Houston Inspector General Closes Inquiry Into Airport Intern Without Investigating
The city’s Office of Inspector General has closed its inquiry into a complaint Councilman Dwight Boykins had filed regarding a $95,000-a-year Houston Airport System intern whose hiring has become an issue in the mayor’s race .
The news comes weeks after Turner denied to KPRC — which first reported on the internship — that he knew of the intern, Marvin Agumagu, despite once writing a letter of recommendation on Agumagu’s behalf, among other connections.
Turner’s opponents have criticized him for his initial denial, as well as the intern’s salary level, while Turner since has admitted he knows Agumagu but argued his pay is “commensurate with his education and experience.”
Boykins, who is one of Turner’s 11 mayoral opponents, told the Chronicle earlier this month he had asked the inspector general’s office to investigate the internship.
In a letter sent Friday to Turner’s office, Inspector General Robin Curtis indicated Boykins had said he “did not intend to file a complaint … for fraud, waste or abuse” against Turner, Houston Chief Development Officer Andy Icken or Airport System Director Mario Diaz. And in a separate letter sent to Boykins Friday, Curtis wrote that the councilman acknowledged he had “no evidence of any ‘possible other violations’ in the hiring process” of Agumagu.
Asked about the OIG letters, Boykins said he requested an investigation because it appeared Turner had signed off on the intern hire amid a citywide hiring freeze. When filing the complaint, Boykins was given the option to say his inquiry was related to “fraud, waste or abuse” or a different topic, he said. He chose the latter, he added, because the inquiry had nothing to do with fraud, waste or abuse.
“I never said it was in the first place,” Boykins said. “They’re just trying to put a spin on it.”
As for the inspector general’s statement that he presented no evidence of other violations, Boykins said he expected the OIG’s office to pursue the matter themselves.
“I left it up to them,” Boykins said. “I didn’t do any investigating.”
Turner’s campaign declined comment. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office was not immediately available for comment.
Mayoral candidate Bill King, a fierce critic of the internship, earlier this year called for the inspector general’s office to become more independent from the mayor as part of an overall ethics plan. The OIG reports to the city attorney, who in turn reports to Turner.
Under King’s proposal, the office — which generally investigates allegations of employee misconduct — would report jointly to the mayor, controller and a city council member selected by a council vote without the mayor’s input. All OIG final reports also would be released to the public unless the mayor, controller and council representative “determine the complaint was frivolous.”
King contended Tuesday that Agumagu “clearly was given extremely preferential treatment” with his hire and receives more pay than others with his experience level.
Asked if the OIG reporting to the mayor diminishes the significance of the office’s decision to close the matter, King renewed his call for an inspector general’s office that does not report directly to Turner.
“I think the significance of it is that it shows we don’t have an independent OIG,” King said. “I don’t care whether Dwight made the complaint or not. There’s enough here to show they should have independently initiated an investigation.”
Turner, meanwhile, has denied allegations that he directed officials to create the internship for Agumagu. Email records show Agumagu in September 2018 emailed Icken, “Per Mayor Turner’s request, I am sending you my resume for your review.” Icken then asked Diaz in an email later that day, “Could you develop a position?”
Diaz offered Agumagu a position and wrote to Icken, “I offered him a one-year internship to work directly for me,” to which Icken responded, “Good approach.”
Mayoral candidate Tony Buzbee, who placed second to Turner in a poll released last month, has called for an independent investigation into the internship. Earlier this month, he told reporters he had called the Texas attorney general’s office and the governor about the prospect of launching an inquiry.
“The reason I called on the attorney general to investigate in the first place is because I don’t have faith in the OIG to truly investigate as they are not independent from the mayor,” Buzbee said in a statement Tuesday.
Through a spokesperson, Buzbee said he had not heard back from either office. A spokesperson for the attorney general said the office does not comment on investigations, including to say whether investigations exist.
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