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More troubles at Los Alamos

The University of California has managed the Los Alamos National Laboratory for 63 years. This Lab is where our nuclear weapons are developed. In the last five years or so, it has been coming to light that the lab is not well managed and that they have serious problems with equipment theft, credit card fraud and security lapses. A new Director, Pete Nanos (a former Navy vice admiral), was brought in to run the place and he met with such opposition that he 'retired' after only two years. This September, the UC's contract to manage the lab expires and there is a question as to who will become manager. One of the Whistleblowers -- Tommy Hook -- had been scheduled to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee later this month about alleged financial irregularities at the nuclear weapons lab. He was at home in bed last Saturday night when he got a phone call asking to meet him at a bar about 45 minutes away. This is the result: CNN/AP has the story:

Los Alamos whistle-blower beaten outside bar
A Los Alamos lab whistle-blower scheduled to testify before Congress was badly beaten in an attack outside a Santa Fe bar.

Tommy Hook was in a hospital recovering from a fractured jaw and other injuries, his wife, Susan Hook, said Monday.

Hook's wife and his lawyer believe the attack was designed to keep him quiet.

Susan Hook said the assailants told her husband during the attack early Sunday that "if you know what's good for you, you'll keep your mouth shut."

And this wasn't just a bar brawl gone bad:

According to Hook's wife, the 52-year-old lab employee got a telephone call late Saturday night -- after he was already in bed -- wanting to meet with him at a Santa Fe bar about 45 minutes from their home.

She said her husband told her the man never showed up, but as he was leaving the topless bar's parking lot, a group of men pulled him from his car and beat him.

"They left him in the parking lot for dead," Hook's lawyer, Robert Rothstein, said Monday at a news conference where pictures of Hook's bruised and swollen face were passed around.

And more:

Rothstein said the assailants didn't take Hook's wallet, other personal belongings or his car. In the absence of any other motive, it appears the beating was related to his whistle-blowing, Rothstein contended.

That nest of vipers needs to be cleaned out. Pete Nanos' expression was draining the swamp and I think he had a good handle on the situation. He is a Vice Admiral and the Navy does not promote stupid people... Posted by DaveH at June 7, 2005 10:48 AM