[Interior Employee's Liability for Loss of Government Property]

The Department of the Interior requested a decision on whether an employee was liable for the loss of government property in his custody. The employee contended that a number of procedural errors were committed in his initial proceeding that denied him due process. GAO held that: (1) the procedural errors that occurred during the employee's initial proceeding did not affect the outcome of the proceeding and therefore constituted harmless errors; (2) the employee was liable for the stolen property, since he chose to move the items from his locked residence to a less secure environment; and (3) Interior should recover the value of the stolen items.