In Top TSA Officials in Cheating Scandal Also Ran Private Consulting Firm, I reveal more federal rule breaking and corruption at the highest level of TSA. Not a pretty picture over there at the agency tasked with keeping you safe when you fly.

Most top-salaried government officials remain anonymous suits behind the scenes — unless they get caught in a scandal. The name Mike Restovich became public last fall when the security operations assistant administrator for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was caught encouraging colleagues to cheat on covert bomb detection tests being performed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Congress ordered hearings. TSA chief Kip Hawley and Mike Restovich were both ordered to testify, but only Hawley showed up. Restovich was removed from his position and sent overseas to work as “DHS attaché to the United Kingdom.”

“When we have TSA management tipping off airport security officials about covert testing, we have a credibility and accountability problem,” Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson told fellow members of Congress.

But that’s not all.

Pajamas Media has learned that Michael “Mike” Restovich and fellow TSA senior executive Morris “Mo” McGowan ran a private security consulting company while working as high-ranking officials with TSA. Their company, Group 2M Consulting, LLC, was filed with the office of the secretary of state of Texas on April 15, 2004, a copy of which can be downloaded here…

And that's just the beginning.

The TSA is having a cow over this newest embarrassment. They've written about it on their blog, trying to put the focus on me as opposed to the real scandal: top-salaried TSA officials running private consulting businesses on the side. TSA has been busy all day today, Sunday, censoring comments by outraged citizens who don't fall for their Restovich defense (no conflict of interest here, boys and girls). Reader comments on both Pajamas Media and the TSA Blog say the same thing: time for Congress to investigate TSA. 

This one comment on Pajamas Media was particularly revealing. "TSA Insider" tried to post his/her comment (and link to further Restovich info) on TSA's Blog — but was censored. 

TSA Insider :

So we have sufficiently established that Mike Restovich is a cheat, but is he also a liar? Currently on the LinkedIn website, Restovich lists himself employed as the "General Partner" of Group 2M Consulting, LLC, and in such capacity, he has been contracted to be the "DHS Attache to the United Kingdom". Legitimate, right? Not hardly.

What the above article didn't mention, was that on March 10, 2006, Restovich's security consulting company was closed down by the State of Texas for failure to pay taxes. Yes, that's right, just two months before Restovich was awarded the Silver Medal by DHS Secretary Chertoff, the State of Texas was shutting down his company. Oh, and if your wondering what the Silver Medal is awarded for, let me enlighten you. Restovich was given the award for his "integrity, patriotism, and empowered leadership".

I wonder if Secretary Chertoff knew at the time he was crowning a tax cheat?

Which brings us back to the question, is Mike Restovich also a liar? Well how is it possible that Restovich is advertising online that he is the "General Partner" of a company, that doesn't exist anymore? It sure looks like a liar, walks like a liar, and quacks like a liar.

So what we have here folks is a Liar and a Cheat being awarded for his "integrity, leadership, and patriotism". This seams to be the status quo in the upper echelons of the TSA. "Hey old buddy, if I give you an award, will you give me one too?"

All I know is, as a TSA employee, if I had a security consulting business on the side, I'd be investigated by the TSA Goon Squad, and probably terminated. And if I failed to pay my taxes on that business, I'd be terminated, lose my security clearance, and be banished from federal employment forever — unless of course I was a TSA manager. Then I'd be given a prestigious award, given a highly paid consulting job representing DHS, and shipped off overseas so I wouldn't have to testify before congress about all my cheating and lying.

Oh, in case your wondering, you can see the tax cheat documents yourself here:[www.oscwatch.org/Documents/TSA/R…]

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