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Monday, August 27, 2012
Ed Moses is resigning as of Oct 1st!
Anonymously contributed:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ed Moses will tender his resignation Oct 1. He has been caught funneling contracts to family members.
75 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Has he been investigated? is he resigning rather than running the risk of being fired? what else did you hear?
Copied from another thread. How are we to know that this isn't pure fiction just to tease us? Some of us just don't have the youthful health to handle this kind of ticklish anticipation. Is there a deal being worked out with NNSA? What will NNSA give to the lab in return for this kind of personnel action?
Anonymous said... This is amazing. Some idiot makes up a story out of whole cloth that Moses has been escorted off the Site by security and is under investigation, and it goes viral. It is completely false----Parney seems to love Ed, attendee the laser performance review for a while last week, and has been nothing if not supportive of Ed and NIF since he took over. Ed has been off Site dealing with a 92 yr old mother in law. Do you people have no shame. When you just make this stuff up you can really hurt people.
I'll believe this when I see it or hear it from the director on LLNL. My bet is it's all BS just like the rumor I heard today about LLNL letting 1,500 people go before Christmas, lab wide. Sometimes I just think all of this is wishfull thinking.
I remember when Nanos was here in Los Alamos. Every day you would hear someone clain Pete is leaving. Because: a) they have seen a gardener working in his house b) they have not seen his family c) Whatever.. It was always false. Go back to the old Lanl blog and you will see it.
Does anyone know the whereabouts of Tomas? Normally I would have guessed that he has something really cushy lined up for him as a consolation. On the other hand, here is a guy who has been promoted far far above his level of incompetence.
Purely wishful thinking puts him squarely back in Spain and running their fusion energy research programs (into the ground). Or maybe he will open a novelty taco stand there.
Hard to believe that he is on his way out if he is still giving presentations on behalf of the lab. Must be rumors gone out of control. Or maybe this is a "job interview" for him. You never know. This doesn't fit with a pattern of someone being investigated for embezzlement.
Science & Big Physics Summit Control, Diagnostics and Measurement for Physics Systems and Experiments August 7 - 8, 2012 Austin Convention Center 10:30 AM Welcome and Introduction to Graphical System Design Ballroom E Dr. Stefano Concezzi, Director, Science & Big Physics, National Instruments SUMMIT KEYNOTE The Path to Exploring the Cosmos and Laser Fusion Energy Dr. Ed Moses, Director, National Ignition Facility and Photon Science Principal Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
lets see there was thomas, the head council for the lab, the early laser boys who were making wine presses, the upper management that was caught "insider trading"the purchase of land that was surrounding the lab. Those are just a few that come to mind. There are more. really not that unusual for upper management to abuse their position. One poster wonders how they are able to pull it off with all of the rules that are in place. they don't is the answer. they get caught, fired or forced to resign.
Tomas was and still is a lowlife. Same with his sycophantic proteges who are still there. Too bad people don't buy into that crap. The sad thing is that they buy into that whole "llnl manual of success" crap that Tomas and Hal espoused. More so Tomas. Atleast Hal was an experienced criminal who was smart and knew how to hide the dead bodies and make inquiries disappear. Though maybe some of you know more about him than me. Tomas didn't even know how to cover his tracks. What a moron.
That was probably his fatal flaw. that Tomas was and still is a moron. Good corporate executives know how to avoid trouble and controversy and if necessary to know how to mitigate damage. Tomas... a laughably inept manager who was a liability (hard to believe but yes he added several increments of liability) to the lab, as well as to NNSA.
People on the outside keep saying "they knew it was coming," seeing all the signs of his behavior and excesses, his approving travel expenses above DOE set limits, etc. etc. etc., destroying a postdoc's career, etc. Such a shame.
Always figured that Tomas, like all the so called leaders of the S&T capabilities at both design Labs, would eventually land in the ivory tower of a college somewhere. Just as in modern day Greece, the welfare state must collapse under its own weight at some point. The entire concept of the capability model could only be maintained in an environment where there was sufficient tax revenue to sustain the very hefty standing expense of the model. At some point, the programs having deliverables can not bear the tax rate, and force the adaption of an alternate model. Maybe Parney will face this economic reality by now ditching the model that has proved to be a disastrous millstone around the neck of the programs. The larger problem is the legacy of the oversized staff that still requires feeding. Just like a home mortgage that is severely under water because of poor choices on the part of the owner, refinancing the outstanding balance is not an option. Get ready for the pain of a bankruptcy, brought to the staff of the design Labs courtesy of the capabilities model.
