Amtrak financial specialist pleads guilty to embezzlement of $74,000

Douglas L. Thompson, a Financial Specialist who has worked for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (“Amtrak”) since 1975, has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $74,000 from Amtrak, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today. Thompson, 60, pleaded guilty earlier today to a one-count Information charging theft from a program receiving federal funds in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola.

Elkton man charged with using stolen GSA credit cards to buy gasoline

Richard B. Eldreth, age 41, of Elkton, Maryland was charged by complaint today with stealing government property in connection with the unauthorized purchases of fuel using stolen U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) credit cards, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Eldreth was arrested late yesterday and had his initial appearance in federal district court at 3:00 p.m. today

Former ticket agent indicted for embezzling approx. $180,000

United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced that Lawrence E. Crayton III of Oakland, California made his initial appearance in federal district court in San Francisco on January 9, 2008 before United States District Judge Maxine M. Chesney. A federal grand jury in San Francisco had previously indicted Mr. Crayton on Theft Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds on December 18, 2007.

TESTIMONY: Ted Alves April 29, 2010 Testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee

Amtrak has made considerable progress positioning itself to meet the challenges it faces to compete effectively in this new era of intercity passenger rail. The intercity passenger rail system includes the long distance routes, High Speed Rail corridors, state sponsored corridors, and the Northeast Corridor (NEC). Accomplishments include completing a new strategic guidance, a five year financial plan, and a long-range fleet plan.

Human Capital Management

In November 2007, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) initiated a company-wide evaluation of how Amtrak manages its human capital (HC). Specifically, the team evaluated how well Amtrak identifies its manpower needs and then recruits, hires, develops, and retains the individuals with the skills needed to accomplish Amtrak’s mission and strategic goals.

Comparison of Amtrak Infrastructure Labor Costs to European Railroad Averages

Amtrak’s OIG is in the process of completing an evaluation that compares Amtrak’s infrastructure maintenance expenses to that of a sample of European Rail Passenger Systems. During the cost comparison phase of this evaluation, it was determined that the annual cost of an Amtrak infrastructure worker is significantly higher than that of the average European infrastructure worker.

Financial Impact of Equipment Delays

The objective of this study was to provide Amtrak with a tool to assess the economic benefits of investing in initiatives to improve the reliability of equipment. Having the ability to quantify the benefits of proposed initiatives will not only enhance the business cases of new proposals, but also provide a means to prioritize programs vying for scarce resources.

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