Rep. Ciscomani calls for federal probe of Tucson migrant shelter

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 “all procurement processes documented” by Casa Alitas and a “review and comparison of the cost per migrant, per day, of all funds awarded” under FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program.

On Aug. 15, the Arizona Daily Star reported that a laundry vendor’s 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. Piña, the mother of former Casa Alitas director Diego Piña Lopez.

Piña 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 “procurement concerns.”

Amado was operating without a contract — a violation of county and federal procurement rules for the FEMA program — was over-charging for services and was hired without a competitive bid process, the Star reported in July. At that time, the Pima County Attorney’s Office began reviewing Catholic Community Service’s 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 Attorney’s 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 attorney’s civil division to review the matter “for implications to the overall CCS contract and any possible repercussions with the federal government.”

A county review of Catholic Community Services’ reimbursement requests found no other procurement concerns, Lesher told the board earlier this month.

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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 Republic’s article, Ciscomani said in his letter that “recent reports indicate corruption, conflicts of interest and the misuse of at least $200,000 taxpayer dollars.”

“Moreover, these same reports indicate that Casa Alitas did not properly follow procurement processes and may have overpaid vendors,” Ciscomani, a Tucson Republican, continues in the letter. “Congress, 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.”

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.

“In Fiscal Year 2024 thus far,” Ciscomani said, Pima County has received about $21.8 million through FEMA’s program. While the county is the “fiscal agent” of these funds, Ciscomani wrote the funds go primarily to Casa Alitas’ migrant operations.

“Moreover, 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,” Ciscomani said in the letter.

Lesher, in a memo sent to the Board of Supervisors Wednesday, said the county is “thoroughly meticulous in the expenditure of more than $150 million” per year, on average, in overall federal grant funding, and welcomes “any federal agency” to review its financials of any federally funded program, “including our Temporary Sheltering Program.”

“(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,” Lesher wrote. “Moreover, 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.”