Posted on Sep 9, 2015
Worker at federal records center in St. Louis County admits destroying WWII-era documents : News
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St. Louis records fire Part Deux? Worker at federal records center in St. Louis County admits destroying WWII-era documents.
A man hired to make electronic copies of World War II-era draft records at the National Archives’ National Personnel Records Center here admitted in federal court Tuesday that he had mutilated and destroyed some of them.
Peter Panouzis, 31, was a contract worker for Ancestry.com at the time. He was supposed to be digitizing World War II-era Selective Service records, including draft registration cards and their attachments, officials said.
Instead, on March 9 and March 11, he tore up some of the attachments and hid the pieces in his work gloves, they said. Panouzis then hid the gloves in bins and trash cans, prosecutors said.
Panouzis, of East Alton, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis of destruction of public records. At sentencing Dec. 10 he is likely to face probation, said his attorney, Matthew Radefeld.
The crime was discovered after Panouzis called an archives technician to ask that a glove be thrown away and a trash can and bin on his desk be emptied, officials said. The technician spotted the torn records and contacted a supervisor.
In March when officials announced the then-unnamed worker’s firing, they said he had been warned by his supervisor about productivity and was trying to deal with a stack of draft card attachments.
Radefeld said Panouzis suffered from anxiety and was feeling pressured by supervisors’ demands. The lawyer said that officials were able to tape the attachments back together and that they mainly consisted of records documenting address changes.
The center, near Interstate 270 and Highway 367 in north St. Louis County, has about 100 million military records and federal personnel files dating to the early 1800s.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/east-alton-man-admits-destroying-wwii-era-draft-records-feds/article_cdaca142-736d-5cd8-a19a-1bf45c5924c3.html
A man hired to make electronic copies of World War II-era draft records at the National Archives’ National Personnel Records Center here admitted in federal court Tuesday that he had mutilated and destroyed some of them.
Peter Panouzis, 31, was a contract worker for Ancestry.com at the time. He was supposed to be digitizing World War II-era Selective Service records, including draft registration cards and their attachments, officials said.
Instead, on March 9 and March 11, he tore up some of the attachments and hid the pieces in his work gloves, they said. Panouzis then hid the gloves in bins and trash cans, prosecutors said.
Panouzis, of East Alton, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis of destruction of public records. At sentencing Dec. 10 he is likely to face probation, said his attorney, Matthew Radefeld.
The crime was discovered after Panouzis called an archives technician to ask that a glove be thrown away and a trash can and bin on his desk be emptied, officials said. The technician spotted the torn records and contacted a supervisor.
In March when officials announced the then-unnamed worker’s firing, they said he had been warned by his supervisor about productivity and was trying to deal with a stack of draft card attachments.
Radefeld said Panouzis suffered from anxiety and was feeling pressured by supervisors’ demands. The lawyer said that officials were able to tape the attachments back together and that they mainly consisted of records documenting address changes.
The center, near Interstate 270 and Highway 367 in north St. Louis County, has about 100 million military records and federal personnel files dating to the early 1800s.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/east-alton-man-admits-destroying-wwii-era-draft-records-feds/article_cdaca142-736d-5cd8-a19a-1bf45c5924c3.html
Posted in these groups: 
St. Louis
WWII World War Two
St. Louis WWII World War Two
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 3
Suspended Profile
Sadly this sounds like a Dilbert cartoon - the one where they tell the "Pointy Haired Boss" that the shredder is a fax machine.
Seriously though, this is unconscionable...
Seriously though, this is unconscionable...
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Ignore the specific crime for a moment. Look at the reasons behind it.
We know what he did was wrong. We know there is no excuse. We know that whatever punishment he gets will not be enough.
But... the article "hinted" at what pushed him to do it. "was feeling pressured by supervisors’ demands."
Put anyone in a deep enough ethical dilemma long enough... and expect them not to break.
In this case, "You must perform to X standard." What if X standard is unreasonable, or worse, impossible? Then you threaten the person's livelihood (job), which is also their family, future etc.
It ain't right, but it's understandable. This isn't corruption for "personal gain." This is systemic corruption. Like a machine getting cancer. It shouldn't happen.
We know what he did was wrong. We know there is no excuse. We know that whatever punishment he gets will not be enough.
But... the article "hinted" at what pushed him to do it. "was feeling pressured by supervisors’ demands."
Put anyone in a deep enough ethical dilemma long enough... and expect them not to break.
In this case, "You must perform to X standard." What if X standard is unreasonable, or worse, impossible? Then you threaten the person's livelihood (job), which is also their family, future etc.
It ain't right, but it's understandable. This isn't corruption for "personal gain." This is systemic corruption. Like a machine getting cancer. It shouldn't happen.
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Good thing he wasn't a civil servant, this guy was a contract worker therefore could be fired.
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SSG (Join to see)
If he was a civil servant it's unlikely he wouldn't have been under any pressure to improve productivity. On a more serious note, something serious like this is definitely enough to get a civil servant fired.
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SPC Timothy Reeder
I'm a civil servant at the National Archives and I can tell you that anyone intentionally destroying or damaging records would absolutely 100% be fired.
And we are under constant pressure to increase productivity. We don't have a set budget but only get paid by the different service branches for each case we complete. So the more work we do the more money the agency has. It's a messed up season that creates a pretty unhealthy work environment.
And we are under constant pressure to increase productivity. We don't have a set budget but only get paid by the different service branches for each case we complete. So the more work we do the more money the agency has. It's a messed up season that creates a pretty unhealthy work environment.
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