Ethics Report's Results Will Remain Secret
by Mark Schleifstein - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

There will be no public release of the findings of a committee investigating an ethics complaint filed against the American Society of Civil Engineers charging its staff with obstructing independent researchers investigating the causes of levee failures after Hurricane Katrina, the professional engineering group said Wednesday.

In a tersely worded e-mail sent to Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal, who complained Tuesday that the investigation launched last November was taking too long, ASCE Committee on Professional Conduct spokesman Rich Hovey said no announcement would be made when the investigation was completed, and its results would not be made public.

"The Committee on Professional Conduct conducts confidential investigation(s) into complaints of ethical misconduct by ASCE members," said the note, which also was sent to The Times-Picayune and the Associated Press. "The Committee establishes its own timeline for its efforts. No timeline has been provided to anyone other than the Committee and none will be.

"Because of the confidential nature of the inquiries the Committee reports its actions and findings only to the Executive Committee of the Board at the conclusion of any case," Hovey write. "No report will be released to anyone else."