Two fired Los Alamo investigators are rehired to help with lab inquiry
01/18/03
ROBERT GEHRKE
WASHINGTON -- Two investigators fired after sounding alarms about missing computers and alleged credit card fraud at Los Alamos National Laboratory were hired Friday to assist in an inquiry of lab practices.
Glenn Walp and Steven Doran were originally hired by the lab to investigate the handling of government property but were dismissed in November after reporting on alleged misuse of lab credit cards and $2.7 million in missing computers and other equipment.
On Friday, the University of California hired Walp and Doran to aid Richard Atkinson of the university in investigating the alleged malfeasance. They were also given back pay to last November, when they were terminated by the Los Alamos lab.
"Do I appreciate the gesture? Yes I do. Is this the big payoff? No way," said Doran in a phone interview. "As long as they're willing to continue to work to clean up the national laboratory I am behind them 1,000 percent. The second they discontinue that attitude, I'm history and the battle begins again."
Doran and Walp met for four hours Friday with university officials, including Senior Vice Presidents Bruce Darling and Joseph Mullinix, providing them with documents they had gathered. They plan to continue discussions by phone next week, Doran said.
Doran said university officials appear genuine in their desire to clean up the lab.
Ken Johnson, spokesman for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is investigating the conduct at Los Alamos, said the action by the university should send a signal to potential whistle-blowers that they can come forward with their stories without fear of being fired.
"This is an important moment in our investigation. I think it sends a clear signal to the university and to the employees at the lab that we are deadly serious about getting to the bottom of this," he said. "Finally someone at U.C. is starting to get it."
Earlier Friday, members of the House Energy and Commerce committee urged Atkinson to reinstate Doran and Walp and give them back pay, calling the university's treatment of the two men "appalling."
The Energy Department, the FBI and three congressional committees are investigating alleged instances of fraud and mismanagement at the lab, which include claims of $2.7 million in lost computers and equipment and $4.9 million in questionable or unaccounted-for credit card purchases. One of those claims was that one employee allegedly tried to buy a souped-up Ford Mustang with a lab card.
Lab officials say they've accounted for all but about $260,000 of those credit card buys.
In the late-1990s, the government bungled its investigation into alleged espionage involving lab scientist Wen Ho Lee. Lee was arrested and later pleaded guilty to one count of mishandling sensitive information.
In 2000, a set of hard drives with top-secret nuclear information vanished, only to be found later behind a copy machine.
Lab director John Browne resigned last month, and four other managers have resigned or been reassigned.
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