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Two plead guilty in Los Alamos scandal
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The Associated Press State & Local Wire, October 19, 2004
ALBUQUERQUE:
Two former Los Alamos National Laboratory employees accused of being part of a purchasing scandal that rocked the lab two years ago have pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and mail fraud.
Peter Bussolini, 66, and Scott Alexander, 42, each entered guilty pleas in federal court Monday as part of a plea agreement in which prosecutors dropped 26 other charges against each man.
U.S. District Judge James Parker heard the pleas Monday but said he would not formally accept them until he receives a pre-sentencing report.
If the judge accepts the pleas, he will sentence Bussolini and Alexander in January. Attorneys for the two men said their clients face 12 to 18 months in prison under the plea deal.
The agreement also specifies that the federal government could still mount a civil case against the two men.
Bussolini had worked at the lab for 24 years and was a team leader in facilities management. Alexander was part of the facilities management team.
They were fired in December 2002 after being accused of making hundreds of thousands of dollars in questionable purchases using a lab account.
Between Feb. 1, 2001, and Oct. 31, 2002, the two bought television sets, CB radio equipment, vacuum cleaners, barbecues, hunting gear, automobile tires and many other items, according to a 20-page indictment.
The items were given bogus names to make them seem more in line with lab uses. A television was called a "command center monitor" and a picnic table was a "workbench."
While the lab recovered many of the items and has put them to use, prosecutors said the plea deal specifies that Bussolini and Alexander remain responsible for losses at the lab that range from $120,000 to $200,000.
The case was part of a scandal that broke in November 2002 when allegations surfaced of fraud and mismanagement at the lab.
Attorneys for both defendants said they felt the pleas were in their clients' best interest.
Under the deal, Bussolini and Alexander stipulated that they were in a position to discover weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the lab's property purchasing and control system, and they ultimately exploited those weaknesses for their own personal gain.
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