Posted on 06/06/2005 6:52:41 PM PDT by CHARLITE
A Los Alamos whistleblower scheduled to testify before congress later this month is now in the hospital, according to news reports. Auditor Tommy Hook was brutally beaten by three or four anonymous assailants who allegedly ordered him to keep quiet.
On Saturday night, Hook went to a Santa Fe bar ostensibly to meet a person claiming to be a fellow Los Alamos whistleblower that called that night. When the person did not show, Hook left the bar after consuming two drinks.
In the parking lot, he was yanked out of his car and beaten so badly by the three or four men that he had to be taken to intensive care at a local emergency room.
Reportedly, Hook did not provoke these men. The men concentrated on kicking his head, and Hook's family has opined that the men would have killed him if it hadn't been for a club employee, who ran from the club and broke up the beating.
Congressional staff members were set to arrive Tuesday in Los Alamos to investigate Hook's allegations of malfeasance at the lab.
Tommy Hook remains hospitalized with severe trauma to his face and head, including a fractured jaw and a herniated disk. The FBI has been called-in to investigate the attack, and Hook is currently under close protective custody.
Congress Warned of Ill Treatment of Hook
Last March, Danielle Brian, Executive Director Project On Government Oversight (POGO) testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations regarding a review of security initiatives at DOE Nuclear Weapons Facilities.
He especially focused on Hook and another whisterblower:
"I would be remiss if I did not report to the Committee that, while not a part of former Secretary Abraham's initiatives, the treatment of whistleblowers throughout the complex remains abysmal. Retaliation remains the norm, not the exception, as can be seen in the case of Tommy Hook and Chuck Montano, who have both worked at Los Alamos for decades.
"After the Committee's three hearings on financial fraud at Los Alamos, the University of California was telling the public that all was resolved, while at the same time retaliating against these two men who knew otherwise. Hook and Montano were responsible for providing audit support for UC and uncovered ongoing irregularities and outright misconduct amounting to millions of taxpayer dollars.
"Their audit reports were withheld from DOE. Their treatment? Their work was taken away from them, they were given no work for nine months, and now they are only being handed menial assignments. Even the head of the Los Alamos Site Office tried to intervene on Tommy Hook's behalf, only to be rebuffed by an arrogant University of California."
According to a report in Exec.com, Susan Hook, the victim's wife, Bob Rothstein, his attorney, and Montano confirmed that Hook was at the club to meet with another employee who claimed to have information that would support charges of wrongdoing.
Susan Hook and Montano further alleged that the assault was absolutely connected to Tommy Hook's impending testimony:
"When they were beating him up, they were telling him ... 'If you know what is good for you, you will keep your mouth shut,'" said Susan Hook.
Rothstein recalled that a person claiming to be an auditor from Los Alamos had contacted Hook a week before and had offered to share information about financial issues at the laboratory. Rothstein said that one meeting had already fallen through, but the second was arranged on Saturday night at the strip club.
The nightclub's doorman ran into the parking lot and broke up the attack, according to a club employee who witnessed the beating. The employee said Hook was assaulted by a group of men.
Joint Investigation
Called to the scene, FBI Special Agent Bill Elwell confirmed that federal agents are investigating with Santa Fe police officers. He said they are "still trying to figure out" what happened at the nightclub. "We are looking into the allegations made by Mr. Hook," Elwell said.
Los Alamos issued a statement:
"The University of California and the laboratory are outraged that a laboratory employee was the victim of a weekend assault in Santa Fe. Director [Robert] Kuckuck was made aware of the attack this morning and expressed his hope that the individual will make a quick recovery"
"Director Kuckuck, the University of California and the laboratory believe that any form of physical violence toward an individual is unacceptable. The laboratory is in contact with the Santa Fe Police Department and is providing the laboratory's full support and cooperation with the ongoing investigation."
Susan Hooks said that her husband's wallet and car were not taken.
I don't think I'd get quite the same level of support.
I'm probably just to cynical and skeptical, but I'd kinda like to know this guy's history of drinking and carousing before I buy his story.
I hope Mr. Hooks recovers and can finger these dirty bastards. UC being called arrogant is quite an understatement. Do the words fox and henhouse strike a chord?
I'm thinking he's on the "down low" myself.
Isn't this the place where Wen Ho Lee (sp ?) was accused of "losing" secret data ?
Seems the lab folks think they're so hot they're above the law. Might be time to close the lab down and let the boys get real jobs. Hear there's openings selling real estate. I'm sick of my tax dollars going to these worthless prima donnas.
He got off a lot easier than the engineer who was to testify a few years ago in the Loral investigation when the technology was given to the Chinese by the Clinton Administration for political contributions. Kearn Cottingham was found dead of
"natural causes" (can you say RICIN?) just days before he was to testify.
I changed my mind. Chicoms. Diplomatic thing.
Actually, I was thinking the same thing(s)...i.e. that this incident might not have been related to his forthcoming congressional testimony at all. Could well have been a personal matter, as you suggest.
Char
"UC's losing the contract. UT will get it, and the lab will be better off for the change."
University of Texas?
Good heavens! Poor man. I pray for his recovery.
Damn! How old is that poor guy? He was beat up by four other guys??
Now they're going to wish they'd killed him. Seems to me, if he was a whistleblower before, this beating while incredibly severe, will just make him want to talk even more. That is if he can talk, see or walk again.
Just what or who the hell was he blowing the whistle on?
I would rather see Texas A&M in charge of LANL, but even UT would be an improvement. UC Berkeley needs to be cut loose from any further DOE contracts, including LANL and Lawrence Livermore. Give Lawrence Livermore to Stanford? Any better suggestions?
"University of Texas?"
Yeah. It's not locked up, but they're the odds on favorites.
Yes, I think his name was Li. They "found" the missing material behind a photocopier. Shazzamm!!!
The reason: The communist Chinese have the place penetrated. He is likely to break that wide open. They need to shut the place down.
A lot of Iraq's research on the stability of rotating liquid fueled rockets used for their modified scuds were done in US Army laboratories, (US Army doesnt have any rotating liquid fueled rockets.) using US super computers. The US physics community is pretty left oriented anyways, and the Clinton Administration loaded it up with their fellow travelers.
Government research labs need to be shut down, as too easy to penetrate, and impossible to cleanse due to Civil Service regulations.
Lots of stories of lax security, spying, and Chinese infiltration of Los Alamos going back several years into the Clinton Administration. Nuclear secrets gone missing, suddenly to turn up weeks later behind a copier machine. Yeah, right.
Hey Hillary, who hired Craig Livingstone? Who killed Kathleen Willey's cat? This guy lived, so Fahmy Malak can't help you now.
Our tax money is so important to the government mafia at Los Alamos that they are willing to kill to keep it. Must be quite a bundle...
I don't think Stanford is much better on the Libometer scale. They have also had huge financial scandals involving federal grant money.
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