP reported that the then-VA secretary had approved a generous package of more than $3.8 million in bonus payments in 2006, citing a need to retain longtime VA executives.

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On the Net:

Reports from VA Inspector General:

http://www.va.gov/oig/51/fy2009rpts/VAOIG-09-01123-196.pdf

http://www.va.gov/oig/51/fy2009rpts/VAOIG-09-01123-195.pdf

Yahoo News

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NEW DISCOVERY (12/07/08): More undisclosed conflicts of interests between the arbitrator, trustees, judges, attorneys, and other parties in interest in this case:

Sunday, December 7, 2008 (Pearl Harbor Day)

Rumsfeld nemesis Shinseki to be
named VA secretary

By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer Hope Yen, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama has chosen retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki to be the next Veterans Affairs secretary, turning to a former Army chief of staff once vilified by the Bush administration for questioning its Iraq war strategy.

Obama will announce the selection of Shinseki, the first Army four-star general of Japanese-American ancestry, at a news conference Sunday in Chicago. He will be the first Asian-American to hold the post of Veterans Affairs secretary, adding to the growing diversity of Obama's Cabinet.

"I think that General Shinseki is exactly the right person who is going to be able to make sure that we honor our troops when they come home," Obama said in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" to be broadcast Sunday.

NBC released a transcript of the interview after The Associated Press reported that Shinseki was Obama's pick.

Shinseki's tenure as Army chief of staff from 1999 to 2003 was marked by constant tensions with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, which boiled over in 2003 when Shinseki testified to Congress that it might take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to control Iraq after the invasion.

Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, belittled the estimate as "wildly off the mark" and the general was marginalized and later retired from the Army. But Shinseki's words proved prophetic after President George W. Bush in early 2007 announced a "surge" of additional troops to Iraq after miscalculating the numbers needed to stem sectarian violence.

Obama said he chose Shinseki for the VA post because he "was right" in predicting that the U.S. will need more troops in Iraq than Rumsfeld believed at the time.

"When I reflect on the sacrifices that have been made by our veterans and I think about how so many veterans around the country are struggling even more than those who have not served — higher unemployment rates, higher homeless rates, higher substance abuse rates, medical care that is inadequate — it breaks my heart," Obama told NBC.

Shinseki, 66, is slated to take the helm of the government's second largest agency, which was roundly criticized during the Bush administration for underestimating the amount of funding needed to treat thousands of injured veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Thousands of veterans currently endure six-month waits for disability benefits, despite promises by current VA Secretary James Peake and his predecessor, Jim Nicholson, to reduce delays. The department also is scrambling to upgrade government technology systems before new legislation providing for millions of dollars in new GI benefits takes effect next August.

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, praised Shinseki as a "great choice" who will make an excellent VA secretary.

"I have great respect for General Shinseki's judgment and abilities," Akaka said in a statement. "I am confident that he will use his wisdom and experience to ensure that our veterans receive the respect and care they have earned in defense of our nation. President-elect Obama is selecting a team that reflects our nation's greatest strength, its diversity, and I applaud him."

Veterans groups also cheered the decision.

"General Shinseki has a record of courage and honesty, and is a bold choice to lead the VA into the future," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "He is a man that has always put patriotism ahead of politics, and is held in high regard by veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan."

Obama's choice of Shinseki, who grew up in Hawaii, is the latest indication that the president-elect is making good on his pledge to have a diverse Cabinet.

In Obama's eight Cabinet announcements so far, white men are the minority with two nominations — Timothy Geithner at Treasury and Robert Gates at Defense. Three are women — Janet Napolitano at Homeland Security, Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador and Hillary Rodham Clinton at State. Eric Holder at the Justice Department is African American, while Bill Richardson at Commerce is Latino.

Shinseki is a recipient of two Purple Hearts for life-threatening injuries in Vietnam.

Upon leaving his post in June 2003, Shinseki in his farewell speech sternly warned against arrogance in leadership.

"You must love those you lead before you can be an effective leader," he said. "You can certainly command without that sense of commitment, but you cannot lead without it. And without leadership, command is a hollow experience, a vacuum often filled with mistrust and arrogance."

Shinseki also left with the warning: "Beware a 12-division strategy for a 10-division army."

Yahoo News

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June 22, 1999

A grandson of Japanese immigrants,
who was born and raised on Kauai,
is the Army's new chief of staff

By Pete Pichaske, Phillips News Service

WASHINGTON -- With cannons booming, the Army band playing and dozens of relatives from Hawaii looking on, Gen. Eric Shinseki, grandson of Japanese immigrants to Kauai, was formally honored today as Army chief of staff.

Shinseki, 56, the highest ranking Asian American in U.S. military history, was sworn in yesterday in a brief ceremony.

Today, he was welcomed to his new post in a public ceremony at Fort Myer, Va., complete with speeches from top military brass and a full honor review.

