C4 BY BILL TURQUE D.C. school officials are trying
to determine what became of a $100,000 award from AARP to McKinley Technology High School thatwas intended to fund a community service program for students and senior citizens that never started. In February 2008, the North-
east Washington school was one of seven high schools across the country to win the Ethel Percy Andrus Award — named after AARP’s founder — for fostering relationships between genera- tions. Students had spent the previous year working with se- nior citizens who came to McKinley once a week for tutor- ing on how to use the Internet. They planned to use the mon-
EZ SU
KLMNO $100,000 award toD.C. school scrutinized
ey to expand that effort with a program they
called
“Senior2Senior,” in which stu- dents would take mini-laptops into senior centers to provide Internet tutoring. The school held a huge dinner
in the school gymnasium. Then- Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee andMayor AdrianM. Fenty (D) came by for a photo-op with an oversize ceremonial check fromAARP. “Senior2Senior” never got off
the ground. Thomas Ammaz- zalorso, the former McKinley history and social science teach- er who wrote the original appli- cation to AARP, said the money didn’t become available until the spring of 2008. He said he planned on using it for the classes of 2009, 2010 and 2011. But after the ceremony, he
said, he never heard about the funds again. “Though I authored the award
and physically held the check for a few moments, I do not know what happened to the money,” said Ammazzalorso, who now teaches at Coolidge High School. “Once the funds were deposited, I never heard of the money again.” Thematter is nowin the hands
of the D.C. schools’ security divi- sion,which has had an investiga- tor atMcKinley for severalweeks examining financial records. Sources familiarwith the inquiry say the school system might be looking at other aspects of man- agement atMcKinley. McKinley Principal David Pin-
der, who administers a total school budget of about $4.2 mil- lion in city funds, did not return
Mortgage-fraud case is likely to widen fraud from C1
submitting phony loan applica- tions for their buyers, inflating their salaries, their jobs and their assets. About 500 people were left holding virtually worthless “slivers of undeveloped dirt,” as one lawsuit termed it, paying as much as $400,000 for lots now valued at less than $20,000. Many buyers sued TRM along
with the banks who made the loans and the developers who created the properties. The FBI targeted TRM, and three of the company’s employees are headed to prison. Last week, a fourth TRM em-
ployee, Michael J. McCracken, was arrested at his home in the Herndon area and ordered held without bond until trial. Mc- Cracken, 31, was the chief finan- cial officer of TRM. A federal affidavit said that he “routinely falsified the loan applications of prospective lot purchasers who did not otherwise qualify for financing” and that the scheme had caused banks to lose more than $10million. But themost fascinating detail
to emerge from the McCracken affidavit is that “the majority
owner of TRM” is a cooperating witness and wore a wire to cap- ture a conversation at McCrack- en’s home lastmonth. In that conversation, an infor-
mant known as CW-3 [cooperat- ing witness number 3] visited McCracken on Nov. 23 and asked him about his gun collection, according to an affidavit written by FBI Special Agent Kendra S. McLamb. McCracken then opened a gun
safe and showed CW-3 about 10 rifles, a .45-caliber handgun and about six boxes of ammunition, McLamb wrote. McCracken has a felony con-
viction in Fairfax County for as- sault on a police officer and may not legally own a firearm, the affidavit states. So in addition to bank fraud, McCracken was charged with a federal gun viola- tion. A federal magistrate ruled that he was a flight risk and denied himbond. CW-3 is identifiedinthe affida-
vit as “the majority owner of TRMand an officer of the compa- ny from approximately 2006 to 2008,” when it folded. Lawyers who have been investigating, and suing, TRM said that Dain and Jalajel were co-owners of the
company.Bothare inbankruptcy, and they have been accused in court of hidingmillions of dollars through their scheme of buying properties in the Carolinas and immediately selling themto their customers for twice the purchase price, or more, and pocketing vast profits. Dain could not be reached
Friday for comment, and Jalajel’s attorney did not return a phone call. McCracken’s attorney, John K. Zwerling, also did not respond tomessages. According toMcLamb’s affida-
vit, CW-3 began cooperatingwith the investigation in June and the governmenthas agreednot touse his statements against him.But if Dain is CW-3, he could provide detailed information about his dealings with various banks that made hundreds of questionable loans and also any involvement in the scheme by R.A. North Development, the company that sold the vacant lots to TRM. R.A. North and the banks have denied any wrongdoing. Hundreds of e-mails between
Dain, bank loan officers and R.A. North marketing official Mace Watts were uncovered in North Carolina earlier this year, leading
Next Congress worries D.C. social from C1
nal Republicans not to oppose the D.C. Council’s gay marriage bill. “We’re adults here. We’re running our city like we should, whether we make the right or wrong decisions. We’re like any other city, and we should be left alone.” But the District of Columbia is
