US: Whistleblower suspended by Pentagon oversight committee

A senior fraud investigator for the Pentagon who has crusaded against military contractor overcharges for seven years has been suspended for "insubordination," according to an article written by Eric Rosenberg for the Hearst News Service, RAW STORY has learned.

Rosenberg's article, which went out to Hearst member papers, has not appeared in any of them, nor has any story been published by the mainstream press about his suspension, according to Google News.

Kenneth Pedeleose, an industrial engineer for the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), told Hearst that his 30-day suspension was "absolutely related" to his whistleblowing. In 2002, Pedeleose's 90-page report "Criminal Vulnerability and Fraud" which accused Lockheed Martin of "willfully" overcharging the Pentagon and defense officials of ignoring his warnings led Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (Rep-IA) to persuade DoD's Inspector's General offices to launch investigations.

Pedeleose told Federal Times in 2004 that he believed he "ruined his career and lost any chance for promotion because of his fight."

The Washington Post reported last November that Pedeleose faced suspension for refusing to cooperate in an internal investigation to determine "the source of a rumor that management had "targeted certain employees" to be fired."

Excerpts from Rosenberg's article:

Kenneth Pedeleose, 45, an industrial engineer and 11-year veteran of the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), who has uncovered excessive costs on Lockheed Martin Corp. aircraft, claimed his suspension is reprisal for disclosing overcharges and for disrupting a cozy relationship between the agency and Lockheed Martin -- the country's largest defense contractor.
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DCMA previously attempted to suspend Pedeleose in 2003 after officials claimed he had made threats against fellow employees. The agency later acknowledged that he had made no such threats and reinstated him.
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Pedeleose's suspension, which is effective Jan 25, is "for the offense of refusal to cooperate with an agency investigation, insubordination and failure to follow instructions," according to a copy of the suspension notice.

"The overall seriousness of your misconduct warrants a heavy disciplinary penalty," said the letter from Steven Bogusz, deputy director for DCMA's regional headquarters in Boston, to Pedeleose.

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