Gaston L. Gianni Jr. came to Washington as a "wide-eyed kid from West Virginia" who was inspired by former president John F. Kennedy's call to serve. He retires at month's end from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as the agency's first presidentially appointed inspector general.
"I've enjoyed every minute of it," Gianni said. "My biggest pet peeve is that the public servants of our government aren't fully appreciated."
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His first assignment introduced him to the corridors of power on Capitol Hill, though the job could be considered mundane: helping audit the books of the House and Senate recording studios. Still, it was the start of a 32-year career at the General Accounting Office, now called the Government Accountability Office.
During his time in Washington, Gianni has seen the government embrace technology and implement a framework for more professional management of its activities. Along the way, inspectors general have evolved as they have tried to focus on ways to help agencies prevent waste, fraud and abuse and not focus exclusively on crackdowns of illegal practices, he said.
"You exert the energy to make sure people understand the responsibility of an IG and work toward helping ensure the agency is not embarrassed," he said.
Gianni, one of the government's longest-serving inspectors general, said his favorite memory came in the past year, when IGs celebrated the 25th anniversary of the law that created the first dozen investigative and auditing offices in federal agencies. President Bush marked the anniversary by meeting with IGs who serve on an interagency council.
While at the GAO, Gianni served in several positions and headed a group to develop the GAO's strategy for auditing the Resolution Trust Corp., a temporary agency created to help deal with the savings and loan crisis.
In 1996, he was confirmed by the Senate as inspector general at the FDIC, which absorbed some of the Resolution Trust Corp. staff.
His years at the GAO prepared him to work as an IG, Gianni said. But he worries that fewer and fewer people with accounting and auditing backgrounds are moving into the IG ranks, which includes investigators and lawyers. "For the community to be successful, you need to have the synergy of all disciplines spread across the community," he said.
Gianni also fears that fewer career executives will seek IG jobs, as originally envisioned, because of growing pay disparities in the government. Most IGs are paid $136,900 and are not eligible to receive bonuses, but new pay flexibilities recently extended to the Senior Executive Service allow them to make as much as $158,100 in salary and be awarded bonuses for exemplary work.
IGs are unusual in the government because the law requires them to report to agency heads and to Congress -- and that often creates friction within agencies. "In order for the IGs in total to be effective, as a community, we need to have the Congress to say that IGs are a vital part of the organization, and we need to ensure that they are supported and able to carry out their responsibilities," he said.
Despite his concerns, Gianni, 62, believes that young people interested in public service should continue to be attracted to the government. "I always tell them that this is the place where you come and run programs that make impacts on people's lives and that this is important work."
Retirements
William C. Bowie, chief of the planning and finance division of the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, will retire Dec. 31 after 38 years of government service.
John Paul Brennan is retiring from the Department of Homeland Security after 30 years of federal service. He served at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Commerce Department and, most recently, as staff director of Protective Security Division, Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate in Homeland Security.
Robert L. Griffeth, procurement analyst with the U.S. Forest Service, will retire Dec. 31 after 34 years with the agency. Griffeth served as contracting officer for the design team for the 1996 Olympic Canoe/Kayak Whitewater Slalom events.
F. Robert Niedermair, who has managed National Aerospace System programs for the Federal Aviation Administration, will retire Dec. 31 after more than 37 years of government service.
E-mail: barrs@washpost.com