Shinseki is the chief who will lead the Army into the 21st century, said Army Secretary Louis Caldera. "In Gen. Shinseki, President Clinton has chosen as chief a soldier of extraordinary courage and determination...He has chosen a leader of rock-solid integrity."

"On the day he was born, Rick was considered an enemy of the state," said Defense Secretary William Cohen, recalling how in 1942, Japanese Americans were designated as enemy aliens. "And now we have the privilege of installing him as the 34th chief of staff of the Army."

Shinseki recalled growing up in Kauai, hearing his uncles talk around the dinner table of their military service during World War II.

"Because of what they did, I have lived my life without suspicion ... with full rights and privileges.

"I was a kid who left Hawaii to go to the military academy...I am humbled to stand here today as the 34th chief of staff of the Army."

Among the several hundred people Shinseki stood before, were about 55 family members, several carrying leis, who came from Hawaii for the ceremony.

"I'm feeling fantastic," said older brother Paul Shinseki, who lives on Kauai. "We knew he was a special person. But we didn't know how much he would attain."

Asked if she was proud of her son, 87-year-old Fudeko Shinseki, also of Kauai, smiled. "Of course I am," she said.

Shinseki is a 1965 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam, where he was wounded twice -- once so badly he had to fight to remain in the service.

From July 1997 to November 1998, he commanded the U.S. forces in Bosnia. Since then, he has served as the Army's vice chief of staff.

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Hawaii’s leading
generals, admirals

By Gregg K. Kakesako, Star-Bulletin

With four stars on his shoulder, Gen. Eric "Ric" Shinseki may be the highest-ranking Asian American in the military, but there have been other Hawaii residents who nearly reached that mark.

Five current or former residents reached three-star rank before Shinseki, who today became the first Asian American to command a service.

They are:

Navy Vice Adm. Bob Kihune, interim Bishop Estate trustee, who retired in 1994 after serving 35 years.

Army Lt. Gen. Allen Ono, now an American Savings Bank vice president, who retired in 1990 after 35 years of service.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Benjamin Webster, who graduated from Punahou School in 1928, died in 1987.

Army Lt. Gen. Stanley "Swede" Larsen, a 1933 Punahou and 1939 West Point graduate, who retired from the Army in 1972 and now lives on the mainland.

Army Lt. Gen. George Cantlay, a 1938 Punahou and 1943 West Point graduate, who retired in 1979 after serving as deputy chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's military committee.

Shinseki was promoted to lieutenant general in August 1996.

Kihune, who was born in Lahaina and graduated from Kamehameha Schools and Annapolis, in 1988 became the first Hawaiian American to attain a three-star rank in the Navy.

Ono noted that many general and flag officers also have taken up residency in Hawaii after leaving the military and take pride in calling the islands their home.

These include former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Fred Weyand, retired First Hawaiian Bank executive and Damon Estate trustee; Army Gen. David Bramlett, retired commander of Army Forces in the United States; and former Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Thomas Hayward.

Ono, who was commissioned through the University of Hawaii's ROTC program in 1955, said he sees Shinseki as a good role model.

"He's going to be the first in a succession of general officers and flag officers from Hawaii," said Ono, who as a three-star general rose to become head of the Army's personnel system.

Ono kept track of Army officers from the islands as they climbed up through the ranks.

"They had the same thirst for knowledge ... the willingness to make sacrifices and to hold on to certain values," said Ono.

"We were all proud of our service and proud to be Hawaiians."

http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/06/22/news/index.html

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June 10, 2003

Gen. Eric Shinseki Resigns

By Robert Burns, The Associated Press

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld reached into the ranks of retired officers to pick a successor to departing Army chief of staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, officials said Tuesday.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Rumsfeld chose Peter J. Schoomaker, who retired from the Army after commanding the U.S. Special Operations Command from 1997-2000.

The selection, which has not been publicly announced and is subject to confirmation by the Senate, may raise eyebrows inside the military because it is rare for a defense secretary to bypass senior active-duty generals in favor of a retired officer to be the Army's top general.

Rumsfeld sent his Schoomaker recommendation to the White House on Tuesday for President Bush's expected approval.

Shinseki retires Wednesday after a 38-year career that included combat in Vietnam and head of U.S. peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia. Tension between Shinseki and Rumsfeld over the pace of the Army's effort to transform into a more agile fighting force dominated the final two years of Shinseki's four-year term.

Because no successor will have been nominated and confirmed by then, the vice chief of staff, Gen. John Keane, will temporarily assume Shinseki's job when he leaves, officials said....

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General Eric Shinseki Running for Hawaii Governor?

Former Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki is planning a return to his native Hawaii, where he is being heavily recruited to run for governor.

