ML20136E062

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Summarizes 830602 Telcon W/J Mccarten Re Applegate Allegations
ML20136E062
Person / Time
Site: Zimmer
Issue date: 06/03/1983
From: Miller R
NRC
To:
NRC
Shared Package
ML20136D878 List:
References
FOIA-84-415 NUDOCS 8511210416
Download: ML20136E062 (5)
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i MEMORANDUM TO THE FILE FROM: Ruthanne Miller

SUBJECT:

TELEPHONE INTERVIEW WITH JAMES McCARTEN, June 2', 1983 DATE: June 3, 1983 On June 2,1983, Judge Hoyt initiated a telephone interview with James McCarten. Sebastian Aloot also participated in the interview.

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Ruthanne Miller was present in the office taking notes.

Judge Hoyt rea'd to Mr. McCarten the allegation from the Malsch Memorandum at page 5 concerning him: "Applegate stated that McCarten, who was to give him weekly investigative reports, told him that he '

. couldn't do so anymore.because Applegate was to be investigated."

McCarten said that he never said that to him. McCarten told us that the 4

FBI looked into Applegate's allegations. He said he did interview Applegate's fonner employer in the sunner of 1981 about his knowledge of~

.Applegate's activities at Zimmer to get clarification of the allegations and to get more information.

McCarten said that there was a time when Keppler agreed to brief I

Applegate; McCarten was clearly in touch with Devine. He stopped ,

, briefing Applegate when he finished investigating the 19 allegations, by March 30. After that date, McCarten was only doing sporadic follow-up on the allegations. He specifically didn't make any inquiry into Applegate's background because of the sensitivity of the case. He received unsolicited comments about Applegate from some of the people he interviewed.

Although McCarten stopped briefing Applegate, Keppler kept Devine apprised of the investigiation. There was no fonnal stopping of the 1 I

4 briefings. At various phases of the investigation (January - November),

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the NRC was in contact with Devine almost on a weekly basis. McCarten contacted Applegate only about Applegate's allegations. There were numerous conversations, but Applegate didn't provide him with much more information.

McCarten said that the field investigation report went to Keppler on March 30, 1981. There were visits to the site on a sporadic basis later. He spoke to quality control inspectors at the site about their allegations.

The most significant aspect of the interview with McCarten was his communication to us of his belief that there was an obstruction of justice committed by the NRC. He participated in most of the meetings with the U.S. Attorney's office. (I believe all but one from which he claims he was excluded.) He said that certain commitments made to the

. U.S. Attorney were contradicted later. He said there should be an investigation of Region III's communications to the U.S. Attorney into statements made concerning issues McCarten had raised that were possible criminal violations. It is his opinion that his information was never communicated.

He said that Streeter, Barnes, Warnick, and Sinclair were at the meeting in August. Sinclair was also present in April when he told them about the criminal violations. McCarten stated that Region III and OIA did not pursue the criminal violations and may have obstructed. justice.

Cummings did not effectively communicate about the false records. There was never an investigation by OIA or the FBI . There was no criminal investigation after that meeting.

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When McCarten was communicating to the U.S. Attorney in February, March, or April, an investigation was going on at the site. That activity stopped. He said we should find out why that activity stopped; who told the FBI and the U.S. Attorney what. 1:

McCarten stated that he was excluded from an important meeting with the U.S. Attorney. He thought we should find out why and at least what happened at that meeting. The result of that meeting was that there was no significant OIA or Region III investigation after June.

. McCarten has gotten a grand jury subpoena, but has not testified f

yet. He said that it was the FBI's opinion that they would have gotten involved.

Regarding the meeting from which McCarten was excluded, McCarten stated that Streeter called him up and told him not to go. Streeter agreed that McCarten was the right person to be there to explain the allegations, but said that McCarten would not be attending the meeting.

Initially Streeter told McCarten that he would be there. McCarten suggested that we ask Sinclair about the meeting.

McCarten said off the record that the director of OIA effectively stops the pursuit of criminal investigations. - He " lost" one case that he later discovered. McCarten said that Applegate is right, that the .

f NRC did not pursue the criminal violations; that the NRC did not pursue thu ones that McCarten developed.

, McCarten said that he was interviewed in June, 1981 by Cummings, t Sinclair, Pulian, and Gamble. Cummings flew out the next week to interview him after he had been interviewed by the others. Gamble said

.that he was coming out to quash the investigation. Cummings interviewed I

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him for two days. McCarten told them that there was a log that was falsified. Notes were taken. There was a memo written by Gamble and Pulian outlining what they would look into. Gamble and Pulian wanted to go to the FBI and the Grand Jury.

He said that there were 1 or 2 interviews in July. He called Gamble, Pulian, and Sinclair in August and September.

He said it is correct that the investigation into Region III did not go deep enough; it was too narrow. He said that allegation #6 of the Malsh memo is true (re improper editing of report). Gamble, Sinclair, and Pulian would confirm that. He said that we are opening Pandora's box. He said that the plant was 90% complete. Where has the NRC gone wrong? How can these things be after inspectors inspected over the years? He said that the Regional Directors and the managers are covering their butts. How can the NRC let a plant like this get 90%

complete? What statements were made to NRC inspectors?

McCarten said that field inspectors told him that " this plant's a turkey and they lie to us all the time."

He said that Keppler, Cummings, and Davis, tried to minimize "it"  !

because it reflects that their job performance over the past four years stunk. Cummings, Stello, and Keppler kept the lid on. They didn'.t shut l the plant down when they should have. The summary of the report and Stello characterize the problems as " paper problems". The Region III people told McCarten to his face that they were " hardware problems".

He said that the original people who signed the report were all frustrated with the case and had left as a result. People left GS 13 l

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i and 14 jobs for a reason. McCarten was a 12 on his way to becoming a

13. He left for a GS-9 job rather than remain with' this agency.

In March, 1982, McCarten wrote a memo requesting that inspectors with more experience look into Zimmer. He communicated this to Everett.

Everett's assistant was interested in getting involved with it.

The FBI has McCarten's handwritten notes. He gave them to the FBI 6 months ago. They felt that DIA had not comunicated to them.

Sinclair said that OIA would say to the FBI that I&E should do the safety investigation first. What was comunicated to Justice to get' them to go along he doesn't know. There were approximately 400 safety violations. McCarten said that the strategy was mapped out in memos.

McCarten's concern was 'that there never was an investigation into the criminal conduct--it was stopped. The FBI inspected on its own after GAP went to them. McCarten turned over a bookfull of stuff to the FBI. He kept the most accurate records. Everything he had Foster got.

He took the whole book and ran it off. He put,all the allegations compiled on a computer printout. Everyone was told to give all the allegations to the person in charge of putting them on the computer printout. It was assigned to a task force under Ted Gilbert and Sinclair.

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