I'm still picture what it would be like for him to be in academia. The one important thing to remember that a con artist is happy and active when they have people to con. Not having LIFE or NIF to peddle, I have a hard time seeing him oversell a taco stand for example. Add to that, you have someone that garners little real respect from academics. Industry people will be polite and genial to him but only while he had perceived power and influence and decision-making power.
So I have a hard time seeing him "content" with that, though I could be wrong. I have to acknowledge that people have an amazing ability to delude themselves and impart a feeling of importance upon themselves just by having an office, a phone, and a rolodex.
Wait a minute.. did he really leave the lab or is he just stepping down from his role? One can potentially help push down the overhead rate while the other will not. If he's sticking around for another 20 years, he may catch his second wind and be the comeback kid. Since I would highly doubt that he has any real prospects outside where they demand performance, I would guess that he is going to stick around for a very long time like a parasite. Sitting in meetings, jabbering and blustering as usual, trying to intimidate his way through the work day, basically increasing the cost of getting any work done for everyone else.
Livermore will fail to meet its milestone to achieve ignition by the end of FY2012. Somebody needs to be the fall guy for this failure. It's either going to be Ed Moses or the Livermore director.
Yeah we still have a a bit of time left in FY2012. Stop telling us that they won't get ignition when there is still time left on the clock. Ed stakes his reputation on this promise. Give him breathing space for gosh sakes.
I thought the problem was that Ed went around NNSA to go to congress and as a result, was going to have to pay with a pound of flesh. That the investigation was only a pretext for the disloyalty and that this was just a purge.
"I'm raising the bullshit flag. This rumor is bogus."
Yeah, I was a bit skeptical, too, because all I've heard thus far about the Moses case is rumors. Nothing in the news and no statements from the Lab about Moses.
But then I got to thinking: This rumor about Moses has been all over the Lab for at least a couple of weeks now, and I've head about it from several different sources so it's pretty widespread. Don't you think that Moses and/or his close supporters have heard the rumors, too? If so - and if Moses is still in good graces with the Lab - don't you think that he or his close supporters would release some routine statement about NIF progress or something in, say, Newsline with Moses' name featured in the statement. Nothing too overt and nothing directly addressing the rumors. Just some simple statement about NIF to let everyone know that he is still in charge and in good graces with the Lab. In the absence of any such statement like that mentioning Moses for the last few weeks, I'm inclined to believe that there may be some truth to the rumors. we'll see.
Absolutely! We would like to see more facts. Everyone having to piece together anecdotal info is what is leading to rampant speculation. There is smoke, and therefore everyone naturally assumes there is fire. However, this may be turning into a distraction, since these blogs are getting an increasingly wider base of readership across the DoE and DoD complex and even in policymaker circles. Putting to rest any of these issues once and for all would be nice.
Hard to look to facts when there are none being provided by the lab or other sources via attributable and verifiable statements. All that's available to work with at the moment are the anecdotes.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if he does step down, but only because of NNSA demands, and that the investigation was only a convenient pretext for making it happen. Just like the Tomas incident. Both will land on their feet, and that many people's desires to see blood drawn and to see a pound of flesh extracted may not actually be fulfilled. Would be standard textbook strategy.
Yes, but what are we to make of the FACT that the Lab and Ed Moses have been completely silent on his status despite the fact that these rumors are now fairly widespread and common knowledge around the Lab? I know if such rumors were circulating around about myself, I would find some way of making my presence known in order to squash the rumors quickly. But in the case of Moses, nothing. Just silence........
Well atleast they finally removed Tomas's pic and bio off of the management roster on their website.
These things will happen quietly. I think they are smart enough to know that no good comes from sharing too much information about certain events with the public, and that the best course is just to let people fade off into obscurity.
Get like some action, or something. That whole thing about the ship ready to sail around the world... you really need to loosen up and get some play dude.
Yeah i don't know who these people are. Not Los Alamos people. Those guys are much more vitriolic and bitter. Maybe the MFE guys are shitting on the NIF trash.
OK, then. It's pointless to speculate, and whether the rumors are true or not It won't lead to any actionable items on my part. So let's just sit back, grab some popcorn, and see what happens. Either this is a case of a rumor run amok, or we're going to be seeing some very interesting news stories in the near future.
Dr. Lee doesn't need to lie to get an honest scientific program off the ground. Some people have a lot to learn from following the example of Dr. Lee. You people should be ashamed of yourselves.
