Lincoln Police Department now handling investigation of ‘suspect’ $2.5 million no-bid state contract

The Lincoln Police Department is now handling an investigation into the Nebraska Department of Economic Development’s award of a no-bid contract that the state auditor flagged as “suspect.”

State Auditor Mike Foley initially referred his findings to the Nebraska State Patrol and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office for investigation last month. But a State Patrol spokesperson said the agency referred the case to the Lincoln Police Department for investigation due to a potential conflict of interest within the patrol.

Lincoln Police Sgt. Chris Vollmer confirmed the department has received information and said the investigation is ongoing. At a press conference last week, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers declined to say whether or not his office is investigating, but he explained the general process following an auditor referral.

“We review it to see whether or not there’s probable cause to investigate,” Hilgers said. “If there’s an investigation, we refer it to a law enforcement agency, they do the investigation, they come back, and then there’s charges filed or not filed.”

In an email, Foley said he couldn’t speak to the investigatory process of the law enforcement agencies.

The investigation stems from a $2.5 million contract that the Nebraska Department of Economic Development awarded to bioeconomy consultant Global Sustainability Developers, or GSD, in May 2024. The consultant’s president, Julie Bushell, had previously traveled with Gov. Jim Pillen as part of state delegations.

A bill appropriating $2.5 million in state funds to “an entity… to assist the state with growing its bioeconomy industry" was introduced at the request of Pillen at the beginning of the 2024 legislative session. It was passed by the Legislature and signed into law in April 2024. Under the law, the contract had to be awarded by June 30, 2024.

According to Foley’s findings, the contract was awarded to GSD less than a month after the law went into effect, and was approved by Pillen. According to Foley’s report, the former director of the Department said in an email that the contract had been “vetted thru Julie and the Governor.”

Nebraska law requires that all state contracts worth more than $50,000 go through a competitive bidding process. There are exceptions for emergency situations to meet an “urgent or unexpected requirement,” or when “health or safety” is at risk. In awarding the contract to GSD, the Department of Economic Development said the contract was an emergency, but it did not fill out a required form justifying the emergency or explaining other options considered, according to the audit.

Foley said in his audit letter that the emergency designation was not justified. He also said members of Pillen’s staff may have backdated reports, according to the Nebraska Examiner, which first reported Foley’s audit.

“There’s really two key issues. One is the question of, ‘Was there an emergency?’ I say, no, there wasn’t. And secondly, what about this backdating of documents and trying to deceive the auditor in both instances? I’m very concerned about that, and I think that law enforcement ought to follow up,” Foley said in a hearing last month.

Pillen has denied wrongdoing and said the emergency designation for the contract was justified. Obstructing or deceiving the state auditor is a misdemeanor under Nebraska law.