USA

Sentencing postponed for former head of US whistleblowing watchdog

Topics: 
USA, Office of Special Counsel
Rating: 
0

Ann E. Marimow – May 13, 2013

The legal odyssey of Scott J. Bloch, the former head of the federal agency that protects government whistleblowers, continued Monday when a federal judge balked at proceeding with sentencing because of what he called an “improperly sanitized version of events.”

Bloch, the Bush-era head of the Office of Special Counsel, pleaded guilty in February to a misdemeanor offense of destroying government property when he ordered the deletion of office computer files by private technicians.

Canadians indicted in USA on fraud, money laundering charges

Topics: 
White-collar crime, Ontario, USA
Rating: 
2

Kevin Donovan – April 12, 2013

A U.S. grand jury has indicted two Ontario private detectives and a consultant on fraud and money laundering charges. The detectives faked Cayman Islands and Swiss banking records to convince divorcing spouses or business associates that someone they once trusted had stashed millions of dollars offshore, according to the indictment filed in a courthouse in Newport News, Va.

Cullen Johnson and Elaine White were extradited from the Turks and Caicos this week to face charges. They are being held in jail in Newport News. A third man, Theodoros Grontis, a Toronto consultant who was living in Virginia, is also facing charges.

Hearing to expose IRS informant program to scrutiny

Topics: 
USA, Watchdogs, Whistleblowers, White-collar crime
Rating: 
2

Nanette Byrnes – April 9, 2013

Seven years after Congress passed a new whistleblower law for the Internal Revenue Service, the tax-collecting agency stands accused of not doing enough, or of not acting swiftly enough, to reward informants who expose tax improprieties.

On Wednesday, under growing pressure from the senator who spearheaded the 2006 legislation, the IRS holds a hearing on proposals it has crafted only now for implementing elements of the law.

Whistleblower Sentenced to Prison While Torturers He Exposed Walk Free

Topics: 
USA, National security, Whistleblowers, Videos
Rating: 
4
The following are selected extracts

Democracy Now – January 30, 2013

Former CIA agent John Kiriakou speaks out just days after he was sentenced to 30 months in prison, becoming the first CIA official to face jail time for any reason relating to the U.S. torture program.

Under a plea deal, Kiriakou admitted to a single count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act by revealing the identity of a covert officer to a freelance reporter, who did not publish it. Supporters say Kiriakou is being unfairly targeted for having been the first CIA official to publicly confirm and detail the Bush administration’s use of waterboarding.

CIA whistleblower Kiriakou gets posh send-off to prison

Topics: 
USA, Whistleblowers, Reprisals
Rating: 
0

David Montgomery – February 21, 2013

John Kiriakou stood in the ninth-floor banquet hall of the Hay-Adams hotel Thursday night and took in the spectacular view of the White House and the Washington Monument. He recalled briefing two presidents during his career with the CIA.

“It’s ironic,” he said, spreading his arms as if to embrace the tableau. “This really is the reason I came to Washington 30 years ago in the first place.” But next Thursday he will check into the Federal Correctional Institution in Loretto, Pa., to begin a 30-month sentence for divulging information that prosecutors said could harm his country.

US railway whistleblowers get some federal protection at last

Topics: 
USA, Workplace conditions, Public health & safety
Rating: 
2
The following are selected extracts

Kari Lydersen – April 15, 2013

The 19th-century railroad boom enabled not only the settling of the American West, the industrial revolution and the growth of American cities, but also the creation of a new class of corporate owners.

The railroad magnates of the 19th and early 20th centuries amassed such wealth and wielded such political clout that they seemed almost omnipotent.

First NY False Claims Act Tax Whistleblower Awarded $1.1 Million

Topics: 
USA, Qui tam or False Claims Act, White-collar crime, Victories
Rating: 
2

March 5, 2013

Tailor Mohanbhai “Mohan” Ramchandani and his business corporation, Mohan’s Custom Tailors, Inc., pled guilty to felony charges related to a ten-year scheme to evade payment of New York sales and income taxes.

Mohan will pay $5.5 million to settle separately filed civil claims that were first raised by a whistleblower under New York State’s False Claims Act. The whistleblower was represented by Stephen Weiss of Seeger Weiss in New York. The whistleblower case was filed in September 2012.

Ex-whistle-blower protector pleads guilty

Topics: 
USA, Office of Special Counsel, Watchdogs
Rating: 
2

Frederic J. Frommer –  February 12, 2013

A former government official responsible for protecting whistle-blowers has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of injury to government property.

Scott Bloch had his government computer and those of two of his staffers wiped clean of information in 2006. He had been under investigation at the time for retaliating against employees at the federal agency he headed, which was responsible for protecting the rights of federal workers and ensuring that government whistle-blowers are not subjected to reprisals. He faces up to six months in jail.

Former whistleblower watchdog chief nominated for judgeship

Topics: 
USA, Office of Special Counsel
Rating: 
0

Lou Chibbaro Jr. – March 20, 2013

President Obama on Tuesday named attorney Elaine D. Kaplan, the current general counsel for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, as one of two nominees to become a judge on the United States Court of Federal Claims.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Kaplan would become the second out gay person to serve on the specialized court, which hears cases brought by citizens against the federal government to recover monetary damages.

I was a whistleblower

Topics: 
USA, Whistleblowers
Rating: 
5

Justin Watt – March 23, 2013

I had always had great respect for soldiers. My father was a Vietnam veteran. I was amazed by his tenacity, so much so that I wanted to follow his example, to do something significant and fight on the frontline. I joined the army in 2004, and a year later I was sent to Iraq.

The biggest shock, once I'd finished my training, was meeting the enemy – seeing what you're up against and realising they're kids your age. The most profound thing was thinking that if I had grown up on that continent, I could have been one of those guys.

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