not like other cities. For years, Congress has used its power to take on abortion funding and gun control by tacking on so- called riders to D.C. budget bills. Congress has blocked a voter-ap- proved ballot measure that al- lows for the use and distribution of medical marijuana and pro- hibited the District from using local tax dollars to provide clean needles to drug addicts and from helping low-income women pay for abortions. In the brief period that Demo-
crats have controlled both cham- bers of Congress, lawmakers have taken a series of steps designed to give the District greater autonomy. Residents have watched as the ban was lifted on needle-exchange fund- ing. The D.C. government is re- viewing regulations that allow for medical-marijuana dispensa- ries throughout the city. And in March, 151 gay couples filed for marriage licenses in the District after Congress allowed a same- sexmarriage law to take effect. Walter Smith, executive direc-
tor ofD.C.Appleseed, a nonprofit group that advocates for voting rights, said much of the med-
dling occurred during the “dark days,” when the city’s finances were overseen by a financial control board created by Con- gress. “I would not assume that sim-
ply because the leadership has changed that the progress is in jeopardy,” Smith said. “There are too many national problems at stake here for the Congress to again start spending precious capital on second-guessing D.C. residents on what are purely local issues.” The District also provides
something of a political test for Republicans, who seized control of the House and made gains in the Senate by campaigning to shrink the size of the federal government and by largely avoiding discussion of polarizing social issues. Incoming-mayor Vincent C.
Gray, a Democrat, said that the District could serve as a proving ground for a Republican Party that “has been very clear it wanted to stay out of the busi- ness of local and state govern- ments.” One of the central figures for
the GOP has been Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), the ranking member of the House subcom- mittee that has oversight of the District. Chaffetz introduced a resolution opposing themedical- marijuana law and a bill that would have required a citywide referendum on the same-sex marriage law. Chaffetz was named Friday to chair a separate subcommittee,
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but he said in an interview that he still would be involved in District issues. With Democrats controlling the Senate and Presi- dent Obama in theWhite House, however, Chaffetz said, “I’m not going to get involved in these issues just to push forward mes- sage bills. I want to accomplish things.” Chaffetz said that he has no
“immediate plans” to block the District’s same-sexmarriage law, but he did not rule out using the budget process to ban funding for needle-exchange programs and abortions. “That’s where we can attack these issues,” he said. Tom McClusky, senior vice
president of the Family Research Council’s legislative organiza- tion, said the group would also weigh in on Districtmatters. “Where does Obama want to
pick a fight? Will he veto an appropriations bill simply be- cause it takes away taxpayer funding for needle-exchange programs?” A White House spokesperson
declined to comment. But it is those scenarios that
concern Phil Terry-Smith, execu- tive director of Prevention- Works!, a nonprofit that runs one of the District’s four needle-ex- change programs that received $730,000 in fiscal 2011. “We’re all hoping and praying
we simply don’t turn the clock back,” said Terry-Smith,who not- ed that 3 percent of District residents have HIV or AIDS, one of the highest rates in the nation. “It’s just completely moronic to do anything that would interfere with any effort to curb that trend.” McClusky’s group also worked
closely with opponents of the same-sexmarriage lawwho tried unsuccessfully to require a refer- endum on the measure. He said last month that the group could press Congress to put the law on the ballot in a citywide vote. Although the majority of Dis-
trict residents surveyed in a Washington Post poll in January supported same-sex marriage, about six in 10 residents said they would prefer a vote. But it’s unclear how residents
would react toCongress ordering a vote on the local law. In 1992, District voters overwhelmingly rejected a referendum on the death penalty placed on the ballot by Congress. When District lawyer Sharra
Greer stood in line with her partner in the spring to file their
a series of e-mail and phone messages asking for comment. Safiya Simmons, a spokes-
woman for the school system’s interim chancellor, Kaya Hen- derson, said: “There is an investi- gation, and it is ongoing. We cannot comment until it is con- cluded.” Elly Spinweber, AARP’s senior
manager for media relations, said the organization did not followup onMcKinley’s progress with an audit or other oversight because the $100,000 was con- sidered an award, not a grant. McKinley, with an enrollment
of about 700 students, is one of five specialized high schools in theD.C. school
system.McKinley focuses on science, technology, engineering andmathematics.
turqueb@washpost.com
LINDA DAVIDSON/THE WASHINGTON POST
“We’re going to sort this out fairly soon,” Sen. JamesWebb said of his political future.He won his seat in 2006.
