August 02, 2007
Smithsonian Fires Gary Beer
By Vernon Horn
In a bit of “here we go again”, the Smithsonian has fired Gary M. Beer, the CEO of Smithsonian Ventures after an inspector general’s report reported that he had made thousands of dollars of unsubstantiated credit card expenditures. Beer has been ordered to repay $30,000 and was told that the Smithsonian would classify some $65,000 in expenses as "reportable income." Acting secretary Cristián Samper appointed Tom Ott, president of Smithsonian Publishing, to serve as acting chief executive of Smithsonian Business Ventures effective immediately. Beer had been planning to stay at the Smithsonian until the end of his contract in September.
Full story at the Washingtonpost.com
The Smithsonian Inspector General’s report is available here.
