WSBTV WASHINGTON — A federal audit obtained by Channel 2 Action News reveals the head of a federal government agency used tax money to lease a pricy SUV and a driver to avoid a three-block walk in Washington, D.C. The Federal Maritime Commission spent more than $1,600 a month for a 2011 Chevy Tahoe, fully loaded with leather seats and GPS. The agency also spent up to $75 an hour for a staff member to drive the vehicle in the nation’s capital. According to paperwork reviewed Channel 2’s Scott MacFarlane, at least 105 of the trips made with the vehicle were used to shuttle the agency’s chairman, Richard Lidinsky, a short distance from his office to a nearby train station. Walking between the two points could take less than 10 minutes.

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