Former Department of Interior Official Pleads Guilty to Conflict of Interest Charge

WASHINGTON – The former special assistant to the Associate Director of Minerals Revenue Management, Mineral Management Service (MMS) at the U.S. Department of Interior pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the conflict of interest law, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich announced today.

Jimmy W. Mayberry, 65, a resident of Strawn, Texas, was charged in a single-count criminal information filed on June 25, 2008. The plea was taken today by Judge Henry H. Kennedy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Mayberry faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and supervised release following his incarceration. The sentencing has been set for Nov. 14, 2008, before Judge Kennedy.

According to the plea documents, when Mayberry was nearing retirement from federal service, he and his supervisor explored ways he could return to work for the Department of Interior after his official retirement. It was decided, according to Mayberry’s admission, to create a consulting position which, while created and intended specifically for Mayberry, was required by law to be the subject of open and fair competitive bidding procedures. Mayberry also admitted that in his official capacity before retiring, he created the “statement of work” that would subsequently be used to define the position and evaluate the bids of Mayberry and his competitors. Mayberry was the only applicant out of all bidders for the position to receive a grade of “excellent” on every qualification category and was awarded the contract.

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Dan Schwager and Peter Koski of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, which is headed by Chief William M. Welch II. The case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of the Interior.