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Roger Boisjoly, 73, Dies; Warned of Shuttle Danger

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Roger Boisjoly

Douglas Martin – February 3, 2012

Six months before the space shuttle Challenger exploded over Florida on Jan. 28, 1986, Roger Boisjoly wrote a portentous memo. He warned that if the weather was too cold, seals connecting sections of the shuttle’s huge rocket boosters could fail.

“The result could be a catastrophe of the highest order, loss of human life,” he wrote.

Whistleblowing bureaucrats face reprisal, organization says

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Don Butler – February 3, 2012

Public servants who disclose wrongdoing invariably face workplace reprisals despite laws promising protection, says the head of an organization that promotes integrity and accountability within government.

David Hutton, executive director of FAIR (Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform), said he’s received hundreds of calls from whistleblowers since assuming his volunteer position in 2008.

Georgia is Anti-Corruption Success Story: World Bank

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February 2, 2012

Georgia’s gains in the fight against corruption in the public sector ‘destroys the myth that corruption is not culture,’ says a new book by the World Bank about how the former Soviet country has reformed.

The international financial institution says that Georgia’s progress in building a legal framework and enforcement system can and should be replicated by other countries in transition.  The organization lays out how to do that, it says, in its publication, "Fighting Corruption in Public Services: Chronicling Georgia's Reforms” (pdf) launched Tuesday.

Russian Mayor Arrested for Corruption

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February 3, 2012

The mayor of southern Russian city was arrested Thursday for extorting bribes from businessmen who sought to lease government-owned land.  Igor Bestuzhy, the mayor of Stavropol, allegedly demanded a bribe of 50 million rubles (US$1.6 million) from a businessman who wanted to lease five hectares of municipal land.

Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee, called on all businessmen who were extorted to come forward as witnesses.

USA Top Whistleblower Cop Recommends Punishment for Retaliation

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Dana Liebelson – February 2, 2012

The Air Force may have failed to properly investigate and punish those responsible for the gruesome negligence at Port Mortuary – but fortunately, there's a new sheriff in town: Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner.

On Tuesday, her office presented the Air Force with a report concluding that Port Mortuary officials retaliated against the whistleblowers, and should receive appropriate disciplinary action for violating the Whistleblower Protection Act.

Public servants fear ‘subtle’ reprisals for whistleblowing: report

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Don Butler – February 3, 2012

Government employees fear career-limiting reprisals if they blow the whistle on wrongdoers in the federal public service, says a report prepared for the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner.

Moreover, most believe wrongdoing by public servants is under-disclosed, says the report by Phoenix Strategic Perspectives, which summarizes the findings of 10 focus groups held last November to explore public servants’ perceptions about disclosing wrongdoing in their workplaces.

Whistleblower warned Ministry about Ornge in 2008

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Kevin Donovan – February 3, 2012

Ontario’s Health Ministry and the province’s financial investigations team were warned of serious problems at Ornge three years ago, documents reveal. An Ornge accountant blew the whistle in 2008, telling the province that the publicly funded Ornge was “handing out money like water.”

In an interview audiotaped in 2008 by Ministry of Finance investigators, Keith Walmsley said former Ornge boss Dr. Chris Mazza, who was fired Thursday, and other executives were paying themselves whopping bonuses and had set up a spiderweb of for-profit companies. Walmsley went on to provide detailed allegations of numerous abuses of taxpayers money and said Ornge was deceiving the cash-strapped Health Ministry, hiding a $5-million annual surplus in taxpayers funds by using a double set of books.

Air Ambulance service Ornge fires top executives

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Postmedia News – February 2, 2012

Amid charges of financial mismanagement and poor safety standards, the two most senior executives at Ornge Global, which is responsible for Ontario’s air ambulance service, have been fired.

Founder and CEO Chris Mazza and chief operating officer Maria Renzella were dismissed without severance pay on Thursday, the same day the company was placed in receivership and a newly appointed board appointed to handle bankruptcy proceedings. A forensic audit of the firm’s books continues.

Billionaire fights expulsion from Canada

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Sidhartha Banerjee – February 2, 2012

A billionaire member of Tunisia’s once-dominant ruling clan whose stay in Canada since last year has been shrouded in mystery is scheduled to make a public appearance soon.

Belhassen Trabelsi has remained under the radar since a much-publicized arrival amid turmoil in his native Tunisia, where his family stands accused of siphoning millions of dollars from the state.

Indian court cancels 122 telecom licenses in anti-corruption move

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Mark Magnier – February 2, 2012

In a move that could leave tens of millions of India's cellphone-loving consumers with a busy signal, even as it delivers a political setback to the country’s scandal-racked government, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that 122 mobile phone licenses issued to companies after 2008 are invalid and must be canceled.

The judgment hits at the heart of a corruption scandal of breathtaking proportions, even by recent Indian standards. By some accounts, alleged sweetheart deals involving the distribution of valuable second-generation telecommunications spectrum in 2008, handed out at 2001 prices, cost India’s treasury over $39 billion. That's more than twice the country's combined education and health budgets for 2011.