Police: Los Alamos worker's beating unrelated to whistleblowing

[Rose Siding]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Authorities said today that the beating of a Los Alamos nuclear lab auditor outside a bar was unrelated to his status as a whistleblower.
...
"Facts, evidence and information obtained during the course of this investigation has led investigators to believe that the altercation involving Mr. Hook is an isolated incident and is in no way related to Mr. Hook's whistleblower status at the Los Alamos National Laboratories," Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief Eric Johnson said in the statement.

The investigation is "leaning toward a fight in the parking lot as a result of Mr. Hook backing into a pedestrian," Johnson said.

Hook suffered a broken jaw, a herniated disc and missing teeth in the incident. He, his wife and his lawyer have said he was attacked to keep him quiet about his accusations against lab management.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3219063

[benburch]

1. Like I believe that.

Nice coverup guys.

[Xipe Totec]

9. Careful...

You don't want to follow in his foot stomps.

:evilgrin:

[benburch]

12. I'm a bigger, scarier dude than you think! nt

[tsuki]

2. I tot some swamp land down here in Florida. eom

[rzemanfl]

3. Prisoner abuse was "isolated incident," watch out for isolated

incidents in Bushworld, they can get you killed.

[Democrat 4 Ever]

4. Surprise, surprise.

:sarcasm:

[getmeouttahere]

5. Two words.....Yeah, suuuuuurrre

[annabanana]

6. suuuuurrrrre.......that's the ticket

in no way related
sounds.... plausible, uh huh...

[dave502d]

7. Where did the pedestrian go?

[Sgt. Baker]

8. probably

the one who beat the crap out of him

[0007]

32. How much alcohol was in Hook's blood? Had he been drinking?

I'm sure they have enough blood for a sample.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

10. So, since he was called to "meet someone" there

and does not frequent bars,

sure that makes sense.

[Sgt. Baker]

11. huh?

It didn't say he was called to meet someone. It also didn't say anything about not frequenting bars. Am I missing some other meaning here?

[Rose Siding]

14. That's in the previous story -link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1528207

[Cornjob]

17. The story I heard was that...

he had been called to meet someone at the bar. That person never showed up and the beating occurred after he left the bar.

[countmyvote4real]

15. Gestapo goon squads.

I know how much we (as a country) hate these analogies to the Third Reich, but this “isolated” instance of intimidation reeks with the smell of rats about to be cornered.

[Daphne08]

25. Smells of the Silkwood case.

:-( I hope he recovers.

[Pirate Smile]

13. Yeah? and did you see this "Army Again Denies Cover-Up in Tillman Case"

Army Again Denies Cover-Up in Tillman Case

By JOHN J. LUMPKIN
The Associated Press
Thursday, June 9, 2005; 5:08 PM

WASHINGTON -- The Army on Thursday issued a fresh denial that it attempted to cover up the friendly fire death of former pro football player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan.

The Army said procedural mistakes were to blame for its slow acknowledgment of the circumstances of Tillman's death.

Tillman's parents have criticized the Army for waiting weeks to tell them his death was accidental and did not result from enemy fire. They have accused the government of lying to cover up.

A statement from the Army's public affairs office said Tillman's Ranger unit did not quickly tell the Pentagon of the nature of his death because the unit's leaders were waiting until their investigation was finished.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/09/AR2005060901269.html

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

24. Proceedural mistakes.... yeah...

uh huhhh....

like circumventing the usual national security apparatus with false intel to start a phony war?

[OKthatsIT]

16. Definitely, goon squads. So who call the Police Chief?

huh?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

18. Right. And I'm Little Red Riding Hood.

[jobycom]

19. On the one hand, I don't trust anything. On the other, IF dude was

beat up at a strip club while his wife was out of town, and dude had convinced the wife that he didn't frequent bars or strip clubs, that's just about the perfect story to concoct. "Yeah, honey, really, I got a call in the middle of the night. No, I wasn't awake, I was asleep! Really, he woke me up! Then he wanted to meet at a strip club! It was them damn Los Alamos guys!"

No idea which is true. None at all. I guess until I see the receipts proving he was stuffing bills into G-strings, I'll believe him, though. BushCo has not earned the benefit of the doubt. No one in gov't has in the Los Alamos deal.

[burrowowl]

20. Given it was a T&A bar

and the timeline, he made have been trying to hide something from his wife.
I hope it wasn't Brownshirts.

[Supersedeas]

29. that's some beating as a result of road rage

[WillyT]

21. Yeah... Right... You Nazi Fucks !!!

Tommy Hook, an auditor at Los Alamos National Laboratory, is seen in a Santa Fe, N.M., hospital on Sunday, after being beaten up by a group of men outside a bar, an attack his wife and lawyer said they believe was designed to keep him quiet.