The Trivelpiece piece was a technical review. It was not technical risk management control. Don't be putting blame on others. You know for a fact that according to their charter, the technical review committee was not accountable for tracking risk continuously. That was on the lap of management. Stop trying to put the blame on someone who, despite being able to withstand the heat, isn't at all responsible.
Thats yet another despicable act. Putting the blame on Trivelpiece and the review committee. Seriously messed up. Why can't these guys take responsibility for their own failure? Stop passing the buck to Trivelpiece.
LLNL management has been sitting on the embezzlement information for a very long time. I can only speculate about why it took so long before we started seeing action. It's possible that there is nothing to any of it, and that he is clean. But this "accusation" originated from within LLNL inner circles, not from outsider investigators or created as fiction by trollers and troublemakers. Some remotely possible scenarios: looking for disloyal leaks in the inner circle; fabricate a pretext for the purpose of management change for other reasons or drivers that you don't want to have to even try to explain; NNSA finally cashing in on the chip it held in the form of the accusation.
All rumors. Here are his daily non-meeting sightings. Very little variation from day to day. A true nerd to the core.
7:15 am Arrive at office, small chat with admins and other managers. Leave a tin of cookies or chocolates for the office. 8:45 am pre-meeting coffee from central cafeteria, chat with employees, stroll by beach volleyball court. 10:05 am after-meeting bathroom break and hand desanitizing. 11:45 am depart for Pilates and macrobiotic vegan lunch. 12:55 pm after lunch coffee at the central cafeteria. 1:00 pm Facility stroll and power walk, stairs only, no elevators. 2:45 pm power stroll to 111 for daily updates. 4:30 pm late afternoon coffee weapons cafeteria 6:15 pm 2nd facility stroll and employee motivation activities. 7:45 pm gym elliptical and upper body strength training. 8:15 pm stop by office to pick up next day schedule, then go home unless there is an urgent issue needing resolution.
As you can see this is a man with a very visible and ordinary routine. So there can't be any truth to these silly rumors of a resignation. See for yourself!
"LLNL ...sitting on the embezzlement information for a very long time.."
Baloney. This is agitation by someone not connected to the labs.
Insiders know that without cooperation among many conspirators embezzlement is nearly impossible. The overlapping signatures and more signatures and review and rereview and re-rereview ad nauseum make the idea of writing a check to yourself or hitting the petty cash box silly.
Theft of some items is possible, but not embezzlement.
Failure within lab management will be due to pride or hubris, not greed.
They never used the words embezzlement. That is the wrong legal term. From what details passed to me it sounded more like subcontractor kickback which has criminal penalties which can include imprisonment of up to 10 years and fines on the individual and the organization. Controls for kickback are primarily through employees signing statements and declarations of compliance with the law and organization standards of business conduct and ethics. Which is to say that there are very few controls except from whistleblowers or astute forensic accountants with a lot of time to scrutinize every contract.
A well concealed kickback scheme can be difficult or impossible to detect. Due diligence can uncover potential red flags for the poorly concealed situations. What you're describing is not unheard of in government contracting. In such cases you don't need a broad conspiracy across an organization in order to pull it off. Maybe what you heard originated from a whistleblower or a disgruntled employee.
Yeah, Probably not embezzlement though it could be one of a number of possible crimes being alleged in the passed information. But it all doesn't mean anything unless a formal criminal complaint is filed.
Embezzlement its many legal definitions, generally does not require a broad conspiracy. It's a good thing you have at least one practicing attorney reading these pages to help set things straight. It is dangerous to assume that having a layered review and approval process will always prevent fraud or even embezzlement from occurring. Some of you may find the various statutory definitions and requirements for "fraud," to be quite useful as well.
What is being described may actually meet the requirements for an allegation of what amounts to embezzlement. So embezzlement may be in fact the correct term to use.
Is there criminal liability if employees had direct and first-hand knowledge of such activity but didnt report it? What is the statute of limitation for the offender as well as those who knew and kept quiet?
If you have material information about a potential crime and are concerned about criminal liability, public forums are not the right place to discuss them. You should retain an attorney to discuss your options. Good luck!
Dang, somebody sure gets real sensitive when you talk about lawyer stuff. It was gettin real boring until you pop that rage comment. Where do bribe come in? Nobody mentioned that before. You gettin mad at the lawyer talk? You gotta know the law. And whats this about people being physically weak? Its like you don't see them type in all caps or sometin? Oh if your the owner of this blog, just delete stuff and block people's computers. That solve everything for you.
