December 8, 2010
Dear Inspector General Levinson:
This is to follow-up my October 11, 2010 letter requesting that your office determine whether $3,335,578 awarded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the Save-A-Life Foundation (SALF) was properly administered and to review concerns regarding Atlanta-based CDC Deputy Director Douglas R. Browne, who served as SALF’s Corporate Treasurer from January 1, 2004 until September 17, 2009.
Please see attached a copy of an October 20, 2010 e-mail sent by your office’s Correspondence Control Specialist Sue Yee that includes this description of my letter:
The Control Number For this record is: EX-2010-01320
The Document Title is: Letter to Daniel R. Levinson -- request to review and determine whether monies awarded to CDC were properly administered - from Timothy C Bagwell, Ph.D.
Please also see attached a November 8, 2010 letter to me from your office’s Special Agent in Charge Elton Malone stating:
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OlG), Office of Investigations (OI), Special Investigations Branch (SIB), is in receipt of your letter dated October 11, 2010. In your letter, you allege potential misconduct on the part of Douglas Browne, an employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Specifically you state that CDC may have improperly approved Browne's outside activities with the Save-A-Life-Foundation, and that Browne may have exceeded the scope of the approval which he received from CDC management.
HHS/OIG/OI/SIB has reviewed the information you provided, and has determined that there is not enough information presented to warrant an investigation for potential violation of criminal statutes. HHS/OIG/OI/SIB has referred this matter to CDC for further review, and appropriate administrative action as this matter appears to be more appropriately addressed through CDC's administrative review process.
Special Agent Malone’s letter includes no mention of what Ms. Yee accurately described as a “request to review and determine whether monies awarded to CDC were properly administered.” Therefore it’s my understanding that your office considers that request to be open and under review. If my understanding is incorrect, please clarify.
Thank you for your continued attention to this matter. Please note that my contact information has been updated since my previous letter.
Sincerely,
Tim Bagwell, Ph.D.
ADDRESS/PHONE REDACTED
Tim Bagwell, Ph.D.
ADDRESS/PHONE REDACTED
Saint Louis, MO 63139
tim@timbagwell.com
tim@timbagwell.com
Cc:
Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Donald White, Public Affairs Specialist
Office of the Inspector General
Department of Health and Human Services
Tim Bagwell's follow-up to HHS Inspector General re: $3.3m CDC funding of Save-A-Life Founation, 12/8/10
