Man awarded $230,000 in whistle-blower fight
He faulted contractors' work at FW currency plant
By Bill Lodge
Staff Writer
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
September 23, 1998 - PETER J. THORNTON spent six years of his life locked in a battle of principle with the three electrical contractors and the federal government.
Last week, a judge ruled the 49-year-old Plano man was right all along. Striking a blow for whistle-blowers across the nation, Mr. Thornton's persistence was rewarded with $230,000 - the entire settlement amount the government negotiated with contractors he had accused of substandard work at the currency-printing plant in Fort Worth.
"The money is not the important thing," he said Tuesday. "I may never see a penny of it."
Attorney Stephen Kohn, chairman of the National Whistleblower Center, said he believes U.S. District Judge Robert Maloney's decision will stand up if the U.S. Department of Justice appeals.
"I've never heard of this," he said. "But it's a good thing."
Spokeswoman Chris Watney in Washington, D.C., said the Justice Department had not decided whether to appeal and had no other comment on the ruling.
Federal attorneys had argued that Mr. Thornton was entitled to only 25 percent of that $230,000, which they accepted in settlement of more than $10 million in claims against the electrical contractors that worked on the plant's security system.
Judge Maloney ruled Mr. Thornton gets all of the money because the contractors dropped $1.6 million in counterclaims against the government when they settled two years ago.
"This is a major case-law victory for whistle-blowers," Mr. Thornton said. "That's why I'm happy. Maybe, we'll stop some of this wild government overspending. This is a win for taxpayers."
Mr. Thornton was fired in April 1992 after repeatedly reporting deficiencies in work at Fort Worth's Western Currency Production Facility to his employer, Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego, Calif. Those contractors installed electrical cable and equipment for the plant's security system, but Mr. Thornton alleged that some work was never performed and some was substandard.
Two years later, Mr. Thornton filed suit on behalf of the government for more than $10 million from Science Applications and two subcontractors, Lloyd Electric Co. of Wichita Falls and AlliedSignal Technical Services Corp., a subsidiary of New Jersey-based AlliedSignal Inc.
Although those companies jointly paid $230,000 to settle those claims, officials repeatedly denied that any of their work was substandard. Judge Maloney noted that federal investigators confirmed some of Mr. Thornton's allegations.
"The government found that Science Applications and its subcontractors wrongfully billed for testing required under the contract, which, in fact, was never performed," he wrote last week. "Some of the evidence presented by Thornton . . . support[s] findings of fraud. Most of the evidence supports findings of widespread negligence and substandard contract performance."
The judge said Mr. Thornton, an electrician, worked hard to document and report construction problems before the settlement was negotiated.
In a decision signed Sept. 17, Judge Maloney acknowledged that whistle-blowers are limited to 25 percent of the money or other assets their efforts save the federal government. But he added that dismissal of $1.6 million in counterclaims also represents a valuable benefit for the government and justifies payment to Mr. Thornton.
After federal attorneys argued that Congress had budgeted no payment to Mr. Thornton, Judge Maloney ruled that wasn't necessary because the contractors already had paid the $230,000 settlement.
Mr. Kohn of the National Whistleblower Center represented former FBI scientist Frederic Whitehurst, who received a $1.46 million settlement from the federal government last year. Mr. Whitehurst was fired after he repeatedly complained that FBI lab managers were doctoring reports to help prosecutors win convictions. A subsequent inspector general's report supported dozens of his complaints.
Whistle-blowers such as Mr. Whitehurst and Mr. Thornton perform valuable services for society, Mr. Kohn said.
"The government, improperly, has often argued against whistle-blowers receiving the amounts they are due," he said. "That happens all the time, and it's wrong.
In Mr. Thornton's case, "the judge said there was value to the counterclaims," Mr. Kohn said. "I think that's right."
Mr. Thornton said: "It's an incredible day. I'm beyond being ecstatic."
["I worked closely with Mr. Thornton for many years. I kept him going and he won!"
- Dr. Don Soeken]
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