Oh what that? You aint the owner of the blog? Well thats just too bad. Dun know why you read it if just makes you more and more upset. Just because some of us not as smart as you dont mean you can just talk to us like dirt. But I can forgive you.
Watch out and don't go to HR or lab counsel before getting a lawyer if you know or saw stuff. LANL and LLNL have a culture where no manager can do wrong. If they do something to an employee, in many cases they have turned it around and found a reason to go after the employee. Managers can do no wrong. Remember that phrase always. You may not like lawyers. But they are your best chance to protect yourself. NIF being the hail Mary for the lab, you bet they will try to shut you down. Retaliation is a common practice at these labs. Keep printed copies of emails, records, meeting times and dates. Notes for what you saw, when and where.
I'll throw in some bones into the pit. Resignation sounds bogus; it makes no sense when they are giving regular outside presentations on behalf of the lab into the new fiscal year. The lab management is keeping mum. So maybe the rest of us can help put this issue to rest. This isn't proof. It's just another piece of the puzzle. But does suggest that the alot of the information is potentially based on wishful thinking.
http://jila.colorado.edu/calendar?page=2 The National Ignition Facility: Pathway to Energy Security and the Physics of the Cosmos Physics Seminar Wed, 10/24/2012 - 4:00pm Ed Moses Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Duane G1B20
Anonymous said... Watch out and don't go to HR or lab counsel before getting a lawyer if you know or saw stuff. LANL and LLNL have a culture where no manager can do wrong. If they do something to an employee, in many cases they have turned it around and found a reason to go after the employee. Managers can do no wrong. Remember that phrase always. You may not like lawyers. But they are your best chance to protect yourself. NIF being the hail Mary for the lab, you bet they will try to shut you down. Retaliation is a common practice at these labs. Keep printed copies of emails, records, meeting times and dates. Notes for what you saw, when and where.
September 7, 2012 9:59 AM Anonymous said... Anonymity is a necessity because the threat of retaliation is real particularly for lab employees.
September 7, 2012 10:18 AM
This is so true and what is wrong with the laboratory. It allows abusive, bully driven managers to move up the rankings. Someone should check out all the lawsuits at the laboratory currently. That is where our funding is going. HR is abusive stay away from them.
HR will side with managers in manager vs employer situations involving serious allegations against a manager. An exception would be when you are lucky enough to tangle with a manager who top level management wants to get rid of anyways. That phrase used:
"Managers can do no wrong,"
Is very apt. That is the culture that you will have to contend with. Always remember it. Don't ever let your guard down.
I personally have seen parts of what amounts to a campaign of intimidation and retaliation of employees by line managers. Employee reports abuse by another employee (who happens to be part of the stable of people in a division leader's personal fiefdom) It got turned around in a bunch of reprimands and actions against the accuser. In this case HR didn't go after the accuser probably because he had kept extensive documentation of everything and had discussions with classifications and many others to consult with prior to making his accusation. They can't crucify someone if it brings in too many other people and actually sheds light on the matter. Nevertheless division leader continues to pursue a low level campaign of retaliation through his proxies.
75 comments:
Has he been investigated? is he resigning rather than running the risk of being fired? what else did you hear?
Will there be criminal prosecution?
Are there others who are involved? One person can't do all this alone to circumvent all the controls in place.
Copied from another thread. How are we to know that this isn't pure fiction just to tease us? Some of us just don't have the youthful health to handle this kind of ticklish anticipation. Is there a deal being worked out with NNSA? What will NNSA give to the lab in return for this kind of personnel action?
Anonymous said...
This is amazing. Some idiot makes up a story out of whole cloth that Moses has been escorted off the Site by security and is under investigation, and it goes viral. It is completely false----Parney seems to love Ed, attendee the laser performance review for a while last week, and has been nothing if not supportive of Ed and NIF since he took over. Ed has been off Site dealing with a 92 yr old mother in law. Do you people have no shame. When you just make this stuff up you can really hurt people.
August 1, 2012 6:35 PM
"When the going get's tough, the tough get going, right out the West Gate".
I'll believe this when I see it or hear it from the director on LLNL. My bet is it's all BS just like the rumor I heard today about LLNL letting 1,500 people go before Christmas, lab wide. Sometimes I just think all of this is wishfull thinking.
Has he been seen around the lab and doing his normal routine?
My heart can't take this kind of suspense!
I remember when Nanos was here in Los Alamos. Every day you would hear someone clain Pete is leaving.
Because:
a) they have seen a gardener working in his house
b) they have not seen his family
c) Whatever..
