Former NASA Wallops chief gets probation in exchanging contracts for time at vacation home
Carol Vaughn
The Daily Times
The former chief of the Range and Mission Management Office at NASA Wallops Flight Facility was sentenced to probation in a federal court in Norfolk on May 8.
Steven Eric Kremer, 53, of Snow Hill, Maryland, pleaded guilty in December to receipt of gratuities by a public official and theft of government funds.
The three-year sentence includes one year of house arrest with electronic monitoring, according to documents filed in United States District Court in Norfolk.
Kremer was sentenced to three years' probation on each of two counts, to run concurrently. He also was ordered to pay $19,469 in restitution.
According to court documents, Kremer was responsible for administering the Range Operations Contract, a cost-plus-award fee multi-year contract, which court documents valued at $191 million.
In exchange for the selection of a subcontractor's firm for interior design services and office furniture at Wallops, Kremer was given free use of the subcontractor's vacation house in Cape Charles for a week at a time every summer from 2008 to 2015, according to court documents.
In 2009, Kremer sent an email to the subcontractor while staying at the vacation home, in which he wrote that, "after this week, I'm going to be searching for rooms even those that no one uses at Wallops and put new furniture in them. I owe u big time."
In April 2012, Kremer wrote an email to the subcontractor about outfitting the new Launch Control Center, as well as requesting another week at the beach house. He wrote:
"Can I book a week like last year? I will give you some days this week if that is OK," he wrote, adding, "Also, I want to make sure we coordinate for the new Launch Control Center. I have asked for $1.5M in outfitting costs for IT stuff and furniture. I think in a few months, once the floor plans are done, I will want to sit down with you and go over possibilities. This one will be big for you but I'm sure you can handle it.
"THANK YOU so much again. Your customer service is unmatched ... not to mention the summer fun you offer. LOL."
The value of the beach house stays totaled about $17,820, according to the documents.
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In 2011, Kremer also asked the subcontractor to procure a piece of personalized artwork and bill it to the Range and Mission Management Office, but to conceal the nature of the purchase. It was listed as whiteboards on the invoice.
Kremer also used funds from the contract for purchase of $7,000 of Amazon gift cards, which he used to buy items for personal use — including beauty and skin care products, luggage, apparel and footwear, sporting equipment, cellphone accessories and kitchen appliances, among others — according to court documents.
Additionally, from about December 2013 through March 2015, Kremer directed the purchase of promotional items to be given to organizations involving a member of his family and an associate at Wallops, per documents.
The funds for most of those came from the Range and Mission Management Office, and the items were not approved expenditures, according to court documents.
About $11,500.00 of Range and Mission Management Office funds were used to purchase the promotional items.
Kremer also sought assistance from another subcontractor to get funds to help organizations involving a member of his family and an associate at Wallops. Two organizations received a total of $32,000 in donations from the firm between December 2013 and April 2016, according to the documents.
Kremer faced up to 10 years in prison for the crimes.
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On Twitter @cvvaughnESN