5.16.2005
Shuttle Inspector Not Guilty of Fraud
The jury blamed NASA, not Billy Thornton.
After two hours of deliberation on Friday, the Orlando jury in the fraud trial of former NASA inspector accused of falsifying records in connection with space shuttle Discovery inspections found the prosecution did not prove its case. Here's the AP report, via floridatoday.com. (And earlier Probe post.)
Indeed, the jury appeared to find NASA itself amiss. One juror said she "found NASA's guidelines for inspectors unclear." And AP quotes the jury foreman as saying "There was no defined protocol or set of rules for [the inspector] to follow" and that the agency "needs to look at the inspection system, about how they check inspections." He concluded, "There are just a lot of gaps in NASA's oversight of contractors."
After two hours of deliberation on Friday, the Orlando jury in the fraud trial of former NASA inspector accused of falsifying records in connection with space shuttle Discovery inspections found the prosecution did not prove its case. Here's the AP report, via floridatoday.com. (And earlier Probe post.)
Indeed, the jury appeared to find NASA itself amiss. One juror said she "found NASA's guidelines for inspectors unclear." And AP quotes the jury foreman as saying "There was no defined protocol or set of rules for [the inspector] to follow" and that the agency "needs to look at the inspection system, about how they check inspections." He concluded, "There are just a lot of gaps in NASA's oversight of contractors."