Retired Shinseki to return to Hawaii (Army Times)

Retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki said Wednesday he plans to move back to Hawaii but doesn’t intend to run for governor. The former Army chief of staff, a Kauai native, said the timing of his return would be up to his wife, Patricia. I intend to move back to Hawaii. It’s just a question of when, Shinseki told The Associated Press after addressing a luncheon for business executives.

Asked if he would run for the state’s highest office, Shinseki said had had no such plans. Right now I’ve got lots going on in the East Coast ...

Shinseki, 62, has never run for political office and his party affiliation is unknown. Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye, however, has publicly expressed hope that Shinseki would run for office, saying he would make a good legislator or governor. Republican Gov. Linda Lingle already has said she will run for re-election next year, and no Democrat has emerged as a front-runner to oppose her.

Shinseki won national attention as Army chief of staff when he said the military would need 200,000 troops to occupy Iraq. Pentagon officials ridiculed the estimate, but they later appeared to prove the general correct when they boosted coalition troops in Iraq beyond 150,000.

If Shinseki truly wants to “retire,” then Hawaii is a lovely spot. Otherwise, a political run would seem in the cards. Certainly, a retired general, let alone a former chief of staff–much less one who is actually somewhat known commodity because his name is constantly mentioned by Iraq War opponents–can make a lot more money on the East Coast than in the tropics.

It’s true that Shinseki was on the money in the troop estimates....I’m not sure how much that would help him in a gubernatorial run but, if he is elected, one would think the Democrats would have to eye him for the vice presidential spot in 2008.

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General Eaton's Letter to President Bush on Veto:

May 1, 2007

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

Today, in your veto message regarding the bipartisan legislation just passed on Operation Iraqi Freedom, you asserted that you so decided because you listen to your commanders on the ground.

Respectfully, as your former commander on the ground, your administration did not listen to our best advice. In fact, a number of my fellow Generals were forced out of their jobs, because they did not tell you what you wanted to hear -- most notably General Eric Shinseki, whose foresight regarding troop levels was advice you rejected, at our troops' peril.

The legislation you vetoed today represented a course of action that is long overdue. This war can no longer be won by the military alone. We must bring to bear the entire array of national power - military, diplomatic and economic. The situation demands a surge in diplomacy, and pressure on the Iraqi government to fix its internal affairs. Further, the Army and Marine Corps are on the verge of breaking - or have been broken already - by the length and intensity of this war. This tempo is not sustainable - and you have failed to grow the ground forces to meet national security needs. We must begin the process of bringing troops home, and repairing and growing our military, if we are ever to have a combat-ready force for the long war on terror ahead of us.

The bill you rejected today sets benchmarks for success that the Iraqis would have to meet, and puts us on a course to redeploy our troops. It stresses the need for sending troops into battle only when they are rested, trained and equipped. In my view, and in the view of many others in the military that I know, that is the best course of action for our security.

As someone who served this nation for decades, I have the utmost respect for the office you hold. However, as a man of conscience, I could not sit idly by as you told the American people today that your veto was based on the recommendations of military men. Your administration ignored the advice of our military's finest minds before, and I see no evidence that you are listening to them now.

I urge you to reconsider your position, and work with Congress to pass a bill that achieves the goals laid out above.

Respectfully,

Major General Paul D. Eaton, USA, Retired

http://worldwide-sawdust.com/tag.do?tag=Bush

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General Eric Shinseki is expected to testify regarding his business, professional, personal and political relationships with other parties and witness involved in this case, including, but not limited to: Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, Henry Paulson, Goldman Sachs, James A. Baker, III, Jack Abramoff, Mark Foley, Dennis Hastert, Henry Kissinger, Condoleezza Rice, Brent Scowcroft, Carla Hills, Dan Inouye, Daniel Akaka, Norman Mineta, Linda Lingle, Ted Stevens, Robert Rubin, Citigroup, Titan Corp, Robert Kihune, Admiral Thomas Fargo, General Dynamics, Trex Enterprises, Halliburton, Bechtel, DynCorp, Gilead Sciences, DuPont, Robert Gates, Fidelity Investments, Parker Drilling, Global Crossing, Gale Norton, Faye Kurren, The Nature Conservancy, Tesoro Petroleum, Aloha Petroleum, Harken Energy, Chevron-Texaco, BP Petroleum, Frank Carlucci, The Carlyle Group, Rand Corp, Marsh & McLennan, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, American International Group (AIG), Chubb Group, St. Paul Travelers, Allied World Assurance, Wackenhut, Richard Helms, Cindy Sheehan, V.K. Durham, Constance Lau, Colbert Matsumoto, Barack Obama, Hawaiian Electric Company, American Savings Bank, Dick Cheney, Bill Richardson, Joshua Gotbaum, Steve Case, Grove Farm, Paul Alston, James Cribley, Paul Shinseki, American Mutual Underwriters, Richard Nishimori, and others to be named upon discovery.