Inquiry: Guard's top general spent state funds on Beach cottage

VIRGINIA BEACH

Maj. Gen. Robert Newman and his wife, Becky, found little but the location to like about the state-owned cottage at Camp Pendleton.

Dust billowed from the mattresses and pillows. Linens had not been replaced in more than a decade. The furniture evoked the Harry Byrd era. "This place was disastrous," Newman said.

It was also Newman's responsibility as the newly appointed adjutant general of the Virginia National Guard. The cottage is the modest, yet official, Camp Pendleton residence for the state's top National Guard officer.

A few weeks after their visit in February 2006, Becky Newman, armed with a state credit card, swung through the aisles of Hecht's, Target, and Bed, Bath & Beyond to hunt for curtains, bedspreads and sundry items.

The shopping spree may have brightened the five-bedroom cottage, but not everyone agreed with the Newmans' design scheme.

A whistle-blower alerted state investigators about the purchases and overall use of the property. In late July, state investigators found that the Newmans had improperly spent $3,600 in state funds.

Investigators faulted the general for allowing his wife, who is not a state employee, to spend nearly $2,000 with the state credit card, and for paying $1,600 for a new fence for a dog walk and picnic area.

Investigators also said Newman shouldn't have stored a family motorboat at a base facility without reimbursing the state.

Newman's boss, Secretary of Public Safety John Marshall, directed him in a July 24 memo to ensure that future purchases made with state funds meet state guidelines. He also ordered Newman to remove his personal boat from a garage on the property. He was not charged a boat storage fee.

In an interview at his Richmond office Friday, Newman apologized. "Tallyho. I got it," he said. "I'm a better state employee for this."

He said the fence was erected to keep migrating birds - mostly Canada geese - from fouling the grounds around the cottage. Investigators believe it was primarily used to keep the general's dog on the property. Dogs are otherwise banned from Camp Pendleton, with few exceptions.

Newman said his wife's use of a state credit card was due to his unfamiliarity with state rules governing purchases. The 17-foot motor boat, used primarily by his two adult children, has been removed, he said.

The Virginian-Pilot obtained a copy of the complaint filed anonymously with the State Employee Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline. Investigators from the State Internal Auditor's office found complaints about Newman's personnel decisions and other improvements to the base to be unsubstantiated.

Camp Pendleton is a 320-acre oceanfront reserve owned by the National Guard and used primarily to train small Guard units on weapons and tactics. Virginia guardsmen, as well as active-duty troops, have trained at Camp Pendleton since World War I. The base has about 1,200 feet of shoreline, and military families can rent cottages and trailers near the ocean. It also has state-owned residences for the governor and adjutant general.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine appointed Newman, a two-star general in the Air National Guard, to the post in January 2006. Newman had earlier served as deputy assistant homeland security adviser to Gov. Mark Warner.

The white, low-slung cottage on Lake Christine suffered from years of neglect, Newman said. "It's a good-sized house, but hardly pretentious," he said.

But Newman saw a diamond in the rough. He planned to fix up the home to use for official retreats, functions and receptions to boost the National Guard's profile with state and local officials.

Carroll Thackston, who held the post from 1994 to 1998, said past Guard leaders paid out of their own pockets for improvements to the property. For example, Thackston said, he spent about $900 for a satellite dish during his tenure. The state paid to wire the house, which still remains in place, he said. When Thackston left state government, he took the dish to his personal vacation home.

Newman said he will continue to use the cottage for official business and weekend trips. The fence and new sets of curtains, linens and sundry household items will remain state property.

"I can understand guys making these complaints," he said. "These are perceptions. I've become smarter."

Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2322, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com