Oak Ridge Today

Former Wackenhut security officer indicted for theft of public funds

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KNOXVILLE—A federal grand jury in Knoxville has indicted a former security officer at a federal site in Oak Ridge for allegedly stealing U.S. government property and money laundering, officials said Thursday.

Sarah Parker, 52, of Dandridge, Tennessee, was indicted Tuesday, U.S. Attorney William C. Killian said in a press release. Parker was employed as an officer for security contractor Wackenhut Services Inc. at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site in Oak Ridge.

She appeared in court on Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley Jr. and pleaded not guilty to the charges in the three-count indictment, Killian said. She was released pending trial, which has been set for February 17, 2015, in United States District Court in Knoxville. [Read more…]

Y-12 protester temporarily released for funeral; officials don’t comment on whether she returned to prison

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Megan Rice and Michele Naar-Obed

Megan Rice, left, was convicted on two federal charges in May after breaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28, 2012, and vandalizing a uranium storage building with two other protesters. She was temporarily released last week to attend her brother-in-law’s funeral. Rice is pictured above outside U.S. District Court in Knoxville with Michele Naar-Obed, wife of one of the other protesters, Greg Boertje-Obed.

U.S. and Georgia officials did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday and Wednesday on whether peace protester Megan Rice, who has been convicted of destroying government property at the Y-12 National Security Complex, returned to prison in the Peach State this week after a five-day release to attend the funeral of her brother-in-law in New York.

But on Tuesday, Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, said he assumed Rice had returned to the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga.

“I assume she reported, or we’d have heard from someone trying to locate her,” Hutchison said in a Tuesday evening e-mail. “I know she was returning to Atlanta last night en route to Ocilla. That’s the last I heard.” [Read more…]

Y-12 protesters ask court to dismiss sabotage charges

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Transform Now Plowshares

The three anti-nuclear weapons activists pictured above allegedly cut through fences and vandalized a high-security building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and now face federal charges of property destruction, property depredation, and injuring national defense premises. From left to right the three are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed. (Submitted photo)

In one of a series of motions last week, the three protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28 asked a federal court to dismiss the new sabotage charges filed against them in December.

Attorneys for the protesters—anti-nuclear weapons activists Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—said the new charges, which could add up to 20 years in prison, are unconstitutional, vindictive, and selective. They said the new charges were brought because the defendants earlier refused to plead guilty to less serious crimes.

In addition, the sabotage charges are rarely applied to civilian conduct and should not have been used in this case because Y-12 is a private contractor site and not a military base, the four attorneys for the protesters said in a motion to dismiss filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Friday.

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Y-12 protesters get three-week extension to file motions

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Transform Now Plowshares

The three anti-nuclear weapons activists pictured above cut through fences and vandalized a high-security building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and now face federal charges of property destruction, property depredation, and trespassing. From left to right, the three are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed. (Submitted photo)

A federal judge has given attorneys three extra weeks to file motions in the government’s case against three anti-nuclear weapons activists accused of sneaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and vandalizing a building where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

On Oct. 9, the attorneys asked for a one-month extension, which would have given them until Nov. 9 to file motions for Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli. They said they hadn’t completed their investigation and needed more time to consult with the defendants.

In an order filed Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley Jr. gave them until Oct. 30. A motion hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 20.

“In order to remain on track for the Feb. 26, 2013, trial of this matter, this motion hearing cannot be delayed,” Shirley said. “Additional extensions of the motion deadline will not be permitted, except in the event of extraordinary circumstances.”

Shirley said attorneys had said the discovery, or information collected in the case, was minimal, and he was “somewhat surprised” to hear that more time was needed to investigate the facts.

Boertje-Obed, Rice, and Walli are accused of sneaking into Y-12 before dawn on July 28, cutting through fences with bolt cutters, evading guards, and spray-painting slogans and splashing human blood on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility.

They have been charged with property destruction, property depredation, and trespassing. The three protesters, who have pleaded not guilty, face potential penalties of up to 16 years in jail and $600,000 in fines.

Walli is represented by Christopher Scott Irwin of Knoxville and William P. Quigley of New Orleans. Rice is represented by Francis L. Lloyd Jr. of Knoxville. Boertje-Obed is representing himself, although he has the assistance of “elbow counsel,” Knoxville attorney Bobby E. Hutson Jr.

The Nov. 20 motion hearing starts at 9:30 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

The unprecedented security breach has had a significant impact on Y-12, its contractors, and the National Nuclear Security Administration. Among other things, there have been federal investigations, two congressional hearings, a temporary halt in nuclear operations, a contract termination for security guard company WSI Oak Ridge, and a firing, suspensions, retirements, and reassignments at WSI, NNSA, and B&W Y-12.

Note: This story was last updated at 10:27 p.m. Oct. 18.