Hey, it worked for Geitner

D.C.'s elected officials doled out tens of millions of public dollars in earmarks to groups that owed back taxes or weren't registered to do business in the District, that spent their money solely on salaries or on questionable "fiscal agents" and often co-mingled public funds, a damning new audit has found.

The city council handed out 154 earmarks worth nearly $48 million in fiscal 2009, but in a new report, Auditor Deborah Nichols concludes that the money went out with "no credible review process." It exposed taxpayer funds to groups that weren't registered to do business in the District, owed the public back taxes or spent the money on salaries, "administrative costs" or fringe benefits.

Nichols' investigation was prompted by revelations that Councilman Marion Barry, D-Ward 8, was steering money to women with whom he was romantically involved. But her 21-page audit casts a wider net and raises questions about the entire earmarking program.

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