SEC Said to Back Hire of U.S. Capitol Police Inspector General

The Securities and Exchange Commission has selected the inspector general of the U.S. Capitol Police to be the agency’s internal watchdog, two people familiar with the matter said.

Carl Hoecker has led the police department’s inspector office since 2006, according to an online biography. A certified public accountant who began his career as an Army military policeman, Hoecker was previously deputy inspector general for investigations at the Treasury Department. The Capitol Police provide security on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.

The appointment would fill the vacancy left by H. David Kotz, who quit a year ago after criticism of his investigations and possible conflicts of interest, including his decision to accept tickets to a Philadelphia Eagles football game from a paid radio broadcaster. The office has been run temporarily by the inspector general of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Hoecker didn’t immediately return a call and e-mail seeking comment. SEC spokesman John Nester didn’t immediately answer an e-mail seeking comment.

The SEC inspector general is an independent internal investigator charged with ferreting out waste, fraud and abuse inside the agency.

One of Hoecker’s main tasks will be to re-establish the credibility of the unit, which has been in turmoil due to scrutiny of Kotz, as well as other issues with employees.

Personnel Disputes

In one incident late last year, the former chief of investigations in the office, David Weber, sued the SEC for $40 million after he was fired for allegedly carrying a firearm while on duty. Weber, who denied he did anything improper, said in court papers that he was terminated as part of a campaign to “cover up” and “whitewash” wrongdoing that he was investigating.

Weber had also raised allegations of improper conduct by Kotz. Those complaints prompted the SEC to bring in David Williams, the inspector general of the U.S. Postal Service, to conduct an independent review.

Williams concluded last September that Kotz violated ethics rules by overseeing probes that involved people with whom he had “personal relationships.” Kotz is now a director at Berkeley Research Group, a consulting firm in Washington.