Webb has parties on edge of their seats
webb from C1 respect for other people.”
a federal judge in Alexandria to reverse himself and reinstate Bank of America as a defendant in the civil suit after previously dismissing it. Another cooperating witness
in the case, CW-2, is Cari V. Deuterman, 32, of Raleigh, N.C., who was TRM’s vice president of finance. According to court pa- pers, she worked with Jalajel at another company and joined him when he started TRM. Deuterman began working
with investigators soon after be- ing confronted, her attorneys said in a sentencing brief, and in July she pleaded guilty to con- spiracy to commitmail fraud and bank fraud. Deuterman acknowledged fal-
sifying loan documents, which she said she did at McCracken’s direction. She was sentenced Fri- day to two years in prison. Also Friday, Christopher E.
Tonkinson, 32, of Centreville was sentenced to a two-year prison term. He acknowledged falsify- ing bank documents as a TRM employee. And a former TRM employee, Aaron V. Hernandez, 41, of McLean, who told investi- gators he learned about themort- gage scheme at TRM and then formed his own company, was sentenced in August to more than five years in prison.
jackmant@washpost.com
marriage papers, she noted the potentially fleeting nature of the historic day. Looking ahead to the new Congress, she said she feels somewhat relieved they married when they did. “They can stop new people
from getting married, but they can’t take it back,” she said. But that’s little comfort to the
Columbia Heights couple. Said Rehbehn, “It’s heartbreaking knowing that no one has our back.” As local officials prepare to
press congressional leaders such as Chaffetz to stay out of District affairs, at least one group of D.C. parents is eager for Republicans to take charge of the House. Virginia Walden Ford, executive director of D.C. Parents for School Choice, said she has al- ready met with and gotten a commitment from the next House speaker, Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), to try to resur- rect the voucher program. “We’ve gained a lot of new
friends and a lot of people who will stand with the children of theDistrict,”Walden Ford said of the November election results. Since 2004, the program has
provided low-income D.C. stu- dents with as much as $7,500 in scholarships to attend private schools. But the program is op- posed by teacher unions and other groups that often support Democrats, because they say the program siphons money from public education. Obama and Congress reached a compromise in the spring to cut funding for new students while continuing to pay for those already in the program. An effort in the Senate to
reauthorize the program failed inMarch, and evenwithRepubli- cans picking up seats, they will still be short of a majority in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Former D.C. Council member
Kevin Chavous, a Democrat who supports the program, called it a “huge opportunity for the presi- dent to extend an olive branch and find some common ground” with the new leadership. Boyd-Gordon, the mother in
Southeast, watched last fall as Obama said on NBC’s “Today” show that his daughters could not receive from the public schools the same academic expe- rience that they receive at their private school. “If you feel that way, how do
you think I feel?” Boyd-Gordon said of the president. “Why shouldn’t everyone else have the opportunity?”
marimowa@washpost.com
No ‘traditional’ politician Senators just completing their
first term in office aren’t typically viewed as prime candidates for retirement, butWebb is anything but typical. He has no love for ribbon-cut-
tings or the cocktail-reception cir- cuit. Unlike most politicians, Webb does not appear drawn to crowds and human contact. He speaks regularly of his love for writing, a solitary pursuit. “He eschews the normal as-
pects of politics,” Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) said of Webb. “He doesn’t do the networking. He doesn’t show up at the expect- ed places.” Someof his decisions,however,
could cause headaches in a cam- paign. He voted in early Decem- ber against enacting a ban on spending earmarks, breaking with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and drawing criticism from con- servatives — including Allen. Webbalsoprovokedsomeliberals in July by penning a Wall Street Journal op-ed calling for an end to most affirmative action pro- grams and dismissing the “myth of white privilege.” “He’s not so much a backslap-
per. . . .” said Rep. James
P.Moran Jr. (D-Va.). “He’s willing to take stands that other people won’t. It’s refreshing that he’s not the traditional retail politician.” Webb is also known not to
enjoy fundraising, and it shows. As of Sept. 30, he had $471,000 on hand in his campaign account. Of the 33 senators up for reelection in 2012, 23 have more cash in the bank than Webb. Warner, who doesn’t face reelection until 2014, has nearly four times as much as Webb. Those numbers have caught
the eye of political professionals in both parties, because running statewide in Virginia is expen- sive. In their 2006 matchup, Webb spent more than $8 million and Allen spent nearly twice that amount.Warner shelled outmore than $12 million for his 2008 victory. “I just haven’t done any of it,”
Webb said of fundraising — but he isn’t concerned that he will be at a disadvantage if he decides to run. “I think if I go out and do what
needs to be done, the money will be there,” Webb said, noting that he didn’t announce his 2006 run until ninemonthsbefore Election Day. Nathan Gonzales, political edi-
tor of the nonpartisan Rothen- berg Political Report, warned against reading too much into Webb’s campaign account. “If and when he decides to run,
he can ramp things up fairly quickly,” Gonzales said. “He’s an incumbent with something of a national profile.”
