“satellite data recorder trackers,” is a clever way of covering u=
p
the fact that these are just plain ordinary GPS receivers that anybody
can purchase for $250, but with a "special software package"
that is the true cost of the purchase that is hidden in the double
speak.
DHS has done this same hat-trick several hundred times before where they
try to conceal that some Wal-Mart or E-Bay grade equipment is being
purchased (again) for 16-20 times what the government could purchase it
from other sources.
The removal of the phrase "GPS" fro the documents is an attempt
to hide what it really is.
There seems to be an epidemic of purchases like this where low grade
stuff is being peddled to specific people at specific agencies for way
more then the fair price should be. They cleverly conceal what the device
is/does and word smith the description just like what you see in this
case.
Sometimes it is for a few tens of thousands of dollars, and sometimes for
hundreds of millions of dollars.
The key is to always trace the requirement back to a specific author, and
then locate everything else they have authored, and then start peeling
back the other business they have been doing with the
government.
I have personally peeled apart procurements like this in the past, and
found mischief was afoot, and pushed the government to withdraw tens of
milions of dollars at a whack.
-jma
At 01:12 PM 9/21/2009, ed wrote:
This spook contractor
"Eastcor Engineering" doesn't appear to have a website,
but it apparently goes by several different names under the same
telephone number.
Does anyone on the list know more about this satellite-based
technical
surveillance system? Does it see use in the private sector?
$3,980 seems like
a lot of money for a single GPS-based location logger, so there's
probably more
to it than that.
-ed
http://www.gsnmagazine.com/cms/features/news-analysis/2667.html
ICE performs undercover operations with help from satellite tracking
devices
By Jacob Goodwin, Editor-in-Chief
Published September 18th, 2009
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unit of DHS is planning to
award a
$39,800 sole source contract to a small Maryland engineering company to
provide
10 “satellite data recorder trackers,” for its undercover operations, b=
ut
the
tight-lipped agency says, “Public disclosure of the nature and purpose of
this
requirement could jeopardize ICE officers in the execution of their
investigative duties.”
In a “Justification and Approval” document it released on September 15,
ICE
explains why it decided to award a sole source contract to Eastcor
Engineering
LLC, of Easton, MD, a young company with only a handful of employees,
but
specifically did not explain how the 10 satellite data recorder trackers
would
be used or what types of data they would be monitoring.
Eastcor Engineering also does business as Advanced Technology Solutions,
or ATS,
which is also based in Easton, MD, says the ICE notice.
“ATS is a leading supplier of tracking systems for Government and
military use
in gathering vital intelligence to support their operations in
combating
terrorism, organized crime and undercover operations,” says ICE.
The agency intends to purchase 10 more of these tracking devices on top
of the
approximately 500 devices currently being used by ICE on a sole-source
basis.
“ATS is the only source and sole distributor of the required tracking
devices,”
says ICE. “No other company can meet the Government’s needs, this devic=
e
is of a
size and configuration that can not be obtained from other manufacturers
of
similar devices.”
The data recorder trackers will be used in Lorton, VA, according to the
ICE
announcement, at the offices of its technical operations group.
That technical operations group has also been developing a video
surveillance
system in which small pan/tilt zoom portable video cameras can be mounted
inside
fast-moving automobiles and transmit video images to ICE monitoring
centers, via
cellular telephone networks.
It is also possible to track the movement of traveling vehicles in
real-time
through the use of satellite-based Global Position Systems
(GPS).
GSN has not been able to obtain any information from Eastcor Engineering
LLC
about this prospective sole source contract. A spokesperson for the
company told
GSN on September 18, "We would prefer not to participate in this
interview."
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James M.
Atkinson &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p;
Phone: (978) 546-3803
Granite Island
Group &nbs=
p;
Fax: (978) 546-9467
127 Eastern Avenue
#291 =
;
Web:
http://www.tscm.com/
Gloucester, MA
01931-8008 =
;
E-mail:
mailto:jm..._at_tscm.com<=
br>
&nb=
sp;
h=
ttp://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesmatkinson
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----------------
No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the
enemy until it is ripe for execution. - Machiavelli, The Prince,
1521
Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:19 CST