It was always false. Go back to the old Lanl blog and you will see it.
Yeah, what a crock that was!
Does anyone know the whereabouts of Tomas? Normally I would have guessed that he has something really cushy lined up for him as a consolation. On the other hand, here is a guy who has been promoted far far above his level of incompetence.
Purely wishful thinking puts him squarely back in Spain and running their fusion energy research programs (into the ground). Or maybe he will open a novelty taco stand there.
Yeah a whole lot of crock rumors. Don't you all know? Nanos is still there running the show at LANL!
Hard to believe that he is on his way out if he is still giving presentations on behalf of the lab. Must be rumors gone out of control. Or maybe this is a "job interview" for him. You never know. This doesn't fit with a pattern of someone being investigated for embezzlement.
Science & Big Physics Summit
Control, Diagnostics and Measurement for Physics Systems and Experiments
August 7 - 8, 2012
Austin Convention Center
10:30 AM Welcome and Introduction to Graphical System Design
Ballroom E Dr. Stefano Concezzi, Director, Science & Big Physics, National Instruments
SUMMIT KEYNOTE
The Path to Exploring the Cosmos and Laser Fusion Energy
Dr. Ed Moses, Director, National Ignition Facility and Photon Science
Principal Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
lets see there was thomas, the head council for the lab, the early laser boys who were making wine presses, the upper management that was caught "insider trading"the purchase of land that was surrounding the lab. Those are just a few that come to mind. There are more. really not that unusual for upper management to abuse their position. One poster wonders how they are able to pull it off with all of the rules that are in place. they don't is the answer. they get caught, fired or forced to resign.
wait for oct. and the revisit this post
Tomas was and still is a lowlife. Same with his sycophantic proteges who are still there. Too bad people don't buy into that crap. The sad thing is that they buy into that whole "llnl manual of success" crap that Tomas and Hal espoused. More so Tomas. Atleast Hal was an experienced criminal who was smart and knew how to hide the dead bodies and make inquiries disappear. Though maybe some of you know more about him than me. Tomas didn't even know how to cover his tracks. What a moron.
That was probably his fatal flaw. that Tomas was and still is a moron. Good corporate executives know how to avoid trouble and controversy and if necessary to know how to mitigate damage. Tomas... a laughably inept manager who was a liability (hard to believe but yes he added several increments of liability) to the lab, as well as to NNSA.
People on the outside keep saying "they knew it was coming," seeing all the signs of his behavior and excesses, his approving travel expenses above DOE set limits, etc. etc. etc., destroying a postdoc's career, etc. Such a shame.
wait for oct. and the revisit this post
I'm sure that many of us wait in anticipation. Have the champagne ready and on ice.
Always figured that Tomas, like all the so called leaders of the S&T capabilities at both design Labs, would eventually land in the ivory tower of a college somewhere. Just as in modern day Greece, the welfare state must collapse under its own weight at some point. The entire concept of the capability model could only be maintained in an environment where there was sufficient tax revenue to sustain the very hefty standing expense of the model. At some point, the programs having deliverables can not bear the tax rate, and force the adaption of an alternate model.
Maybe Parney will face this economic reality by now ditching the model that has proved to be a disastrous millstone around the neck of the programs. The larger problem is the legacy of the oversized staff that still requires feeding. Just like a home mortgage that is severely under water because of poor choices on the part of the owner, refinancing the outstanding balance is not an option. Get ready for the pain of a bankruptcy, brought to the staff of the design Labs courtesy of the capabilities model.
I'm still picture what it would be like for him to be in academia. The one important thing to remember that a con artist is happy and active when they have people to con. Not having LIFE or NIF to peddle, I have a hard time seeing him oversell a taco stand for example. Add to that, you have someone that garners little real respect from academics. Industry people will be polite and genial to him but only while he had perceived power and influence and decision-making power.
So I have a hard time seeing him "content" with that, though I could be wrong. I have to acknowledge that people have an amazing ability to delude themselves and impart a feeling of importance upon themselves just by having an office, a phone, and a rolodex.
Wait a minute.. did he really leave the lab or is he just stepping down from his role? One can potentially help push down the overhead rate while the other will not. If he's sticking around for another 20 years, he may catch his second wind and be the comeback kid. Since I would highly doubt that he has any real prospects outside where they demand performance, I would guess that he is going to stick around for a very long time like a parasite. Sitting in meetings, jabbering and blustering as usual, trying to intimidate his way through the work day, basically increasing the cost of getting any work done for everyone else.
