[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 235 (Wednesday, December 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76409-76410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31400]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[DA 11-1925]


Notice of Debarment

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Enforcement Bureau (the ``Bureau'') debars Mr. Barrett C. 
White from the schools and libraries universal service support 
mechanism (or ``E-Rate Program'') for a period of three years. The 
Bureau takes this action to protect the E-Rate Program from waste, 
fraud and abuse.

DATES: Debarment commences on the date Mr. Barrett C. White receives 
the debarment letter or January 6, 2012, whichever date comes first, 
for a period of three years.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joy Ragsdale, Federal Communications 
Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Investigations and Hearings Division, 
Room 4-C330, 445 12th Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. Joy Ragsdale 
may be contacted by phone at (202) 418-1697 or by email at 
[email protected]. If Ms. Ragsdale is unavailable, you may contact 
Ms. Terry Cavanaugh, Acting Chief, Investigations and Hearings 
Division, by telephone at (202) 418-1420 and by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bureau debarred Mr. Barrett C. White 
from the schools and libraries universal service support mechanism for 
a period of three years pursuant to 47 CFR 54.8. Attached is the 
debarment letter, DA 11-1925, which was mailed to Mr. Barrett C. White 
and released on November 21, 2011. The complete text of the notice of 
debarment is available for public inspection and copying during regular 
business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portal II, 445 
12th Street SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. In addition, the 
complete text is available on the FCC's Web site at http://www.fcc.gov. 
The text may also be purchased from the Commission's duplicating 
inspection and copying during regular business hours at the contractor, 
Best Copy and Printing, Inc., Portal II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-
B420, Washington, DC 20554, telephone (202) 488-5300 or (800) 378-3160, 
facsimile (202) 488-5563, or via email http://www.bcpiweb.com.

Federal Communications Commission.
Theresa Z. Cavanaugh,
Acting Chief, Investigations and Hearings Division, Enforcement Bureau.

    The debarment letter follows:
November 21, 2011
DA 11-1925

VIA CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED AND E-MAIL

Mr. Barrett C. White
c/o Mr. H. Thomas Murphy III
H. Thomas Murphy, LLC
1029 Milan Street
New Orleans, LA 70115

Re: Notice of Debarment

File No. EB-11-IH-1075

Dear Mr. White:

    The Federal Communications Commission (``Commission'') hereby 
notifies you that, pursuant to Section 54.8 of its rules, you are 
prohibited from participating in the schools and libraries universal 
service support mechanism (``E-Rate program'') for three years from 
either the date of your receipt of this Notice of Debarment, or of its 
publication in the Federal Register, whichever is earlier in time 
(``the Debarment Date'').\1\
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    \1\ 47 CFR 54.8(g) (2010). See also 47 CFR 0.111 (delegating 
authority to the Enforcement Bureau to resolve universal service 
suspension and debarment proceedings).
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    On July 27, 2011, the Commission's Enforcement Bureau (``Bureau'') 
sent you a Notice of Suspension and Initiation of Debarment Proceedings 
(``Notice of Suspension'') \2\ that was published in the Federal 
Register on August 25, 2011.\3\ The Notice of Suspension suspended you 
from participating in activities associated with or relating to the 
schools and

[[Page 76410]]

libraries universal service support mechanism and described the basis 
for initiating debarment proceedings against you, the applicable 
debarment procedures, and the effect of debarment.\4\
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    \2\ Letter from Theresa Z. Cavanaugh, Acting Chief, 
Investigations and Hearings Division, Enforcement Bureau, Federal 
Communications Commission to Mr. Barrett C. White, Notice of 
Suspension and Initiation of Debarment Proceedings, 26 FCC Rcd 10526 
(Inv. & Hearings Div., Enf. Bur. 2011) (Attachment 1). An Erratum 
was published on August 9, 2011 (Attachment 2).
    \3\ 76 FR 53127-01, August 25, 2011.
    \4\ Notice of Suspension, 26 FCC Rcd at 10527.
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    As described in the Notice of Suspension, you were suspended from 
participating in activities associated with or relating to the schools 
and libraries universal service support mechanism as a result of your 
conviction for conspiring with others to defraud and obtain money from 
the E-Rate Program by controlling the application, bidding, and 
implementation process of the E-Rate program for schools located in 
four states.\5\ As further described in the Notice of Suspension, you 
conspired with owners of Global Network Technologies, Inc. (``GNT'') to 
offer and deliver $28,500 in bribes to school officials in exchange for 
steering E-Rate contract work to GNT.\6\ In furtherance of your scheme, 
you accepted fraudulent billing invoices from a school employee for 
services never provided by that employee,\7\ and concealed material 
facts concerning the source of your payments to school officials.\8\ 
For your role in the fraudulent scheme, you were sentenced to serve one 
year and one day in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised 
release for conspiring to defraud the E-Rate program.\9\ The court also 
ordered you to pay a $4,000 criminal fine.\10\ Pursuant to Section 
54.8(c) of the Commission's rules, your conviction of criminal conduct 
in connection with the E-Rate program serves as a basis for your 
debarment.\11\
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    \5\ United States v. Tyrone D. Pipkin, Criminal Docket No. 11-15 
``A'', Plea Agreement (entered Mar. 29, 2011) (``Plea Agreement''). 
The conspiracy scheme involved schools in Arkansas, Florida, 
Illinois and Louisiana.
    \6\ Notice of Suspension, 26 FCC Rcd at 10527.
    \7\ Id.
    \8\ Id.
    \9\ Notice of Suspension, 26 FCC Rcd at 10527. See also United 
States v. Barrett C. White, Criminal Case No. 10-324-L, Factual 
Basis at 2 (E.D.La. filed Mar. 3, 2011).
    \10\ United States v. Barrett C. White, Criminal Docket No. 10-
324-L, Judgment at 5 (E.D.La. filed June 9, 2011).
    \11\ 47 CFR 54.8(c).
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    In accordance with the Commission's debarment rules, you were 
required to file with the Commission any opposition to your suspension 
or its scope, or to your proposed debarment or its scope, no later than 
thirty (30) calendar days from either the date of your receipt of the 
Notice of Suspension or of publication of the Notice of Suspension in 
the Federal Register, whichever is earlier in time.\12\ The Commission 
did not receive any such opposition.
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    \12\ 47 CFR 54.8(e)(3), (4). Any opposition had to be filed no 
later than August 30, 2011.
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    For the foregoing reasons, you are debarred for three years from 
the Debarment Date.\13\ During this debarment period, you are excluded 
from participating in any activities associated with or related to the 
E-Rate program, including the receipt of funds or discounted services 
through the schools and libraries support mechanism, or consulting 
with, assisting, or advising applicants or service providers regarding 
the schools and libraries support mechanism.\14\
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    \13\ 47 CFR 54.8(e)(5),(g). See also Notice of Suspension, 26 
FCC Rcd at 10527.
    \14\ 47 CFR 54.8(a)(1), (5), (d). See also Notice of Suspension, 
26 FCC Rcd at 10527.

Sincerely,
Theresa Z. Cavanaugh

Acting Chief
Investigations and Hearings Division
Enforcement Bureau

cc: Johnnay Schrieber, Universal Service Administrative Company (via 
email)
Rashann Duvall, Universal Service Administrative Company (via email)
Juan Rodriguez, Antitrust Division, United States Department of Justice 
(via email)
Stephanie Toussaint, Antitrust Division, United States Department of 
Justice (via email)

[FR Doc. 2011-31400 Filed 12-6-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P