Associated Press: UN Tribunal Orders UN Anti-poverty Agency to Pay 14 Months Salary to Whistleblower in NKorea On Tuesday the UN Dispute Tribunal ordered the UN Development Program to award a $166,000 payment to Tony Shkurtaj, the former chief of operations for all UN operations in North Korea who blew the whistle on irregularities in the programs. Shkurtaj endured significant retaliation for his whistleblowing including his firing, banishment from UN premises, and defamation of character.
GAP International Officer Shelley Walden argues that while the ruling represents an advance toward justice for UN whistleblowers, it also highlights the failure of the ad hoc External Independent Investigative Review Panel -- the Panel appointed by UNDP to investigate the case.
Click here to read more on GAP's blog
Related Articles: Wall Street Journal, Inner City Press
Need to Know (PBS): Unnatural Disaster - The Fifth Anniversary of Katrina
This video piece takes a look at Harry Shearer's new documentary on Hurricane Katrina and the current state of New Orleans. Shearer makes a compelling case that the flooding was purely a manmade disaster, and that the government has not taken proper actions to prepare for future floods.
The film references GAP client Maria Garzino -- a whistleblower whose disclosures detailed an insufficient and unsafe pump system in New Orleans, installed after Katrina. Garzino was an engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers on a project to install hydraulic pumps that would move future floodwater away from the city.
Washington Post: Lawyer - Leak Suspect's Mental Health Doubted
This article looks into the potential mental health issues of Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private accused of leaking classified military documents, including the Collateral Murder video, to WikiLeaks.
GAP Homeland Security and Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack contends that the analysis of the mental health of whistleblowers should not be used to disregard their claims, nor to distract from the more essential scrutiny of their cases.
Click here to read more on GAP's blog.
The New York Times: Maker of Botox Settles Inquiry
Allergen, the maker of Botox, agreed on Wednesday to pay a settlement totaling $600 million to resolve a federal investigation into its illegal marketing and selling of the drug for uses not deemed safe by the FDA. Throughout 2005, Allergen's misleading marketing led to unapproved uses of the drug, such as for the treatment of headaches. Five whistle-blowers will be awarded a total of $38.7 million out of the settlement.
This case reflects the continued clampdown by the Department of Justice on off-label drug promotion by pharmaceutical companies and health care fraud. The DOJ is also investigating several companies' overseas practices, including suspected bribery of foreign officials.
Related Article: NPR
New York Daily News: Feds Looking to Interview NYPD Crime Stat Whistleblower Adrian Schoolcraft
The civil rights division of the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn has requested an interview with Officer Adrian Schoolcraft - an NYPD whistleblower who was thrown in a psych ward after accusing his superiors of falsifying crime statistics. Schoolcraft has not decided if he will meet with federal investigators.
Episode 15 of GAP's television show Whistle Where You Work discussed psychological testing as a means of retaliation in whistleblower cases within the DC Fire Department.
Minnesota Public Radios: Whistleblower in Petters Fraud Learns Sentence Today
Deanna Coleman will be sentenced today for her leading role in a decade long, $3.5 billion scam - the largest in Minnesota history. After participating in the fraud, Coleman agreed to help federal agents arrest her boss (and leader of the scam), and thus expects leniency in her sentencing.
Lindsay Bigda is Communications Fellow for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower advocacy organization.
