Hotel Suites, Dinner Parties, Cocktails: The Life of a Postal Service Official
EmailA U.S. Postal Service official who spent thousands of dollars of postal funds on extravagant meals and hotels is still on the government payroll. Azeezaly Jaffer, the vice-president of communications, also drank in excess at business events, at times to the point of unconsciousness, and sexually harassed female employees, according to a report by the postal service’s Inspector General. Among Jaffer’s most extravagant expenditures documented in the report was a hotel suite in Washington, D.C., which cost the postal service over $8,000. Jaffer also charged thousands of dollars in restaurant expenses to the postal service, including meals for his wife and limousine driver, the report said. At just one restaurant in Falls Church, Va., he rang up a tab of over $12,000 in a period of just over two years. According to the report, more than half of the meals occurred on weekends or over holiday periods. More than a third of that tab was for alcohol. When questioned by the inspector general about his meals at the restaurant and his practice of ordering $70 to $75 bottles of wine, Jaffer told them that he considers anything up to $100 a bottle to be "halfway decent and reasonable," according to the report. Jaffer "routinely used Postal Service funds to pay for many alcoholic drinks," according to the report. On one trip to Los Angeles, he charged 32 alcoholic beverages from the Lobby Lounge on one night, and then the next charged 25 drinks from the same Lobby Lounge. In fact, the report goes on to say that Jaffer "drinks in excess at official Postal Service functions and has done so to the point of unconsciousness on at least two occasions." One witness told the Inspector General that while at a dinner with Jaffer in Toronto, "I’ve never seen an individual drink as much as he did in my life," according to the report. That witness added that during the last 15 minutes of the dinner Jaffer stopped talking and just slouched in his chair and was then helped from the table and escorted to his hotel room. In his interview with the Inspector General, Jaffer denied these allegations of excessive drinking. Jaffer also stated that he was not aware of some of the costs of his meals and hotel suites. He also described his job as unique, saying that entertaining people was critical to building relationships, according to the report. The report also alleges that Jaffer "engaged in sexually harassing, intimidating, and/or embarrassing behaviour." One female employee describes an incident in which a very intoxicated Jaffer followed her into her hotel room and tried to touch her. "She could not convince him to leave her room and Jaffer finally fell asleep on the floor," according to the report. As vice president of communications, Jaffer supervised a staff of 160 employees and managed a $20 million budget. Attempts by ABC News to contact Jaffer were not successful. A spokesperson for the Postal Service said that Jaffer has resigned and is no longer performing any official duties, but he is still collecting for two months worth of accumulated vacation days. No official action was taken against him following the release of this report. He will continue to collect a pay check from the government until Oct. 1.
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Again, no one in charge. If he was the vice president of communications, where was the president of communications all this time? Somebody is over paid. I guess it’s not politically correct to interfere and hurt someone’s feelings. It’s slap on the wrist time and his typical response will be: “I accept full responsibility”, as he rides laughing into the sunset.
Posted by: Vinny Boom-Botz | August 30, 2006, 4:01 pm 4:01 pm
Why is this individual still on the federal payroll? Just goes to show that spending is out of control with this Republican administration. Our grandkids’ kids will be paying for this. What a mismanagement of OUR tax dollars.
Posted by: irish1 | August 30, 2006, 4:09 pm 4:09 pm
I think we all know this is not national news. Anyone within the USPS knows that this is about one sore postal employee and his malice, along with his revengeful team. It’s too bad they are choosing to degrade an awesome organization to accomplish their personal goals. I’m not here to defend what this individual did or if he’s guilty of the charges. If guilty, we can only hope that he has learned from his mistakes and become a better person from the experiences. What I do know is that the Postal Service is a great organization that I am proud to be a part of. The Postmaster General has done great things to lead us in new and innovative directions, and Mr. Jaffer has been a major contributor in those efforts. Yes, he operated in a high-risk job. And yes, there are many managers doing the same or even worse. But in spite of this negative story, there are many positives: He raised the public profile of the USPS; helped us to act like a business; and developed relationships with Fortune 500 companies that we would have thought impossible 10 years ago. The Postal Service has benefitted immensely from his leadership and guidance. It’s just too bad that this negative cloud hangs over his more than 30 years of public service. There are 2 sides to every story!!!
