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Per WTOP’s Mark Segraves and his Twitter feed, FBI agents are searching the Office of the Chief Technology Officer’s executive suite located at One Judiciary Square. It’s unclear at this point which particular office or which particular OCTO employee the feds might be targeting.
All of the OCTO employees on the premises have been sent home. “Administrative leave,” is what LL is told.
CTO Vivek Kundra, you might remember, was recently tapped by Barack Obama for a high federal post. There is no indication that he or anyone particular person is under investigation.
UPDATE, 10:50 A.M.: Says a spokesperson for the FBI’s Washington field office: “It’s an ongoing investigation…I can’t confirm anything at this time.”
UPDATE, 11:15 A.M.: Segraves is reporting an arrest: “Yusuf Acar, 40, was taken into custody this morning by FBI agents at his home in Northwest Washington” in connection with a “federal bribery sting.”
UPDATE, 11:30 A.M.: WaPo has a brief item up: “Acar serves as an information systems security officer in the D.C. government.” No comment from U.S. Attorney, mayor.
Agency source tells LL, “Somebody like him has access to a whole bunch of shit.”
This morning, OCTO personnel were told by acting CTO Tommy Jones not to access office computer systems, lest they engage in obstruction of justice.
UPDATE, 11:45 A.M.: Segraves is reporting a second arrest: Sushil Bansal.
Acar had been listed on numerous city contract proposals as “contracting officer’s technical representative,” indicating a central role in the OCTO contracting process.
UPDATE, 11:50 A.M.: D.C. Wire found a video of Acar:
UPDATE, 12 P.M.: ABC’s Jake Tapper has scene of Acar’s arrest.
UPDATE, 1:40 P.M.: Acar has been employed by the city as a “information technology specialist” since November 2004. He’d been making $127,468. Bansal isn’t listed in the District’s personnel system, says mayoral spokesperson Mafara Hobson, likely because he was working as an independent contractor.
A statement from federal and District authorities, Hobson says, will likely come this afternoon.
UPDATE, 2:20 P.M.: The relationships are beginning to clarify: Bansal is CEO of Advanced Integrated Technologies Corp., which, according to WTOP, “received .Net Development Support and Peoplesoft Consulting Support contracts from the D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Office totaling $350,000” and “has also received contracts from the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles.”
Acar and Bansal are scheduled to be arraigned in federal court this afternoon.
UPDATE, 2:30 P.M.: Thus far there is nothing to indicate that Kundra is directly involved in this investigation, but here’s is one nexus between the former CTO and those charged: Kundra years ago did a stint at Virginia megacontractor SAIC as consultant working on projects with the Department of Health and Human Services. Bansal’s AITC lists an alliance with SAIC and did work for HHS. Thin stuff, but there it is.
UPDATE, 2:40 P.M.: Here’s a pic of Bansal, from a 2007 Voice of America tech story: