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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: whistleblower

whistleblower stories: 14 news summaries
MOVIE REVIEW

 The Informant! Is 'Devilish Fun' 

Matt Damon shines as unreliable narrator in serio-comic take on corporate crime

Sep 18, 09 6:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! puts a comic spin on its serious story of a '90s corporate whistle-blower, say critics, with highly entertaining but sometimes muddled results.
  • Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: This "truth-based film about a compulsive liar wavers between corporate thriller and screwball comedy," with an
... More »

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movie review • Matt Damon • whistleblower • Steven Soderbergh

ANALYSIS

 Cash4Gold a Scam? 
 Watchdog Site Says So 

Consumerist named, along with ex-employees, in lawsuit

Sep 4, 09 9:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - The consumer-watchdog blog Consumerist finds itself among the targets of legal action by Cash4Gold.com, an outfit that promises consumers a good return on unwanted jewelry. After following up on a whistle-blowing complaint posted by an ex-employee, Consumerist has been accused of “a false and defamatory posting” about Cash4Gold,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
lawsuit • scam • jewelry • Consumerist.com • whistleblower • Cash4Gold • consumer watchdog

investigation

White House Sought to Weaken Whistleblower Law


Aug 7, 09 1:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Obama administration appears to have attempted to water down the whistleblower protection law the president himself championed on the campaign trail. In an e-mail obtained by the Washington Times, a lawyer in the White House counsel's office sent a new draft of the bill to the Senate. That... More »

MORE ABOUT:
national security • FBI • Senate • House of Representatives • federal employees • Election 2008 • whistleblower • US Senate • Obama administration • President Obama • Homeland Security Committee • White House counsel

(Newser) - A former inspector says he warned the Federal Aviation Administration a full year before February’s crash near Buffalo that Colgan Air might have trouble flying the model of plane involved in the disaster, the New York Times writes. Christopher Monteleon reported that Colgan’s pilots flew fatigued, exceeded manufacturer... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FAA • plane crash • whistleblower • Federal Aviation Administration • Colgan Air • Christopher Monteleon

Northrop Settles Whistleblower Case for $325M

No money will change hands after firm, feds settle separate case

Apr 3, 09 9:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - Northrop Grumman has settled a whistleblower case with the government for $325 million, but the defense contractor doesn't need to get out its checkbook: In a separate case, the federal government agreed to pay Northrop the same amount, the Los Angeles Times reports. The two cases offset each other... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Northrop Grumman • lawsuit • whistleblower • defense contractors • TRW

SEC Overlooked Stanford Fraud in 2003

Former employee warned agency, others
of 'Ponzi scheme'

Feb 27, 09 9:49 AM CST
(Newser) - A former employee of Sir Allen Stanford warned the SEC in 2003 of an “illegal Ponzi scheme” involving his firms, but regulators brushed off the allegations, the Financial Times reports. The whistleblower also told another regulatory body that one of Stanford’s companies was “engaged in a Ponzi... More »

MORE ABOUT:
fraud • SEC • Ponzi scheme • whistleblower • Bernard Madoff • NASD • Financial Industry Regulatory Authority • Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities • Stanford Financial Group • Robert Allen Stanford

DOJ Pulls Prosecutors Off Stevens Case

Judge finds lawyers
in contempt for withholding documents

Feb 17, 09 8:46 AM CST
(Newser) - The Justice Department has yanked the team that prosecuted Ted Stevens off any future action in the case, Politico reports, after the judge found four of the lawyers—including chief prosecutor Brenda Morris—in contempt. Morris and company raised the judge’s ire by withholding documents related to FBI agent... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Department of Justice • Alaska • FBI • Ted Stevens • prosecutors • whistleblower • witness • corruption trial • Mary Beth Kepner

(Newser) - The fraud investigator who tried for a decade to convince the SEC to investigate Bernie Madoff will deride the board's "financial illiteracy" before a Congressional panel today, according to prepared testimony obtained by the Wall Street Journal. Whistleblower Harry Markopolos will also testify that investigating Madoff "posed great... More »

MORE ABOUT:
investigation • fraud • SEC • Ponzi scheme • whistleblower • Bernard Madoff • Harry Markopolos

Agent, Witness in Stevens Case Had a Fling, Defense Says

Ted's team wants new trial over secret-sharing

Jan 27, 09 7:36 AM CST
(Newser) - Lawyers for former Sen. Ted Stevens say the head FBI agent in his corruption case got a little too cozy with a key witness against Stevens, Politico reports. The defense lawyers cite an FBI whistleblower's memo that “strongly suggests that the inappropriate relationship” between the agent and an oilman... More »

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Alaska • FBI • Ted Stevens • Bill Allen • senator • whistleblower • witness • corruption trial • Mary Beth Kepner

Madoff Whistleblower
Shrinks From Spotlight

Tenacious accountant stands to make book, film money, but just wants to move on

Jan 8, 09 12:29 PM CST
(Newser) - Harry Markopolos, the accountant who began warning the feds years ago about Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, wasn’t looking for the limelight, the Boston Globe reports. Not only is he testifying before Congress—he’s also been deluged by book and movie offers. His is “a remarkably compelling... More »

MORE ABOUT:
fraud • SEC • accountants • Ponzi scheme • whistleblower • Bernard Madoff • Harry Markopolos • forensic accounting

 Wiretap Whistleblower 
 Reflects on Fateful Leak 

Fmr. Justice official wrestles with effects of NYT call

Dec 15, 08 9:45 AM CST
(Newser) - The government lawyer who blew the whistle on the Bush administration’s domestic wiretapping program has wrestled with the consequences of his decision, but he felt obligated to tell the truth, Newsweek reports. “I thought this (secret program) was something the other branches of the government—and the public—... More »

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Bush administration • Department of Justice • Thomas Tamm • warrantless wiretapping • domestic spying • domestic wiretapping • whistleblower

 Military Snooped 
 on Troops' 
 Phone Sex 

Intercept operators listened to calls of troops, journalists, aid workers for fun

Oct 10, 08 2:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US military routinely listened in on highly personal private phone calls of Americans calling home from the Middle East, two former operators told ABC News. President Bush has insisted that only the calls of terror suspects are monitored, but the whistleblowers say operators monitored the calls of blameless military... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Senate Intelligence Committee • surveillance • National Security Agency • wiretap • Terrorist Surveillance Program • eavesdropping • whistleblower

Detroit's Mayor Admits He Lied, Will Step Down

Kilpatrick to serve 4 months for perjury; still faces assault charges

Sep 4, 08 10:52 AM CDT
(Newser) - Detroit’s embattled mayor plead guilty to perjury charges today, admitting that he lied under oath during a police whistleblower trial, the Detroit Free Press reports. In a deal that requires him to resign, Kwame Kilpatrick will serve 4 months in jail on two felony counts of obstruction of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Detroit • Michigan • resignation • perjury • guilty plea • Kwame Kilpatrick • whistleblower

Marines Demand Probe
Into Armor Delay

Blast resistant vehicles 'could have cut deaths in half'

Feb 26, 08 4:48 AM CST
(Newser) - The US Marine Corps has asked the Department of Defense to investigate delays obtaining vehicles with blast-resistant armor for combat units in Iraq. An internal USMC memo claims the money needed for the vehicles, which could have cut deaths from roadside bombings by 50%, was diverted to other projects, reports... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Pentagon • roadside bomb • budget • Department of Defense • MRAP • Marine • deaths • USMC • Plans, Policies and Operations Department • casualties • vetting • Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle • whistleblower • Naval Audit Service • Government Accountability Project

14 Stories


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