Posted by: Lauren | August 30, 2006, 9:39 pm 9:39 pm
Quite interesting how this has become a national story right alongside the Katrina anniversary. Very interesting. I think the postal family owes one disgruntled individual a standing ovation for his persistency in making this national news. Bottom line is that no one is perfect. If Mr. Jaffer is guilty, he is no longer with the organization, and that is punishment enough. The fact remains that he was responsible for putting our organization on the map in the corporate business world. We have earned tremendous respect in the industry, and he is greatly responsible for that. We do not live in a perfect world and human beings do make mistakes. Some get caught and some don’t!! This story has become old news. I just hope that the individual(s) who keep pushing this story out to the media find time to put his/her energy and focus on making the Postal Service a better organiziation. He’s out of a job. Move on!!
Posted by: Proud Postal | August 30, 2006, 11:26 pm 11:26 pm
Goodness! Brian Ross must be hard up for real news…how is this tired, old, tale interesting anymore? It’s not – reeks of personal vendetta. The guy is gone and hopefully, reflecting on some poor judgement in an otherwise, seemingly great career. I agree with “Proud Postal”…move the heck on!
Posted by: PR Grrrl | August 31, 2006, 6:40 am 6:40 am
Interesting… It is not unusual for an alcoholic to have exceptional abilities… contrary to the stereotype… many many alcoholics are quite capable. Sadly, this can often lead to people ignoring the problem as long as the person keeps “performing.”
ANY supervisor/manager worth their salary should be able to identify an employee with this much evidence… and then insist that something be done… for the employee’s own benefit and the long term good of the organization.
Many people will be uncomfortable with a manager or supervisor “playing nanny” and believe that it is a moral issue and a matter or “personal responsibility” on the part of the alcoholic. This is wonderful for a person sense of superiority… but it ignores the truth.
Personal opinions and feelings aside… the truth is that the alcoholic is incapable of rationally seeing the results of his actions as they effect him, his family and the organization… However, this is exactly what supervisors and managers are supposed to be able to do. It is part of getting the best out of each person they are responsible for.
It is sad that a person, with the abilities and contributions that many here claim he has made… was not confronted long ago and given a chance to deal with his problem instead of being enabled until he was a liability.
Posted by: Darren7160 | August 31, 2006, 9:32 am 9:32 am
The comments by the postal workers demonstrate perfectly why the department is wanting to raise rates again – no accountability for malfeasance, a disproportionate image of how important they are, and a total lack of ability to see how the public monies are being wasted (eg. sponsor a bicycle team in Europe).
Posted by: Underdog | August 31, 2006, 12:45 pm 12:45 pm
How can these people defend this sort of abuse of power? Are they Jaffer using an alias?
Posted by: A. Richter | September 5, 2006, 1:34 pm 1:34 pm
Typical. As a carrier for 11+ years, I can’t tell you how many workroom floor talks and USPS videos we we obligated to watch regarding harassment in and out of the workplace. Another example of managerial “Do as I say, don’t do as I do.” As an afterthought, was he eligible for a year-end performance bonus? If so, how much did he receive in relation to his excessive expenditures?
Posted by: Former Postie | September 5, 2006, 4:32 pm 4:32 pm
Having worked for the USPS as a rural carrier I’m not surprised. ABC News should look into just how wide spread the junket rip off by postal management is down to the post master level. You will get a newsworthy surprise. And the postal union….geez…talk about sweat hearts…. USPS: Making Walmart management look good!
Posted by: Phil | September 6, 2006, 9:02 am 9:02 am
I recommend that ABC and Co. look into the unions as well. Go no further than Houston and you will find corruption within the NALC that drawfs what this VP did.
The USPS is not immune to people making poor descisions, this happens in other industries as well.
Posted by: Onceacarrier | September 13, 2006, 2:57 pm 2:57 pm
As an employee of the U.S. Postal Service, let me offer a telling quote often used by management. “It’s not our money, let’s spend it.” Such is the culture of corruption in the Postal Service. This is because there are no stockholders or owners who would ensure ethical conduct and oversight. Point in case, Google “Stoll v. Runyon”. Read it and determine for yourself how the Postal Service operates.
Posted by: Gone Postal | December 8, 2006, 9:38 pm 9:38 pm