A top official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency — who quit last month — is being investigated over accusations that he was responsible for widespread sexual harassment in which attractive women were hired as possible sex partners for men he hired, including pals from college.
The alleged harassment and other misconduct, revealed through a preliminary seven-month internal probe, was a “systemic problem going on for years,” said FEMA Administrator Brock Long, the Washington Post reported. Some of the behavior could be criminal, he added.
Some claims about the agency’s former personnel chief were detailed in a written executive summary of the probe obtained by the paper.
FEMA officials confirmed that Corey Coleman, who led the personnel department from 2011 until quitting in June, was the target of the allegations.
Coleman — who was paid $177,150 annually — resigned June 18, before a scheduled interview with investigators and FEMA officials said they haven’t been able to grill him since.
Long described a “toxic” environment in the human resources department Coleman led at FEMA headquarters, hiring dozens of pals who were friends and college fraternity brothers and women he met at bars and on online dating sites.
He would then promote them to jobs throughout the agency without going through required federal hiring channels.
Coleman then transferred some of the women in and out of departments and to regional offices so his buddies could hit on them.
“What we uncovered was a systemic problem going back years,” Long said, adding that he had referred some of the cases to the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, who oversees FEMA, to investigate possible criminal sexual assault.
“The biggest problem I may solve here may be the eradication of this cancer,” Long said.
“How many complaints were not heard? I’ve got to make sure we have a safe working environment for our employees.”
Long said the problems extend beyond Coleman. The investigation is “not going to stop with him,” he said.
Many of the men and women Coleman hired were unqualified yet are still at the agency, the paper reported.
Long said his staff interviewed 73 current and ex-employees and took sworn statements from 98 people.
