Recently released investigative report prepared by former FBI agent David Beyer, "at a maximum cost of $30,000" candidly evaluates errors and omissions in ill-advised hiring of Fernando Risco as TARC executive director:

"Had the [TARC] board or [Louisville] mayor's office conducted a thorough background check or consulted with Risco's previous employer, investigator David Beyer said, it's possible the transit agency could have avoided financial, emotional and reputational damage.

"'There is simply no valid excuse for not having conducted a proper vetting of Risco,' Beyer wrote. " 'The cost of doing a thorough vetting of a potential high level executive pales in comparison to the millions of dollars this failure caused.'

"His report, released Wednesday to the news media, found a 'systemic failure of oversight and accountability from the initial hiring to (the) day Risco was asked to leave — from the mayor's office to the board.'"