What is wrong with MWAA? Is there nothing they (still) won't do or hide?

In an excellent article in this morning's Washington Post, "Audit questions whether MWAA is properly managing Silver Line funding," transportation reporter Lori Aratani lays out the results of the US Dept. of Transportation audit of MWAA.  It shows an organization that not doesn't try to serve the public; it also tries not to answer to lawful authorities while only serving the pockets of its executives.  Here are some excerpts:

A new federal audit raises questions about whether the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is properly managing the nearly $975 million in federal funding it received to build the Silver Line rail project.

The 20-page audit, by the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General and obtained by The Washington Post, identified several instances in which MWAA used federal dollars to pay for services prohibited under federal guidelines and for expenses unrelated to construction of the first phase of the $5.6 billion rail project. . .

This most recent audit was an outgrowth of the inspector general’s previous investigation of operations at the authority, in which auditors identified myriad instances of mismanagement and lax oversight where a top executive hired relatives for jobs at the authority and another accepted Super Bowl tickets and other gifts from contractors doing business with MWAA. In all, 10 people were fired or disciplined following the release of that report. . .

The federal auditors also said authority officials were less than forthcoming when it came to providing documents.

“MWAA took extended periods of time to provide the requested information, which was frequently incomplete and required additional follow-up requests,” the report says. “Ultimately our scope was limited to a review of documents MWAA provided by our final cut-off date of June 14, 2013 – 4 months after MWAA representatives committed to providing all requested documentation.”