FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- At least 30 inspectors who visited disaster victims' homes or verified damage claims for federal aid had criminal records for offenses such as embezzlement, drug possession and robbery, a newspaper reported Sunday.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel could not determine the total number of inspectors or supervisors with criminal records because the Federal Emergency Management Agency refused to release the names of the contract workers, citing an ''unwarranted invasion of their personal privacy.''
The government requires the companies that hire the workers to ''conduct a complete background check'' that includes local, state and national criminal searches for ''both felony and misdemeanor charges,'' FEMA said in a statement.
The Sun-Sentinel has sued FEMA and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, seeking the identities of inspectors and aid recipients.
The newspaper found 30 inspectors or managers with criminal records out of 133 it was able to identify. The count includes those with at least one misdemeanor offense, such as drunken driving, but excludes traffic citations.
Of the 30, 17 had criminal histories when they were hired, the newspaper reported. At least four lost their jobs for arrests after they were hired, including one scheduled for sentencing May 6 in California for child molestation, and two convicted of federal bribery charges for promising higher FEMA payments in exchange for money. Seven inspectors had records for marijuana or cocaine possession.
Almost all the inspectors worked for a subsidiary of Parsons Brinckerhoff of Virginia, which has a $150 million, five-year contract with FEMA. Another Virginia company, PaRR Inspections, also has a FEMA contract.
Neither FEMA nor the companies would say how many inspectors have criminal records.
Parsons Brinckerhoff released a statement saying it uses a company to do FEMA-approved background screening and criminal checks on every inspector ''to the extent we are able to obtain such information.'' Parsons Brinckerhoff ''carefully considers the background information we receive in deciding whether an individual inspector is suitable for work.''
FEMA and Parsons Brinckerhoff would not say what crimes preclude an applicant from serving as an inspector or supervisor. A lawyer for PaRR referred questions to FEMA.
Inspectors are paid about $45 per inspection and can make more than $100,000 a year. Several told the newspaper that the job is demanding. Inspectors must leave their families for weeks at a time and work long hours at disasters nationwide. Some have been threatened and robbed on the job.
''We're not all bad because we have criminal histories,'' said inspector Keith Zaengle, who has a record of drug crimes. ''We're just the only ones they can get who will do this.
''In my five or six years of doing this, I've done a lot of applicants a lot of good,'' the Hernando County resident said. ''I'm very proud of what I've done.''
FEMA's hurricane payments last year are under investigation by a U.S. Senate committee, prompted by legislators' concerns over $31 million given after Hurricane Frances to residents in Miami-Dade County, even though the storm brought no hurricane conditions to the area.
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Information from South Florida Sun-Sentinel
