reprisal and coverup at Patent Office

[Anonymous <no_email@fake.address>]

Resend :

     I have worked as a patent examiner in the computer 
field at the US Patent and Trademark Office (U.S. PTO)
since 1993.

     In April 1996, I made a complaint to management
against another employee. The other employee had been 
harassing me at work in various ways, trying to get me 
to have an affair with him, making unwanted comments
about my body, which then escalated to leaving weapons 
catalogs in my office, trying to get me into sword fights,
etc.  He even showed up at my church unexpectedly and ran
after me shouting. I complained to management about his 
harassment and I told them of my fear of this person.
Instead of resolving the situation, they tried to intimidate
me into silence, at one point telling me "it was (my) 
problem if (I) couldn't handle that kind of behavior".
Management attempted to make me quit by making my life 
miserable in various ways. 

     I complained about the treatment to the Commissioner
of  the PTO-in April and May of 1996. The Commissioner sent
E-mail referring to the sexual harassment and my complaint
to PTO human resources on May 1, 1996.  Instead of resolving
it at that point, management instituted a campaign to fire
me.   
	
     In their attempt to fire me, a false police report was
generated (May 8, 1996) which alleged that I had engaged in
criminal activity on the premises of the PTO.  The 
generation of the false police report was necessary for the
PTO to have a basis (however false) to ban and bar me.  
The "ban and bar" means that I was escorted out of the 
workplace (June 3, 1996) by armed uniformed police officers,
and publicly exiled from the workplace until some 
unspecified future time (possibly forever).  I didn't know
why at the time--I assumed it was an escalation in their 
attempt to make me quit by publicly humiliating me. 
Management had taken great care to insure that neither I
nor the union knew about the police report or any 
allegations contained therein including dissuading the 
police (the Federal Protective Service) from investigating
--therefore no one contacted me.  I only found out about 
the police report and allegations after I was called back
to work a month later (July 3, 1996)  when I was presented 
with the police report in a proposal to suspend me without
pay.  Incidently the police (Federal Protective Service)
had no record of the PTO requesting or receiving a copy of
the police report (a Privacy Act document) so it raises
the additional question of violations by the PTO of the
Privacy act and the constitutional right to privacy.  
   
     I contacted the Dept. Of Commerce Inspector General's
(IG) office in August, 1996 regarding the generation of
the false police report.  I continued to contact them 
repeatedly for months as more things became known to me.
I was finally told by an IG agent that the Inspector 
General's Office typically turns over things involving
the PTO back to the PTO to investigate, specifically 
mentioning the name of one of the people involved in the
generation of the false police report as the person who 
handles the investigations!!

     I fought the proposal to suspend me and,with my union,
proved the falseness of allegations in the proposal -- 
although we were greatly handicapped by management's 
failure to provide witnesses, evidence etc. as required
by the union contract.  All the facts and evidence on my 
behalf were ignored and I was suspended without pay. 
The union and I are still fighting and have reached the 
last round prior to arbitration.  Management continues 
their policy of withholding witnesses, evidence etc. in
violation of the union contract and continues to ignore 
the evidence on my behalf.  Although they are required by
the union contract to answer the evidence we presented-
this provision of the union contract is also blatantly 
disregarded.
     
     In December, 1996; I called the Federal Protective
Service (FPS) regarding the crime of generating a false
police report.  They dispatched an officer who received
evidence from me.    Months later, after numerous phone
calls pressing for an FPS investigation, I found out that
the officer didn't make a report and FPS Police Chief
informed me that the evidence had been "misplaced".  
There is reason to believe that the officer turned over
the evidence to the PTO in December after receiving it 
from me.

     I have been fighting this battle for over a year 
trying to clear my name and trying to salvage my
reputation to some extent, get management to follow 
the law and union contract, find out official policy
and procedures, enforce my rights etc.

 
     I have done Freedom of Information Act and Privacy
Act requests and an appeal (sitting over at the Dept. Of 
Commerce Office of General Counsel for well beyond the 
statutory 20 days, i.e. for 10 months and counting) 
and repeatedly gotten stonewalled. 

     The PTO (in violation of US Criminal Code (Title 18,
section 1001))  has withheld material evidence and material
facts in official investigations (including an EEO
investigation), knowingly continues to use documents
containing false information, etc.

     The PTO has repeatedly violated (and continues to 
violate)  the union contract which they themselves cite
as official policy and procedure.

     The PTO has been unresponsive for requests for the
most basic policies and procedures, (and even my own
"privacy act" files) that I have requested as a federal
employee, as a union member, through the Freedom of
Information act, through the Privacy Act, etc.  

     Not to mention that generating a false police report
in itself is a crime and that interfering with my reporting
a crime is "obstruction of justice".

     I have repeatedly tried to get assistance in this
situation from various people inside and outside the Dept.
of Commerce (of which the Patent Office is a part) for over
a year to no avail, even going to the office of the 
Secretary of Commerce who pledged to "cleanup" the Dept.
of Commerce.  I have repeatedly pointed out that crimes
are still being committed (material evidence is still 
being withheld etc.). And still it goes on and looks no
closer to resolution than a year ago.