The Office of Special Counsel gave its “public servant of the year” award to the three whistleblowers at the Dover Mortuary in Delaware that came forward to disclose wrongdoing and mismanagement that led to the remains of servicemen being dumped in a landfill.
For 2011, OSC recognized James Parsons, Mary Ellen Spera and William Zwicharowski, who handle remains of the US military’s fallen once they arrive at Dover Air Force Base.
From 2008 – 2010, these employees witnessed serious wrongdoing related to the mortuary process and stuck out their necks to report the problems, OSC said, adding that in coming forward they risked facing ostracism and retaliation. OSC investigated and concluded that they had been retailed against, resulting in corrective and disciplinary actions including the highly publicized removal of managers involved.
