US News

Feds’ $16 muffins hard to swallow

Washington — There is no justice in a $16 muffin.

But there are plenty of $16 muffins at the Justice Department, according to a bombshell audit report.

The department spent millions on catering for the FBI and other agencies, running up $4.4 million in costs for just 10 conferences that were audited.

Among the findings:

n Swedish meatballs costing $5 each.

n Coffee and tea that went for up to $1.03 per ounce, putting the price of an 8-ounce coffee at $8.24.

n Beef Wellington hors d’oeuvres costing $7.32 per serving.

“DOJ had few internal controls to limit the expense of conference planning and food and beverage costs at DOJ conferences,” according to the audit.

A DEA conference in Istanbul, Turkey, cost $1.2 million, while a conference for the Executive Office for Immigration Review in DC totaled $689,000, auditors found.

Attendees at a conference for the Office of Violence Against Women got “Cracker Jacks, popcorn, and candy bars at a single break that cost $32 per person,” the report found.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) fumed that “$16 muffins and $600,000 for event-planning services are what make Americans cynical about government and why they are demanding change. The Justice Department appears to be blind to the economic realities our country is facing.”