This just in: The federal Bureau of Land Management screwed up: It paid a vendor $20,720 to deliver eight backup power supply units. But it made the payment after receiving only one.

Then BLM couldn't contact the vendor to either collect the other seven units or get a refund. So it called in the watchdog of the U.S. Department of the Interior to investigate.

The investigator eventually found the vendor: He was in Fulton County Jail, being held on unrelated fraud charges. But he wouldn't talk, according to a summary of the investigator's report issued Tuesday.

Investigators also got turned down by the District Attorney's Office in Atlanta and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix when they were asked to prosecute.

Who was the vendor? Why was the case turned down? The investigator's summary doesn't say.  If you can shed light on this mystery case, message us!

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Executive Director Lee Reid listens during an Atlanta Citizen Review Board meeting at City Hall in Atlanta on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. The Atlanta Citizen Review Board is responsible for investigating all officer-involved shootings, serious injuries and deaths in Atlanta police custody. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

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