We should have listened to disgruntled ex-employee before explosions at Massey mine in West Virginia

Usually it's only the disgruntled ex-employees who will tell the truth about an institution. Those who are still employed are usually afraid to talk, or they have convinced themselves that it is right to protect wrongdoers.

Ex-Massey Miner: Safety Gripes Led To Firing
by Howard Berkes
NPR
June 7, 2010

A former Massey Energy coal miner has filed a federal whistle-blower complaint, claiming he was fired after complaining about unsafe conditions at two Massey mines in West Virginia, NPR News has learned. One of the coal mines is Upper Big Branch, where an explosion killed 29 workers April 5.

Ricky Lee Campbell's complaint says he repeatedly told his supervisors about failing brakes on the coal shuttle cars he drove at the Slip Ridge Cedar Grove mine.

The 24-year-old from Beckley, W.Va., also spoke to a newspaper about unsafe conditions at Upper Big Branch, where he worked until shortly before the accident. And he provided information in the federal investigation of the blast.

Campbell spoke to the newspaper on April 7. A week later, he was given a five-day suspension "subject to discharge" and then fired April 23. He then filed the whistle-blower complaint with the Labor Department, contending that his persistent safety concerns, his media interview and his role in the federal probe prompted his termination...

Madoff victims sue SEC for 'negligence'

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Madoff victims sue SEC for 'negligence'
By Aaron Smith
CNNMoney.com staff writer
October 14, 2009

Two victims of the convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff filed suit Wednesday against the Securities and Exchange Commission, accusing the government regulator of negligence in failing to protect investors.

Molchatsky and Schneider accuse the SEC of failing to detect Madoff's long-running scam, which stole billions of dollars from thousands of investors.

"Through its negligent actions and inactions ... the SEC caused Madoff's scheme to continue, perpetuate and expand, eventually in billions in losses by investors...

The lawsuit said that SEC regulators had "countless opportunities" to stop Madoff's scheme "and botched all of them."

"Instead of watching the backs of Ms. Molchatsky and Dr. Schneider and the backs of all the other investors, the SEC -- through its negligence -- was effectively watching Bernie Madoff's back," said one of the plaintiffs' lawyers, former SEC attorney Howard Elisofon. "Now it is time for the SEC to be held accountable and for the federal government to do what the law says it must do: compensate the victims for its negligence."

The lawsuit noted that, between 1992 and 2008, the SEC received "at least eight complaints or submissions indicating that Madoff was operating a Ponzi scheme."