Livermore will fail to meet its milestone to achieve ignition by the end of FY2012. Somebody needs to be the fall guy for this failure. It's either going to be Ed Moses or the Livermore director.
I'm raising the bullshit flag.
This rumor is bogus.
More LANL rabble rousing.
Grapes taste sour to the envious.
Yeah we still have a a bit of time left in FY2012. Stop telling us that they won't get ignition when there is still time left on the clock. Ed stakes his reputation on this promise. Give him breathing space for gosh sakes.
I thought the problem was that Ed went around NNSA to go to congress and as a result, was going to have to pay with a pound of flesh. That the investigation was only a pretext for the disloyalty and that this was just a purge.
"I'm raising the bullshit flag. This rumor is bogus."
Yeah, I was a bit skeptical, too, because all I've heard thus far about the Moses case is rumors. Nothing in the news and no statements from the Lab about Moses.
But then I got to thinking: This rumor about Moses has been all over the Lab for at least a couple of weeks now, and I've head about it from several different sources so it's pretty widespread. Don't you think that Moses and/or his close supporters have heard the rumors, too? If so - and if Moses is still in good graces with the Lab - don't you think that he or his close supporters would release some routine statement about NIF progress or something in, say, Newsline with Moses' name featured in the statement. Nothing too overt and nothing directly addressing the rumors. Just some simple statement about NIF to let everyone know that he is still in charge and in good graces with the Lab. In the absence of any such statement like that mentioning Moses for the last few weeks, I'm inclined to believe that there may be some truth to the rumors. we'll see.
But then I got to thinking...
Your second mistake.
Look to facts.
Look to facts.
Absolutely! We would like to see more facts. Everyone having to piece together anecdotal info is what is leading to rampant speculation. There is smoke, and therefore everyone naturally assumes there is fire. However, this may be turning into a distraction, since these blogs are getting an increasingly wider base of readership across the DoE and DoD complex and even in policymaker circles. Putting to rest any of these issues once and for all would be nice.
Hard to look to facts when there are none being provided by the lab or other sources via attributable and verifiable statements. All that's available to work with at the moment are the anecdotes.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if he does step down, but only because of NNSA demands, and that the investigation was only a convenient pretext for making it happen. Just like the Tomas incident. Both will land on their feet, and that many people's desires to see blood drawn and to see a pound of flesh extracted may not actually be fulfilled. Would be standard textbook strategy.
"Look to facts"
Yes, but what are we to make of the FACT that the Lab and Ed Moses have been completely silent on his status despite the fact that these rumors are now fairly widespread and common knowledge around the Lab? I know if such rumors were circulating around about myself, I would find some way of making my presence known in order to squash the rumors quickly. But in the case of Moses, nothing. Just silence........
Well atleast they finally removed Tomas's pic and bio off of the management roster on their website.
These things will happen quietly. I think they are smart enough to know that no good comes from sharing too much information about certain events with the public, and that the best course is just to let people fade off into obscurity.
"Absolutely! We would like to see more facts..."
Doubtful.
Really want facts? Read Trivelpiece's report. Compliimentary with note of challenges.
Instead of facts, bloggers of this thread seem to prefer confusion to substitute speculation for the self-evident.
Many know the reports and understand the situation.
Others, post Mesa peyote dreams.
No no we're talking about the status of Moses, not of NIF.
Yeah dude you need to chill bro
Get like some action, or something. That whole thing about the ship ready to sail around the world... you really need to loosen up and get some play dude.
Yeah i don't know who these people are. Not Los Alamos people. Those guys are much more vitriolic and bitter. Maybe the MFE guys are shitting on the NIF trash.
"Your second mistake. Look to facts"
OK, then. It's pointless to speculate, and whether the rumors are true or not It won't lead to any actionable items on my part. So let's just sit back, grab some popcorn, and see what happens. Either this is a case of a rumor run amok, or we're going to be seeing some very interesting news stories in the near future.
Dr. Lee doesn't need to lie to get an honest scientific program off the ground. Some people have a lot to learn from following the example of Dr. Lee. You people should be ashamed of yourselves.
The guy did say "look to the facts.." so we are LOOKING..... for those facts
The Trivelpiece piece was a technical review. It was not technical risk management control. Don't be putting blame on others. You know for a fact that according to their charter, the technical review committee was not accountable for tracking risk continuously. That was on the lap of management. Stop trying to put the blame on someone who, despite being able to withstand the heat, isn't at all responsible.
Thats yet another despicable act. Putting the blame on Trivelpiece and the review committee. Seriously messed up. Why can't these guys take responsibility for their own failure? Stop passing the buck to Trivelpiece.
