Posted on 06/07/2005 3:28:53 AM PDT by ovrtaxt
Los Alamos Whistleblower Severely Beaten
NewsMax.comA Los Alamos National Laboratory whistleblower who has uncovered irregularities involving millions of dollars of taxpayer money at the government-backed facility was brutally beaten this past weekend.
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
According to several news reports, auditor Tommy Hook was violently attacked by three or four anonymous assailants, who allegedly ordered him to keep quiet.
Hook was scheduled to testify before Congress later this month, but is now in the hospital.
Story Continues Below
On Saturday night, Hook went to a Santa Fe bar, ostensibly to meet a person claiming to be a fellow Los Alamos whistleblower, who called that night.
Hook's wife, Susan, said her husband did not frequent bars.
When the person did not show up, Hook left the bar after consuming two drinks.
In the parking lot, he was yanked out of his car and beaten so badly by 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 feels that the men would have killed him if a club employee hadn't run from the club and stopped the beating.
Congressional staff members were set to arrive Tuesday in Los Alamos to investigate Hook's allegations of malfeasance at the lab.
Hook and another whistleblower sued the University of California, which manages Los Alamos, in March, alleging that after they uncovered management failures, university and lab managers tried to make their jobs miserable so they would quit.
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 of the 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.
She 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 GovExec.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 for 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 neither her husband's wallet, cell phone nor car were taken.
Maybe Notra will see this and post again.
While the FBI was attempting to reassure the public of its trustworthiness and good faith, coincidence (or poor judgment) reared its ugly head to strike a blow at the FBI's credibility. In the same week that the Carnivore fiasco erupted, the FBI chose to harass Notra Trulock. Displaying police state arrogance and banana republic charm, the FBI, without a search warrant, seized Mr. Trulock's computer hard drive.
Notra Trulock, readers will recall, is the former Department of Energy director of counterintelligence who blew the whistle on the lax security at the DOE nuclear weapons research facilities.
On July 14th, two FBI agents showed up at Mr. Trulock's residence. These two agents allegedly told Mr. Trulock's landlady – a Department of Energy employee – that they would break the door down if she didn't cooperate. The landlady claims that the FBI agents did not show, or offer to show her a search warrant. The FBI intrusion came only two days after the latest edition of National Review hit the newsstands. Mr. Trulock had written an article for the National Review critical of the FBI's handling of the various security scandals surrounding the nuclear weapons research facilities. The FBI alleges that the article, or one similar may have contained classified information. Mr. Trulock has retained Judicial Watch as counsel and has filed suit against the FBI and Director Freeh for violating his Constitutional rights.
Hardly. NM has its own highly developed underworld.
Ask anyone who deals with state govt..
yuck, I don't think he did this to himself.
****I hope the FBI is all over this****
I bet they are. Check the local agent's shoes for blood spatter.
"This is outrageous! I hope this poor man recovers and I hope the people who beat him are found and jailed--forever!"
They're probably back in Washington by now.
God be with this man and his family.
BTTT
2 questions: 1)who was this man supposed to meet at the bar? 2)why didn't the individual show up?
BTTT
This needs to be shouted from the top of the mountain.
THIS is Clinton's legacy as is the Chi-Com military advances.
Jailing them forever would be impractical and expensive. It would be better to put them down like we do with mad and dangerous animals.
You are right! I only wish there was a chance of that happening, but at the present time in this country it is practically impossible.
New York state is more likely.
"Hook's wife, Susan, alleged the assailants told her husband during the attack: "If you know what's good for you, you'll keep your mouth shut.""
Considering his condition, I have a reasonable doubt that this guy was capable of communicating this statement to his wife. His jaw was broken so he would have a hard time speaking. I don't see him writing this out either. It may in fact have nothing to do with his job, but some perceived insult by one or more of the bar patrons. Let's not jump the gun on this.
Precisely! Thank you for posting it.
Uh...lab workers belong to a union, don't they? 2 + 2 =
New York state is more likely.
Or the local union hall.
"Uh...lab workers belong to a union, don't they? 2 + 2 ="
Usually not, but they may be at this place considering the ties to UC. Even so, it is far more likely hired union thugs with experience in such things, if in fact this was work-related (I'm still not 100% convinced).
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