ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 16, 1997 TAG: 9704160058
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN\ASSOCIATED PRESS
Testimony in the World Trade Center bombing appeared ``tailored to the most incriminating result,'' the inspector general said.
FBI crime lab agents produced flawed scientific work or inaccurate testimony in major cases such as the Oklahoma City bombing, the Justice Department inspector general said Tuesday. He recommended discipline for five agents and transfer of the original whistle-blower.
But Inspector General Michael Bromwich concluded in his report that agents of the world-renowned crime lab did not commit perjury or fabricate evidence.
Attorney General Janet Reno said that the damaging findings already have been raised by defense attorneys in 13 court cases and that ``there has been no change in the outcome of the case.'' Hundreds of prosecutions that used lab evidence remain under review.
Bromwich also criticized lab management and the qualifications of agents in the explosives unit, where he recommended that only scientists be employed. He emphatically endorsed the FBI's current effort to get the lab accredited by outside experts for the first time.
In a typical criticism of work on high-profile cases, Bromwich blasted lab supervisor David Williams' 1993 testimony that a 1,200-pound urea nitrate bomb damaged New York's World Trade Center. FBI chemists found no explosive residues at the site.
Williams' testimony was ``inaccurate and incomplete'' and appeared to be ``tailored to the most incriminating result,'' Bromwich said.
The FBI accepted nearly all of Bromwich's recommendations. To avoid any conflict, the Justice Department, not the FBI, will rule on Bromwich's proposals to punish agents and transfer the chief whistle-blower, scientist-agent Frederic Whitehurst.
FBI Director Louis Freeh is looking for an expert outside the FBI to head the lab, and the bureau will hire more scientists, Deputy Director Bill Esposito said.
Bromwich said Whitehurst, who triggered the investigation, should be transferred because his ``overstated and incendiary'' allegations have poisoned his relations with other lab workers.
``The problems and deficiencies that Whitehurst brought to our attention are extremely serious,'' Bromwich said, ``but they are a far cry from the rampant and intentional wrongdoing alleged by Dr. Whitehurst: ... Perjury, fabricated evidence, obstructed justice and suppressed exculpatory evidence.''
Bromwich said those deciding Whitehurst's future ``must weigh the significant contributions he has made'' and avoid discouraging others from reporting misconduct.
``This is a beautiful day,'' Whitehurst said in an interview. ``That report essentially validates all the major concerns I had. It's the beginning of the correction process'' and outside oversight.
``Ultimately, they will put me back into the laboratory,'' he predicted.
``This report serves as a wake-up call to Congress and the public to rein in the FBI errant leadership,'' said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of a Senate subcommittee that oversees the FBI. ``The FBI chose to improve its image ... rather than the product.''
In the Oklahoma City bombing, Bromwich said Williams decided a 4,000-pound ammonium nitrate-fuel oil bomb was used, based on the defendants' alleged purchases rather than on scientific evidence.
Bromwich said Williams should be transferred from the lab because he ``repeatedly reached conclusions that incriminated the defendants without a scientific basis.''
Federal prosecutors have removed Williams from their list of expert witnesses at the trial of Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City bombing. They say another FBI expert can present the explosives evidence, but defense attorney Stephen Jones had indicated he will attack the lab's work.
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