Wampum

Over at The Next Hurrah, where Marcy is doing outstanding work on the latest J. Steven Griles sentencing docs, I noted her latest post on Griles' attempt to have the sentence proposed by the Justice Department in his Plea Agreement reduced to three months in-home confinement, 500 hours community service, and a $15,000 fine. Furthermore, Griles' attorneys have even suggested where he could do that community service, in part as the "national counselor and strategic planning coordinator" for "WOW - Wonderful Outdoor World," a purportedly non-profit joint endeavor of Interior, the U.S. EPA, Army Corps of Engineers, American Recreation Coalition and Disney, Inc. Marcy linked to the Project on Government Oversite's (POGO) recent bloodhound work on the subject, and at their site I found a great piece from Dan Berman of Greenwire.

ETHICS: Griles seeks community service with motorized-recreation group

Dan Berman, Greenwire senior reporter

An organization with connections to the Interior Department, motorized recreation industry and the Walt Disney Co. is holding a position open for former Interior Deputy Secretary J. Steven Griles if he's sentenced to community service for lying to Congress in the Jack Abramoff investigation.

Griles, 59, wants three months home confinement, 500 hours of community service and a "reasonable" $15,000 fine when he is sentenced June 26. Half the community service would be with "WOW - Wonderful Outdoor World," in the position of national counselor and strategic planning coordinator. In that post, Griles would raise money, develop new public and private partnerships and conduct outreach to the government and media.

The request was part of a voluminous filing with Judge Ellen Huvelle of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The package includes 91 letters supporting Griles from former Interior Secretary Gale Norton, two Reagan-era secretaries, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter (R), Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-Wyo.), coal industry executives and a possible Senate nominee from Wyoming, among others.

"It's a small world after all," said Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. "The idea that Steve Griles would consider this community service suggests the line in his mind of corporate service and community service doesn't exist."

I'm planning to do a little more research into this, particularly what role other lawmakers have had in the formation of WOW. In the meantime, I truly hope not to find Steve camped out anywhere near us.