U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani is calling for a federal investigation of the Pima County migrant shelter conflict of interest controversy.
Ciscomani, in a letter Tuesday to Inspector General Joseph Cuffari of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, asked for a review of all federal funding provided to Catholic Community Services through Pima County dating back to 2020. Specifically, he seeks a review of βall procurement processes documentedβ by Casa Alitas and a βreview and comparison of the cost per migrant, per day, of all funds awardedβ under FEMAβs Shelter and Services Program.
On Aug. 15, the Arizona Daily Star reported that a laundry vendorβs work for the migrant-aid program Casa Alitas, a program of nonprofit Catholic Community Services, was terminated in May due a conflict of interest because of family connections.
The family connection was first reported by The New Republic, which said Amado Laundry Service is owned by Irene A.G. PiΓ±a, the mother of former Casa Alitas director Diego PiΓ±a Lopez.
PiΓ±a Lopez and his supervisor, Teresa Cavendish, who was operations director at Catholic Community Services, both resigned in May when an internal review uncovered the conflict of interest and βprocurement concerns.β
Amado was operating without a contract β a violation of county and federal procurement rules for the FEMA program β was over-charging for services and was hired without a competitive bid process, the Star reported in July. At that time, the Pima County Attorneyβs Office began reviewing Catholic Community Serviceβs contracts after it self-reported the conflict.
The Star has filed a public records request seeking more details on the procurement irregularities and any finding from the review conducted by the Pima County Attorneyβs Office. None of the requested records have been made public.
County Administrator Jan Lesher told the Board of Supervisors in July that she asked the Pima County grants-management department to review all Catholic Community Services vendor contracts to ensure compliance with federal requirements. She also asked the county attorneyβs civil division to review the matter βfor implications to the overall CCS contract and any possible repercussions with the federal government.β
A county review of Catholic Community Servicesβ reimbursement requests found no other procurement concerns, Lesher told the board earlier this month.
Amado Laundry Service invoiced nearly $412,000 in charges for laundry services provided to Casa Alitas before the nonprofit terminated the vendor relationship, The New Republic reported. Citing The New Republicβs article, Ciscomani said in his letter that βrecent reports indicate corruption, conflicts of interest and the misuse of at least $200,000 taxpayer dollars.β
βMoreover, these same reports indicate that Casa Alitas did not properly follow procurement processes and may have overpaid vendors,β Ciscomani, a Tucson Republican, continues in the letter. βCongress, and the American people deserve to know where our federal dollars are going, and individuals and entities who have taken advantage of these programs should be held accountable.β
The congressman also requested the office determine whether Casa Alitas complied with the rules and regulations under its Shelter and Services Program award and whether FEMA has adequate oversight controls in place to ensure federal funds are not misused.
βIn Fiscal Year 2024 thus far,β Ciscomani said, Pima County has received about $21.8 million through FEMAβs program. While the county is the βfiscal agentβ of these funds, Ciscomani wrote the funds go primarily to Casa Alitasβ migrant operations.
βMoreover, it is my understanding that when compared to other SSP grant recipients, the burn rate of funds used by Casa Alitas has been incredibly high,β Ciscomani said in the letter.
Lesher, in a memo sent to the Board of Supervisors Wednesday, said the county is βthoroughly meticulous in the expenditure of more than $150 millionβ per year, on average, in overall federal grant funding, and welcomes βany federal agencyβ to review its financials of any federally funded program, βincluding our Temporary Sheltering Program.β
β(Catholic Community Services) self-reported to the County when it identified lapses in their procurement procedures, and it self-reported the conflict of interest associated with that procurement failure,β Lesher wrote. βMoreover, the charitable organization has been fully cooperative in all past and ongoing audits of federal sheltering funds that have been used to reimburse the County for the enormous costs of temporarily sheltering more than 500,000 asylum seekers released into Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise counties by the Department of Homeland Security since 2019.β