GSA Strengthens Supply Chain with New Monitoring Process to Bolster Federal Marketplace

Source: United States General Services Administration

June 7, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) today announced progress in its ongoing efforts to strengthen the federal supply chain and reduce supply chain risk by using its Verified Products Portal (VPP) to monitor and remove products from unauthorized suppliers. Launched in 2020, the VPP is a manufacturer- and wholesaler-facing portal for authoritative product content such as standardized part numbers, product specifications, and supplier authorization information. Working with industry, GSA recently identified and removed approximately 75,000 items offered by unauthorized suppliers from GSA Advantage!® as part of a pilot test.

“This new process is a big win for the federal supply chain and our industry partners,” said Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Sonny Hashmi. “We’ve reduced the risk of customers purchasing counterfeit, fraudulent, or otherwise illegitimate products. This promotes fair competition in the federal marketplace, and improves our customers’ ability to purchase with confidence.”

Moving forward, GSA will continue to use VPP data to monitor GSA Advantage!® for products offered by unauthorized suppliers.

GSA is also working with wholesalers and manufacturers to improve the representation of their commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) products in the federal marketplace through better images, descriptions, PDFs, and other details to help federal agency buyers continue to purchase with confidence.

Manufacturers and wholesalers looking to improve the representation of their COTS products should visit gsa.gov/VPP to learn more.

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.

GSA Completes First Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Land Port of Entry Project

Source: United States General Services Administration

June 6, 2022

In addition to the Arizona project, GSA also announces $2 million award for woman-owned firm to design new land port facility at Rouses Point, NY

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has completed its first project at a Land Port of Entry (LPOE) funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The Lukeville, Arizona, LPOE asphalt repair project was completed only 25 days after it began and used newly-established GSA standards to install low embodied-carbon asphalt. On May 2, OCS construction, a small disadvantaged business and certified 8(a) contractor, began the repairs and finished ahead of schedule on May 27.

GSA also used BIL funding to award $1.98 million for architectural engineering services to Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects to design new facilities at the LPOE in Rouses Point, New York. The firm is a woman-owned small business based in New York.

“We’re thrilled that much-needed land port projects at both of our borders are out the door with the help of innovative small businesses,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan. “We look forward to seeing how all of our projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will boost security, supply chains, jobs, and sustainability in the months and years ahead.”

The Lukeville LPOE is a five-lane port 150 miles southwest of Tucson that handles about 1 million passengers and 400,000 vehicles annually. It had experienced lane closures due to potholes and other asphalt damage, leading to longer wait times for both travelers and commercial traffic. The backfilled, compacted, and resurfaced areas will modernize the port creating a smoother experience for officers and travelers alike.

“This quick investment immediately made the Lukeville LPOE safer, more efficient, and more sustainable,” said Dan Brown, GSA’s PBS Regional Commissioner for the Pacific Rim Region. “We’ll work toward those same goals with the longer-term BIL projects along the Southern Border.”

The BIL includes a total of $3.4 billion for GSA to build and modernize land ports of entry on the country’s northern and southern borders. The investments will improve commerce and trade, create good-paying construction jobs, and incorporate new and innovative sustainability features.

At Rouses Point LPOE, a multimodal location that processes auto, pedestrian, boat, and train traffic, the project includes the construction of new inspection lanes and a rail inspection platform.

“We’re thrilled to have a designer on board to help us complete this project,” said Michael Gelber, GSA’s PBS Regional Commissioner for the Northeast and Caribbean Region. “I look forward to seeing how a vision comes together for a sustainable, accessible facility that better meets the needs of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection as well as port users.”

Find out more information about GSA’s LPOE projects here.

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA

GSA Administrator Statement on Executive Actions to Spur Domestic Clean Energy Manufacturing

Source: United States General Services Administration

June 6, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. General Services Administrator Robin Carnahan issued the following statement regarding a set of historic executive actions taken by the Biden-Harris Administration to spur domestic clean energy manufacturing, lower energy costs, and create good-paying jobs.

“These bold actions further strengthen our ability to harness the federal government’s buying power to fuel American clean energy innovation and drive down energy costs,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan. “GSA is proud to support the federal government’s efforts to boost domestic solar production and protect Americans’ access to low-cost, reliable solar energy.”

The actions taken today include:

  • Authorizing the use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to accelerate domestic production of clean energy technologies, including solar panel parts;

  • Putting the full power of federal procurement to work spurring additional domestic solar manufacturing capacity by directing the development of master supply agreements, including “super preference” status; and

  • Creating a 24-month bridge as domestic manufacturing rapidly scales up to ensure the reliable supply of components that U.S. solar deployers need to construct clean energy projects and an electric grid for the 21st century, while reinforcing the integrity of our trade laws and processes.

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA

Security News: Motocross Coach Indicted for Child Exploitation Crimes

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A motocross instructor who traveled the country building motocross tracks and mentoring children was indicted yesterday for multiple child exploitation offenses.

According to court documents, Ryan Meyung, 30, engaged six different minor victims in sexually explicit conduct to produce images of child sexual abuse, and transported and possessed visual images of child sexual abuse. The alleged crimes occurred between 2019 and 2021. He was arrested on state charges in December 2021 and has remained in custody.

