Free Republic

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Two workers in Orange County, Calif., have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of shredding thousands of documents at an INS office. Dawn Randall and Leonel Salazar were indicted on one count of conspiracy and five counts of willfully destroying documents. The indictment alleges Randall, a file room manager, ordered Salazar and other employees last February to shred unprocessed documents after the office had discovered a 90,000-document backlog. Prosecutors say a month after the shredding began, the backlog dropped to zero. Prosecutors believe the papers were shredded at night to avoid detection. The...

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 30 — Tens of thousands of pieces of mail come into the huge Immigration and Naturalization Service data processing center in Laguna Niguel, Calif., every day, and as at so many government agencies, it tends to pile up. One manager there had a system to get rid of the vexing backlog, federal officials say. This week the manager was charged with illegally shredding as many as 90,000 documents Among the destroyed papers, federal officials charged, were American and foreign passports, applications for asylum, birth certificates and other documents supporting applications for citizenship, visas and work permits. The...

PATIENTS will be allowed to bypass their GP and refer themselves for hospital treatment as part of a radical patient "DIY diagnosis" plan being considered by the Scottish Executive. The fast-track scheme would enable patients who have used the internet or medical books to diagnose their illnesses to see a consultant without the need for an appointment at their local surgery. The plan, proposed by a senior Glasgow consultant, has won the backing of the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Physicians of Glasgow and is being investigated by the Scottish Executive. John Sinclair, a urologist at the...