Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the following statement after John Beale, a former career employee at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who pleaded guilty in September to theft of government property that occurred during multiple Administrations, was sentenced today to 32 months in federal prison.
Senator Boxer said: "I commend the EPA Administrator for taking steps to shine a light on the actions of this rogue employee, and her actions helped uncover his crimes. The sentence handed down by the judge today is appropriate given Mr. Beale's outrageous activities. EPA has already put safeguards in place to prevent fraud and deception from happening in the future. Once the EPA Inspector General's investigation has been completed, I am confident that EPA will implement any additional measures necessary to ensure that this does not happen again. The Obama Administration's Department of Justice is also making sure that the American taxpayers will be reimbursed."
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