Smithsonian IG Found Personal Use Of Resources

"I assumed that he was going to repair it himself," Dailey said. "He had an airplane. He had extensive tools. I said, 'I don't want anything inappropriate done here.' "

When Dailey found out two months later Smithsonian employees had done the repairs, he said he told Alison that was inappropriate.

"Gen. Dailey was horrified when he first learned of the behavior of employees at the Garber facility and took steps to address the problems and prevent them from happening again," St. Thomas said.

Alison said that the repair, which required a torch and a vise, took about 15 minutes. "It was no big deal," Alison said. "It was made a big deal." Cross and two other Garber workers, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution, told The Post the work was worth far more than $10 -- Dailey's estimate .

Alison also acknowledged that he and another worker used Smithsonian equipment to work on the engine in Alison's own plane.

Alison said he wrote a rebuttal to the inspector general's memo and sent it to the deputy secretary's office.

Burke's office considered a range of discipline for the three from reprimand to removal, Lapiana testified. He wrote that the "higher you are, [the] more accountable you are."

The merit board ordered Cross reinstated. The Smithsonian is paying Cross about $38,000 a year, but it has not allowed him to return to work nor restored his benefits and back pay. Cross now lives in the Florida Keys.

"The government is spending money for him not to come back to work," said Cross's attorney, Bryan Schwartz of Nichols Kaster & Anderson. "What Mike Cross wants most is his job back."

Researcher Alice Crites contributed to this report.