All the "workers' of NIF care about is to know if ED is going to leave and when. The rest that is posted here is non related and no one GAS.
I see stuff about Ed's departure and stuff about Tomas in this blog. So Tomas must be the "GAS."
Most of us wouldn't know anything about such acts to a pig.
The one unmistaken ability of LLNL is to produce "con artists", Anastasio, McMillan, Knapp, Moses, ....
I started hearing this rumor right around the time Tomas de la Rubia's resignation was announced.
Sounds like wishful thinking to me.
LLNL management has been sitting on the embezzlement information for a very long time. I can only speculate about why it took so long before we started seeing action. It's possible that there is nothing to any of it, and that he is clean. But this "accusation" originated from within LLNL inner circles, not from outsider investigators or created as fiction by trollers and troublemakers. Some remotely possible scenarios: looking for disloyal leaks in the inner circle; fabricate a pretext for the purpose of management change for other reasons or drivers that you don't want to have to even try to explain; NNSA finally cashing in on the chip it held in the form of the accusation.
All rumors. Here are his daily non-meeting sightings. Very little variation from day to day. A true nerd to the core.
7:15 am Arrive at office, small chat with admins and other managers. Leave a tin of cookies or chocolates for the office.
8:45 am pre-meeting coffee from central cafeteria, chat with employees, stroll by beach volleyball court.
10:05 am after-meeting bathroom break and hand desanitizing.
11:45 am depart for Pilates and macrobiotic vegan lunch.
12:55 pm after lunch coffee at the central cafeteria.
1:00 pm Facility stroll and power walk, stairs only, no elevators.
2:45 pm power stroll to 111 for daily updates.
4:30 pm late afternoon coffee weapons cafeteria
6:15 pm 2nd facility stroll and employee motivation activities.
7:45 pm gym elliptical and upper body strength training.
8:15 pm stop by office to pick up next day schedule, then go home unless there is an urgent issue needing resolution.
As you can see this is a man with a very visible and ordinary routine. So there can't be any truth to these silly rumors of a resignation. See for yourself!
"LLNL ...sitting on the embezzlement information for a very long time.."
Baloney. This is agitation by someone not connected to the labs.
Insiders know that without cooperation among many conspirators embezzlement is nearly impossible. The overlapping signatures and more signatures and review and rereview and re-rereview ad nauseum make the idea of writing a check to yourself or hitting the petty cash box silly.
Theft of some items is possible, but not embezzlement.
Failure within lab management will be due to pride or hubris, not greed.
The information may be bad or flimsy but it definitely came from inside.
This is not an argument about whether embezzlement occurred. This is about where the chatter originated from.
The more puzzling situation is why insiders generated this chatter if it is indeed false.
They never used the words embezzlement. That is the wrong legal term. From what details passed to me it sounded more like subcontractor kickback which has criminal penalties which can include imprisonment of up to 10 years and fines on the individual and the organization. Controls for kickback are primarily through employees signing statements and declarations of compliance with the law and organization standards of business conduct and ethics. Which is to say that there are very few controls except from whistleblowers or astute forensic accountants with a lot of time to scrutinize every contract.
A well concealed kickback scheme can be difficult or impossible to detect. Due diligence can uncover potential red flags for the poorly concealed situations. What you're describing is not unheard of in government contracting. In such cases you don't need a broad conspiracy across an organization in order to pull it off. Maybe what you heard originated from a whistleblower or a disgruntled employee.
All innuendo and lies.
If you want facts, read the Trivelpiece report. Also the Jasons review. There is nothing but theatre and fabrication in this blog thread.
Read the facts. Become informed. Stop going straight for the salacious gossip. Maybe then you will learn something useful.
Yeah, Probably not embezzlement though it could be one of a number of possible crimes being alleged in the passed information. But it all doesn't mean anything unless a formal criminal complaint is filed.
Embezzlement its many legal definitions, generally does not require a broad conspiracy. It's a good thing you have at least one practicing attorney reading these pages to help set things straight. It is dangerous to assume that having a layered review and approval process will always prevent fraud or even embezzlement from occurring. Some of you may find the various statutory definitions and requirements for "fraud," to be quite useful as well.
What is being described may actually meet the requirements for an allegation of what amounts to embezzlement. So embezzlement may be in fact the correct term to use.
Is there criminal liability if employees had direct and first-hand knowledge of such activity but didnt report it? What is the statute of limitation for the offender as well as those who knew and kept quiet?
