Smithsonian Head's Expenses 'Lavish,' Audit Says

With refinancing or an adjustable-rate mortgage, "the overall costs could have been lower," the inspector general said.

After reviewing the inspector general's letter, the regents disregarded a recommendation to require more "record-keeping and reporting" from Small. Instead, they endorsed the existing arrangement and authorized a $193,000 housing fee for 2007.

Side Trip to Cambodia

The inspector general found that Small's chartered-jet travel breached Smithsonian policy. The inspector general singled out a $14,509 round-trip charter flight to San Antonio in May 2001. Small attended the opening of a museum affiliated with the Smithsonian and "Smithsonian-related social functions" in Texas. He then returned to Washington for a Board of Regents meeting on a Learjet.

The inspector general found the expense "excessive" because commercial flights were available.

Small stayed in Texas because a major donor, Kenneth Behring, who has given $100 million to the institution, had invited him to a conference and the Learjet was the only way to attend the event and return in time for the regents meeting, Sant said. Also on board, Sant said, was Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), a regent at the time.

Sant defended the expense but said Small's handling of the flight "was a little less rigorous than it should have been."

Smithsonian policy states that employees should select transportation that is "most advantageous" to the institution when "cost and other factors are considered."

At the time of the San Antonio flight, the inspector general noted, a Smithsonian spokesman told The Washington Post that Small had paid for the trip using a discretionary account funded with his own money. "That characterization is inaccurate," the inspector general said. "The trip was paid for with Smithsonian funds."

The inspector general determined that Small had given the institution almost $430,000, primarily in securities, making him eligible for a tax deduction. But there was no separate discretionary fund. The inspector general noted that any donations become the property of the institution and are subject to its guidelines, which require "reasonableness."

Sant said that Small misunderstood how the donations would be handled. "He had the impression at the time that it was to create a slush fund to use for things, and that was ultimately incorrect," Sant said. "That was a mistake. But I don't think it was a personal-gain sort of thing."

Another trip highlighted by the inspector general involved Small's wife, Sandra, who in 2004 was reimbursed $5,764 for a three-day side trip to Cambodia after she and Small had traveled to China for the Smithsonian. The institution's policy permits spouses to accompany employees at Smithsonian expense "if their services in an official capacity can be demonstrated in advance." The auditor "was not provided with evidence of prior authorization or approval," the inspector general said.

The inspector general also found that while Small's employment agreement permitted first-class travel, he is required to abide by Federal Travel Regulations, which mandate that federal employees use government travel rates. "The Secretary's travel costs did not always come within those limits," the inspector general found. "For example, the Secretary spent approximately $27,000 on car service while on travel over the course of the 6-year review period."