<snip>

The investigation is “leaning toward a fight in the parking lot as a result of Mr. Hook backing into a pedestrian,” Johnson said.

Hook suffered a broken jaw, a herniated disc and missing teeth in the incident. He, his wife and his lawyer have said he was attacked to keep him quiet about his accusations against lab management.

“This individual was telling me I should keep my mouth shut,” Hook said Tuesday, describing what happened during the beating in an interview with CBS News.

<snip>

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8123885/

:grr::nuke::mad:

[bunny planet]

22. yeah right.

[theshadow]

23. As everyone hops aboard the Conspiracy Express...

.... pause to consider that the police identified the suspects and sent the case to the DA. They didn't melt into the night.

See http://www.abqjournal.com/news/aplanl06-09-05.htm

[bling bling]

26. But further down the article also said:

(from same source as the link in your post)

<snip>

Montano said Hook stands by his version of how the attack happened despite the conclusion of authorities.
"What's unfortunate about this is that it appears to be Mr. Hook's word against the word of four or more assailants,'' Montano said. "These individuals involved would have every incentive to portray a different scenario than what Mr. Hook portrayed. That says volumes about how difficult it is as whistleblowers to bring issues to the surface.''
Montano added: "What's so amazing is that you have someone brutalized to the extent that Tommy was and now we seem to have law enforcement willing to let these people walk away.''
If Hook had actually hit or nearly hit a pedestrian, Montano said witnesses could have held him down until police arrived.

-end

Still seems to lend itself to conspiracy theory material to me.

[0007]

33. That doesn't mean a goddamn thing. People have been known to take a

fall for money. And we know how honest some police can be. Even junior wanted to put a creep like NYC Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik in charge of Homeland Security.

So don't drink the cool-aid until all the facts are in my friend.

[kurtyboy]

27. Oh.

Okay.

No worries. For a minute, I thought that there might actually be bad people who whale on whistleblowers, but the empirical evidence is to the contrary, thank goodness.

Have a nice day.

[seriousstan]

28. Cops Debunk Whistleblower Beating

CBS/AP) An attack on a Los Alamos nuclear lab auditor outside a bar was unrelated to his status as a whistleblower, authorities said Thursday, calling into question the man's allegation that he was beaten to ensure his silence.


---cut---

The investigation is "leaning toward a fight in the parking lot as a result of Mr. Hook backing into a pedestrian," Johnson said. He said after Hook hit the pedestrian, he exited his vehicle, "at which time the confrontation escalated into a physical attack."

Police said they have identified people involved in the attack and were sending the case to prosecutors. They did not release the identities of anyone involved.


---cut---

At a press conference Tuesday, Hook's wife, Susan, said her husband had been lured to the bar by a late-night phone call from an unidentified man requesting a meeting. She said her husband told her the man never showed up but as he was leaving the topless bar's parking lot, a group of men pulled him from his car and beat him.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/09/national/main700588_page2.shtml

[cyberpj]

30. And why would the pedestrian have said, "keep your mouth shut" ? nt.

[daleo]

31. Here's a scenario:

1 - Give him a message to show up at a bar to meet someone.
2 - Don't have anyone meet him there, but watch his movements.
3 - When he leaves, make sure someone gets 'bumped' by his car.
4 - Beat him thoroughly, with appropriate warnings.
5 - Later, claim it was because he hit a person in your group.

To ascertain the truth (or at least triangulate on it):
- what punishment is given for the beating? If it is minor, that would be telling.
- what is the background of the group in question? Might they be either attached to the lab, or likely to be a group who could be hired?
- does the media use terms like "debunk" when reporting the story? (I just threw that in to get three items in the list, but it is often language used to dismiss inconvenient claims).

[0007]

34. "Make it look good Louie" and we'll make sure the bucks look good

to you and the friends witnesses.

[leftofthedial]

35. we believe the beating in the parking lot

was the result of a fight in the parking lot

WTF?

[youspeakmylanguage]

36. Still sounds like BS, but it is plausible...

I bounce at a nightclub that is fairly upscale so I can't comment on what happens at roadhouses, but I have seen my share of trouble on and off the job.

The sad fact is that fights (sometimes horrific ones where a person is badly beaten) can erupt over the most ridiculous stuff. Often people who are only guilty of standing next to the wrong person at the wrong time are hurt and humiliated. Alcohol, drugs, and sexual rejection can all play a part in whipping men (and sometimes women) into a frenzy.

It certainly wasn't Hook's fault that he was beaten, but he never should have ventured to a roadhouse-type club alone at night, especially if he and his family thought something like this would happen.

Also, I don't quite understand what the motivation was for the Lab to hire thugs to beat Hook in the first place. Wouldn't they have known that a stunt like this would bring nationwide attention to him and his accusations?