GSA official pleads Fifth in conference scandal

A top General Services Administration official who was in charge of organizing a lavish Las Vegas conference that's drawn congressional and taxpayer fire repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination Monday on Capitol Hill.

During Monday's hearing, Jeff Neely, refused to answer several questions from House Oversight and Government Committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), including rudimentary questions such as his official title at GSA and whether he was currently employed at the agency.

Issa also asked Neely if he attended the Las Vegas conference, whether he approved funding for it, the size of the event's original budget, and if he were prepared to answer any questions related to the junket that's now become an icon of federal waste.

"On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline," Neely replied.

Issa said this was the first time that a person called to testify before his committee refused to testify.

Neely was seated in the middle of five people at the hearing connected to the spending scandal, but left the room soon after he pleaded the Fifth. The career civil servant, who could also be facing a Justice Department probe into allegations of theft and contracting violations, told investigators that he felt he didn't need to get competitive bids because he was paying for quality, according to the Washington Post.

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