Meyung was known to frequent states including Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

If you suspect that you have information that could further law enforcement’s investigation, you are encouraged to call the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tipline at (866) 347-2423 or https://www.ice.gov/tipline.

Meyung is charged with six counts of producing child pornography, one count of transporting child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography. If convicted, Meyung faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 210 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan of the Northern District of Georgia, and Resident Agent in Charge Arturo Napolitano of HSI Chattanooga made the announcement.

HSI Chattanooga is investigating this case jointly with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (Tennessee), the Chattanooga Police Department, and HSI field offices throughout the country. 

Trial Attorney Jessica L. Urban of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin N. Spritzer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Security News: North Carolina Man Sentenced to Life Without Parole in Federal Prison for the Kidnapping and Murder of Travelers Rest Woman

Source: United States Department of Justice News

GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA — Daniel Glen Printz, 59, of Bostic, North Carolina, was sentenced to life without parole in federal prison after pleading guilty to killing a South Carolina woman after kidnapping her and crossing state lines.

“Printz is a monster who has a long history of targeting, kidnapping, and killing women – causing unimaginable loss to his victims and their families,” said U.S. Attorney Corey F. Ellis for the District of South Carolina.  “He has earned every day of his life sentence, and our communities are safer with him in a prison cell.  We are grateful that the Court delivered justice today and we hope it provides some measure of comfort for the victims’ families.”

“Printz’s day of reckoning arrived in a federal courtroom,” said Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, whose office participated in the prosecution of this case. “This man is responsible for the deaths of multiple women and has caused inconceivable pain to their loved ones. A life behind bars is a just outcome.”

“Printz’s violence against women is reprehensible, and he earned the Court’s severe penalty for his crimes,” said Susan Ferensic, the FBI Columbia field office’s Special Agent in Charge. “The sentence will never bring back the victims, but it’s our hope that the victims’ friends and families find peace in the memories of their loved ones.”  

“This case is the model for how local, state and federal agencies should continuously work together for the purpose of bringing forth justice,” said Greenville County South Carolina Sheriff Hobart Lewis. “I firmly believe that if it weren’t for the collaborative efforts that this narcissistic man would have continued targeting and preying on innocent woman before taking them from their loved ones. I am so thankful for the men and women who worked tirelessly to get Mr. Printz out of society and behind bars for the rest of his life.”

“We are glad to see justice served today for these horrible crimes,” said Rutherford County North Carolina Sheriff Chris Francis, whose office also investigated this matter. “We are honored to have worked jointly with the FBI, Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office during this investigation. I am proud of the work my Investigators did in seeking justice for the families of the victims. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.”

Evidence presented in Court showed that on the morning of August 27, 2021, Printz traveled from his North Carolina home to Travelers Rest, South Carolina, where he met 80-year Travelers Rest resident Edna Suttles. Printz met Suttles at the Food Lion grocery store located off of US-25, where Printz purchased a four-pack of yogurt before the two traveled back to Suttles’s residence. 

Later that afternoon, Printz and Suttles returned to the Food Lion parking lot, where Printz was captured on surveillance video moving a visibly sedated Suttles from her vehicle and into his. Printz then drove her vehicle a short distance to a nearby hotel parking lot, where he was seen on surveillance video wiping down the inside and outside of the vehicle. Printz then drove Suttles across state lines back to his residence in Bostic, North Carolina.

After Suttles did not show up to work the following day, concerned coworkers called the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and reported her missing. 

During a search of Printz’s residence, investigators found several personal items belonging to Suttles, including her keys, bank card, jewelry, and pocketbook, most of which were concealed in a box used for raising bees on a remote part of Printz’s property.  Investigators also found a yogurt cup—opened—and a forensic lab analysis determined the interior of the cup contained Lorazepam, Tramadol, and Cyclobenzaprine.

After being charged in federal court in the District of South Carolina, Printz cooperated with law enforcement. On May 16, 2022, he took authorities to Suttles’s body, which he had buried on a nearby property in Rutherford County, North Carolina.

During the investigation, agents also recovered evidence connecting Printz to the disappearance or death of three other women – Nancy Rego, Delores Sellers, and Leigh Goodman.  Printz admitted in Court that he had some responsibility for, or role in, their deaths or disappearances.

Printz’s criminal history includes a 1997 conviction from Michigan for kidnapping another woman, and he was sentenced to 13 to 30 years in state prison for that crime. He was released in 2009 and his parole was terminated in 2011.  He also has prior convictions for firearm possession and assault and battery.

United States District Judge Donald C. Coggins Jr. sentenced Printz to life imprisonment after accepting his guilty plea the same day. There is no parole in the federal system. Through his plea agreement, Printz waived any right to challenge his conviction or his sentence.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Greenville County, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office, the Rutherford County, North Carolina Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of North Carolina and the District of South Carolina.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin W. Holloway and Elliott B Daniels of the District of South Carolina prosecuted the case, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Gast of the Western District of North Carolina.

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printz_-_complaint_and_complaint_affidavit.pdf

printz_-_information.pdf

printz_-_plea_agreement.pdf