Amtrak lied about its finances

Surprise, surprise...

From Jim McElhattan of the Washington Times (hat tip: The Freeman)

When Amtrak assured Congress it was on a "glide path" to free itself of federal subsidies early last decade, a handful of top executives secretly had reason to know better. In fact, the rail service was on the verge of bankruptcy. But Amtrak's public assurances were based on far more than overly rosy financial projections.

A previously undisclosed seven-year investigation later uncovered serious accounting shenanigans inside Amtrak that kept federal officials, Congress and the public in the dark about the national rail service's true finances, according to documents obtained by The Washington Times through the Freedom of Information Act.

No criminal charges were filed, but the activities were serious enough to warrant a federal grand jury and the involvement of the U.S. attorney's office in Washington....