For embezzlement involving public funds, the federal government has an no time limit in which to pursue a case.
If you have material information about a potential crime and are concerned about criminal liability, public forums are not the right place to discuss them. You should retain an attorney to discuss your options. Good luck!
What a bunch of jackasses. There is no embezzlement, no bribe, no fraud.
Nothing but slander, sedition and YOUR speculation.
No proof or even the hint of anything.
What a bunch of worthless gossip.
You display the charateristic of the mentally and physically weak.
Hide anonymously and speculate on nothing.
The proof is that there are no charges nor any resignations.
BS. You are BS,
Dang, somebody sure gets real sensitive when you talk about lawyer stuff. It was gettin real boring until you pop that rage comment. Where do bribe come in? Nobody mentioned that before. You gettin mad at the lawyer talk? You gotta know the law. And whats this about people being physically weak? Its like you don't see them type in all caps or sometin? Oh if your the owner of this blog, just delete stuff and block people's computers. That solve everything for you.
Oh what that? You aint the owner of the blog? Well thats just too bad. Dun know why you read it if just makes you more and more upset. Just because some of us not as smart as you dont mean you can just talk to us like dirt. But I can forgive you.
Sedition? You're just looking for an excuse to use that word aren't you. Not even close.
Watch out and don't go to HR or lab counsel before getting a lawyer if you know or saw stuff. LANL
and LLNL have a culture where no manager can do wrong. If they do something to an employee, in many cases they have turned it around and found a reason to go after the employee. Managers can do no wrong. Remember that phrase always. You may not like lawyers. But they are your best chance to protect yourself. NIF being the hail Mary for the lab, you bet they will try to shut you down. Retaliation is a common practice at these labs. Keep printed copies of emails, records, meeting times and dates. Notes for what you saw, when and where.
Anonymity is a necessity because the threat of retaliation is real particularly for lab employees.
I'll throw in some bones into the pit. Resignation sounds bogus; it makes no sense when they are giving regular outside presentations on behalf of the lab into the new fiscal year. The lab management is keeping mum. So maybe the rest of us can help put this issue to rest. This isn't proof. It's just another piece of the puzzle. But does suggest that the alot of the information is potentially based on wishful thinking.
http://jila.colorado.edu/calendar?page=2
The National Ignition Facility: Pathway to Energy Security and the Physics of the Cosmos
Physics Seminar
Wed, 10/24/2012 - 4:00pm
Ed Moses
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Duane G1B20
Anonymous said...
Watch out and don't go to HR or lab counsel before getting a lawyer if you know or saw stuff. LANL
and LLNL have a culture where no manager can do wrong. If they do something to an employee, in many cases they have turned it around and found a reason to go after the employee. Managers can do no wrong. Remember that phrase always. You may not like lawyers. But they are your best chance to protect yourself. NIF being the hail Mary for the lab, you bet they will try to shut you down. Retaliation is a common practice at these labs. Keep printed copies of emails, records, meeting times and dates. Notes for what you saw, when and where.
September 7, 2012 9:59 AM
Anonymous said...
Anonymity is a necessity because the threat of retaliation is real particularly for lab employees.
September 7, 2012 10:18 AM
This is so true and what is wrong with the laboratory. It allows abusive, bully driven managers to move up the rankings. Someone should check out all the lawsuits at the laboratory currently. That is where our funding is going. HR is abusive stay away from them.
HR will side with managers in manager vs employer situations involving serious allegations against a manager. An exception would be when you are lucky enough to tangle with a manager who top level management wants to get rid of anyways. That phrase used:
"Managers can do no wrong,"
Is very apt. That is the culture that you will have to contend with. Always remember it. Don't ever let your guard down.
Autocorrect typo: meant to write "manager vs employee"
I personally have seen parts of what amounts to a campaign of intimidation and retaliation of employees by line managers. Employee reports abuse by another employee (who happens to be part of the stable of people in a division leader's personal fiefdom) It got turned around in a bunch of reprimands and actions against the accuser. In this case HR didn't go after the accuser probably because he had kept extensive documentation of everything and had discussions with classifications and many others to consult with prior to making his accusation. They can't crucify someone if it brings in too many other people and actually sheds light on the matter. Nevertheless division leader continues to pursue a low level campaign of retaliation through his proxies.
Hey dimwits.
halfway thru the month of September and no hint of Eddie's departure....
The BS flag still waves....
i thought it had to do with the landscaper and her contracts. they were personal friends and she got huge contracts off nif.
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