The Nation : Envoy Extravagance Cited

U.S. ambassadors to the United Nations are living in $7,500-a-month apartments, illegally commuting to work in chauffeur-driven cars and buying $125 meals--all at taxpayers’ expense, an internal State Department report said. The report, prepared by the Office of Policy and Program Review, is the latest salvo in a years-long debate and sharply criticizes senior State Department officials for sloppy management of funds for mission employees’ housing, transportation and entertainment. Herbert Okun, the No. 2 U.S. official at the U.N., the report said, leases apartment furniture that costs the government $17,700 a year.