ATFE head in fiscal hot water

ATF Director Is Linked to Cost Overruns For New Building
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 6, 2006; Page A01

The new headquarters of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the District is at least $19 million over budget at a time when the agency is considering sharp cuts in the number of new cars, bulletproof vests and other basics it provides agents.

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Truscott planned to purchase, among other things, nearly $300,000 in extras for the new director's suite, including a $65,000 conference table and more than $100,000 for hardwood floors, custom trim and other items,....

Sources portray Truscott as preoccupied with the project. He has held numerous meetings, some focused on its tiniest details, such as paint colors and soap dishes, they said. He also has organized regular field trips to the building site with senior executives and photographers and has decorated ATF's current offices with oversize photos of the construction, they said.

The sources also said that some ATF officials object to the approximately $1 million annual cost of an extensive security detail for Truscott, who spent 22 years at the Secret Service before coming to ATF. The expenditures pay for five full-time agents and two armored Chevrolet Suburbans, which have not been made available to previous ATF directors or to the heads of comparable agencies, such as the U.S. Marshals Service....

The new ATF headquarters, designed by award-winning architect Moshe Safdie, sit across from the New York Avenue Metro station.....

The ATF headquarters' contracted price was $119.7 million in May 2004. Now the building, planned for a decade, is expected to cost at least $138.5 million when it is completed later this year, according to the General Services Administration. ATF has also spent an additional $75 million for site acquisition, design, furniture and other costs, and is reviewing whether further expenditures will be needed before the agency can move into the space on time later this year, officials said.