Metro taps State Department investigator as new inspector general

Metro has named a new inspector general to lead the agency’s independent office of investigations and audits: Geoffrey Cherrington, the current assistant inspector general for investigations at the State Department.

The Metro board’s audits and investigations committee gave unanimous approval to Cherrington’s appointment Thursday, with the full board expected to make his hiring official at a meeting later this month. He is expected to start April 17.

Helen Lew, Metro’s outgoing inspector general, has been serving in the position since May 2007 — one year after the Office of Inspector General was established by board decree.

The role of the Office of Inspector General has come under increased scrutiny in recent months, after Metro fired or disciplined dozens of employees who are believed to have falsified inspection records. After the firings, Lew said a whistleblower had reported acts of falsification three years earlier; her office had produced a report that was forwarded to Metro’s management but was never publicly released.

Cherrington, who will be paid $235,000 per year, has also worked in inspector general offices at the Department of Agriculture, the General Services Administration, and the Department of Defense.

“I look forward to working with the board and the general manager to ensure we continue to maintain the safety and security of Metro and that programs and operations are efficient,” Cherrington said in a statement released by Metro on Thursday.