A thin bench If Webb chooses not to run,
several Virginia Democrats said the party had an obvious Plan B: Former governor Timothy M. Kaine, the current Democratic National Committee chairman. “Chairman Kaine worked hard
to elect JimWebb to the Senate in 2006,andhefully intends todoso again in 2012,” said DNC spokes- man Brad Woodhouse. He wouldn’t comment further on Kaine’s future plans. Democrats who know Kaine
well said privately they believe he would rather serve in President Obama’s Cabinet and is not inter- ested in the Senate. But they also notedthatObamaandKainehave a close relationship, so it might be difficult for Kaine to say no if Obama asked him to run for Webb’s seat. The real drop-off comes after
Kaine. There are few Democrats in the state with the name identi- fication and fundraising ability to run a strong Senate campaign. Rep. Tom Perriello, who lost in
November after one term in Con- gress, is a favorite of many liberal activists, but he is not well known outside of the 5th District. Terry McAuliffe, who lost in the Demo- cratic primary for governor in
2009, appears focused on run- ning for the same office again in 2013. Among Republicans, Allen
wants a rematch, while Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince WilliamCounty Board of Supervi- sors, and Del. Robert
G.Marshall (Prince William) are also consid- ering runs. Apoll released last week by the
nonpartisan Clarus Research Group showedWebb barely lead- ing Allen in a 2012 matchup, 41 percent to 40 percent. Virginia tilted strongly toward
the GOP in last month’s midterm election, with Republicans knocking off three incumbent House Democrats. Webb said he wasn’t surprised by the results, given the public mood. “Therearealot ofpeoplein this
country who are justifiably wor- ried about the direction that the country is going in and also had some pretty strong feelings about the priorities that this new ad- ministration brought to the table when they came in,”Webb said. He specifically faulted the
Obama White House for its han- dling of the health-reform bill. “I really think the timing on the health-care debate and the fact that the administration did not lead with a specific legislative format hurt a lot of people,”Webb said.
Not thinking ‘bill-by-bill’ Some who knowWebb said he
might decide against running for a second term if he feels frustrat- ed by the progress of his priorities in the Senate. “I think a lot de- pends on what he thinks he can get done,”Moran said. Webb has already achieved one
major goal. In 2008, President Bush signed into lawWebb’s new G.I. Bill, which provides college funding for military veterans. Another key priority for Webb
— legislation creating a commis- sion to recommend sweeping re- forms to the criminal justice sys- tem—hasn’t gone as far. With the bipartisan backing of lawmakers and key interest groups, the bill has passed the House but has yet to receive a votebythe fullSenate. Important as the criminal jus-
tice issue is to Webb, he said he doesn’t determine his own suc- cess by the progress of that or any other specific measure. “My approach really isn’t bill-
by-bill up here,” he said. “I’ve spent most of my life as a writer, andmy approach is more to try to take hold of some of these larger conceptual issues that people aren’t working on and trying to distill them into policy.” Connolly said Webb has been
an “extraordinary voice” on mili- tary issues for Virginia and for Democrats as a
party.As an exam- ple, Connolly cited a meeting Vir- ginia’s congressional delegation andGov. Robert
F.McDonnell (R) had last month with Defense Sec- retary Robert M. Gates to discuss the potential closure of the Nor- folk-based Joint Forces Com- mand and a possible steep reduc- tion in the Pentagon’s use of pri- vate contractors. Virginia officials had been re-
questing such a meeting for months, but they didn’t get it until Webb placed a hold on all pending Defense Department nominations in the Senate. Small victories like that one could help him in a reelection race. “I think you can’t underesti-
mate stature,” Connolly said. BeyondWebb’s criminal justice
bill and pursuing what he calls “economic fairness,” Webb has devoted time toworkingto “reori- ent” American foreign policy, par- ticularly with China and its neighbors. Despite that interest, Webb
laughs off a question about whether he’d like to be secretary of State, saying “The job is cur- rently filled.” “I don’t have any particular intentions,”Webb said of what he might do in his post-Senate ca- reer. “I’ve spent a majority of my life outside of government. . . . I don’t really have a game plan.”
Ben.Pershing@
wpost.com
Staff writer T.W. Farnam contributed to this report.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2010
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