Posted on 06/09/2005 5:44:45 PM PDT by jimboster
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Authorities said Thursday that the beating of a Los Alamos nuclear lab auditor outside a bar was unrelated to his status as a whistleblower.
Police did not say that Tommy Hook, 52, had offered false information when he said he was beaten to keep him from talking about alleged financial irregularities at the nuclear lab. But the version of events set forth in the police statement was sharply at odds with what Hook and his supporters said happened in Santa Fe early Sunday.
"Facts, evidence and information obtained during the course of this investigation has led investigators to believe that the altercation involving Mr. Hook is an isolated incident and is in no way related to Mr. Hook's whistleblower status at the Los Alamos National Laboratories," Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief Eric Johnson said in the statement.
The investigation is "leaning toward a fight in the parking lot as a result of Mr. Hook backing into a pedestrian," Johnson said.
Hook suffered a broken jaw, a herniated disc and missing teeth in the incident. He, his wife and his lawyer have said he was attacked to keep him quiet about his accusations against lab management.
"This individual was telling me I should keep my (expletive) mouth shut," Hook said Tuesday, describing what happened during the beating in an interview with CBS News.
At a press conference Tuesday, Hook's wife, Susan, said her husband had been lured to the bar by a late-night phone call from an unidentified man requesting a meeting. 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.
Hook, an auditor and 15-year lab veteran, has a pending lawsuit against the University of California, which manages the Los Alamos lab, alleging whistleblower retaliation. He had been preparing to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
What truth ..?? A guy who has a face that bruised and bloated did not get it from a minor fender-bender.
This is just another part of the cover-up.
He hit a guy in the parking lot with his car. The guy's friends beat the hell out of him.
Wow, you're dumb.
I'm inclined to believe that the hit pededtrian was a setup. Hook should be put on paid leave for his safety.
Zero credibility ... make a note of the fact that this dude is no Notra Trulock by any stretch. He's been embraced by "The Cause" (e.g. the general Lefty hate bush - hate everything cause) and that alone speaks volumes.
He's part of the Lefty malcontent faction at LANL - he's no Notra Trulock.
"Wow, you're dumb."
Wow! You're rude!
And .. how do you know it was a real accident ..??
How do you know it wasn't a "staged" accident. People do it all the time for money .. why not stage an accident as an EXCUSE to beat up on somebody ..??
And .. I believe it was one of the beaters who kept telling the guy to keep quiet about Los Alamos ..?? Why would somebody involved in "just an accident" act that way or say those things ..??
And .. the beating was way too severe for a little fender-bender in the parking lot.
Sorry .. I'm not buying it.
ROTFLOL!!
Sorry .. I'm not buying it.
LOL!
If anybody called my husband and told him he had to meet them at a topless bar, I'd tell him he'd better be black and blue when he came back home.
Facts won't stop this guy from becoming a liberal urban legend. Remember Karen Silkwood?
The attackers never mentioned Los Alamos- Hook admits that. Also, alcohol was involved. Plus it was a strip bar- you know, where a lot of guys are at their machoest. And it wasn't a fender bender but a pedestrian bender. Here's the best case scenario for Hooks (although I think Hooks was there for the strippers). 4 or 5 drunken jerks see Hook's car brush one of their own while he's backing up. They start pounding on his car. Hooks gets out and says, "Knock it off" and they respond with, "Keep your (expletive) mouth shut!" Then proceed to beat his ass. Some pretty bad bar fights start when a one guy just bumps into against another.
Well .. that's your story and you're stuck with it.
My experience is that people who have been drinking are not able to level that kind of attack. Maybe people on drugs - but drinkers have very little muscle control and have difficulty landing a punch. I've never seen that kind of beating from people who have been drinking.
HOH!
I'll talk to my travel agent.
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