Los Alamos Recap

Just so it’s all in one place.

In October 2001, the lab received unauthorized shipments of anthrax.

In August 2002, two Los Alamos employees are put on administrative leave for abusing expense accounts. The lab says they took $2,500. A watchdog group says it’s more like $900,000.

From July 2001 to October 2002, two more employees pilfer TV monitors, CB radios, GPS navigators, picnic table, gas grill, lawn chair and dozens of hunting knives they bought through the lab. That got the attention of the Albequerque DA.

Finally, in January 2003, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham made sure that John Brown, director of Los Alamos, stepped down. He was replaced by Navy Vice Admiral Pete Nanos.
Two weeks later, investigators hired by the University of California (which operates the lab for the government) were fired, probably because they talked with outside investigators about $2.7 million in pilfered items and expense abuses.

LANL promptly lost a laptop containing designs for nuclear weapons.

Joke’s on LANL: the two investigators have since been called back.

Is that everything?

Today, Congress starts hearings on this debacle. Watch it at work!