Two sentenced for misfiling or trashing 1800 vets’ records at NPRC
A couple of folks sent us links to the St. Louis Dispatch which reports that two student employees misfiled or trashed at least 1800 veterans’ records in 2011 and 2012 at the National Personnel Records Center. The case opened when 241 records, complete with Personally Identifiable Information (PII), were found dumped in the woods;
One of the ex-employees, Lonnie Halkmon, 28, was sentenced Thursday to two years of probation and ordered to perform 40 hours of community service. The other, Stanley Engram, 21, is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 7. Both pleaded guilty of destruction of government records. Federal guidelines call for a sentence from probation to six months behind bars.
Court documents show that the files in the woods were traced to Engram, who admitted disposing of them, “abandoning” others in the center and throwing some away at home. In all, he admitted destroying or deliberately misfiling more than 1,000 records.
[…]
[Engram’s lawyer, Eric] Banks stressed that “nobody has been denied or lost any benefits as a result of any of this.”
Well, no, not yet. And I can imagine this incident can be the new excuse for phonies, like the 1973 fire has been their excuse for the last few decades. Thanks, fellas.
That’s why you should always make copies of everything and keep them safe. Mine are in my gun safe.
Here we go again. Now, my secret squirrel military records can never be found because those two guys tossed ’em. I can hear it coming now like a freight train.
So because these two muthaforkers were “students”, they get a slap on the forking wrists and that will be it.
It would be nice if their academic records could be destroyed. They wouldn’t lose any benefits, but it sure would be fun watching them try to explain to an employer that they really do have a degree when the claimed university has no record of attendance.
No clues as to why these two did this? Students … potential DU agents provocateur?
What ever the case may be, they deserve more chastisement than they received. IMO.
Mother of God… who thought that it was a good idea to pay summer interns by the record filed?? Who was supervising them? That person should be out of a job as well.
Thing is though, if during a claim a record is found to be lost and the veteran claims there is information in there that proves his case he is supposed to get the benefit of the doubt.
Since 1993 or a little later all treatment records were being entered in electronically. There was still some paper, but all the Docotors notes, labs, etc.. were electronically produced and stored in an electronic medical record.
Right now we are trying to eliminate entirely all paper records and create no new ones. So for anyone who went to the VA after 95 at least, your records should be for the most part in the computer system, and we have made no new paper records in almost two years now, everything gets scanned in now.
Oh for cripes sake!!! Not again!
WTF is going on with this government!?!?
If I understand correctly, the Army went completely away from paper OMPFs to electronic ones in the early 2000s. I’m pretty sure all the services did the same about that time.
That means that the records these guys trashed belonged to a bunch of older vets – e.g., vets discharged pre-9/11, possibly from Vietnam or earlier.
I do indeed think the judge “screwed the pooch” here. Were I the judge, I’d certainly have given the first guy some time behind bars.
@7 Hondo I believe they deserved the full six months in the can. Pun intended.
But I believe in this kinder, gentler day we live in, we don’t want to ruin their life or college potentials with something like a crime on their record or lost time in study hall. /sarc/
Sounds like an APL “filing system” when asked to produce records, documents, SCI’s and such in questioning Phildo’s and others claims in receiving governemt contracts.
On the bright side, if phonies are too stupid to google the wear and appearance of the uniform they have probebly never heard of this.
Needs to be an investigation into how a couple interns can just walk out the door with hundreds of possibly irreplaceable records and they’re not missed for 2 years. Also, what the fuck? Community service and probation? If I went and set fire to a bookshelf in the National Archives you can bet I’d spend some time in a cage.
@10 Twist you know I forgot that. It’s true, it’s true. Most never look up the regs or even images of uniforms so why would they ever see this.
First things first: Lonnie Halkmon and Stanley Engram, welcome to permanent residence in the Google Hall of Shame. Every potential employer who Googles your name will find the links to the StL Post Dispatch article and this blog. The judge should have thrown your sorry asses in jail for what you did. You sold your reputations and integrity for a few extra $$. Fuck you.
I noticed in the article that Halkmon had been working there since 2005. I have to wonder…if they were employed under some sort of student program, he’s been there waaaaay too damn long to have been a legitimate student.
Having said all that, I don’t think any less of the NPRC or the people who work there (except for those few turds who trashed or deliberately misfiled the records). Those good folks have done a lot for Mary, TAH, Scotty, and others who seek and out Stolen Valor turds, and I would bet that those folks are as pissed as we are. I’ve had occasion to use their services on behalf of a friend, and the gent who assisted us went over-and-above to help.
Just my .02.
How the hell is that not an automatic go to jail do not collect welfare offense?
Wow.
They should be horsewhipped and left in the public stocks for a week.
RB325th, what about records prior to 1995? Like back to 1974?
U.S. Attorney Richard Callahan “said employees were compensated by the number of records they filed. He said he doesn’t know whether that ought to be changed or better supervised, “’But I’m confident that the records center … has addressed it.’”
I hope he doesn’t mind that I refer to him as DICK. First, the plea bargain to a single count of misdemeanor destruction of government property. That is bullshit, DICK. One count? Misdemeanor? Oh, that is such bullshit! They could have been nailed for a slew of those and them some. And DICK is confident that the records center has addressed the problems there. Based upon what? Hope? Well DICK undercharged by a long shot and he made a deal that is not going to either punish these clowns or serve as a deterrent to others. The government really sucks. Too many DICKS in it.
so yeah, I guess now I can let everybody know that I’m a Delta Force Space Shuttle Tail Gunner/Cook/Water Dog
It’s bad enough when your serving, and a clerk in your outfit screws. Up your records. Now we have to worry about “Interns” just throwing shit away.
Those two should have been handed 6 months for each individual sheet of paper in all of the records. Time to be served consecutively. No good time and no parole. Gone forever in a deep, dark hole. And no Club Fed min/sec either.
Disgusting doesn’t even begin to describe this. Why exactly is a single misdemeanor the only charge filed?
With you, AC, that each and every record they destroyed should have been a separate charge. This is just completely nuts.
How does one start impeachment proceedings against a sitting judge and/or prosecutor? Talk about prosecutorial and/or judicial misconduct. This should be the poster child for it.
Perhaps we are supposed to be satisfied that at least it was seen as a criminal act, unlike so many other crimes which are being ignored these days. (Much less the crime which is seemingly being sponsored now by our taxes.)
I wonder if they will ever even attempt to see whose or what files were lost…
I was a grease monkey…just a lowly, lowly grease monkey for the spaceshuttle doorgunners.
Well, Sandy Berger stole classified documents, lied to investigators, improperly stored said documents (under a construction trailer), and (allegedly) improperly destroyed said documents. All he got was a $50K fine, which I am sure that Friend’s Of Bill covered for him falling on his sword, and 100 hours of community service.
GOD FUCKING dammit! I APPLIED for that FUCKING JOB this winter but I wasn’t a student anymore. Gee I’m really glad they filled their university program quota rather than hiring a vet who would be familiar with the importance of being able to file records! I think someone else over there probably still needs to lose their job. Fucking pieces of shit.