[NukeNet] Paid Blackwatter Assassin gets job as head of security at Palisades: draws Markey attention

[Roger Herried]

May 16, 2007 - MARKEY SEEKS ANSWERS AFTER REPORTED SECURITY BREACH AT 
NUCLEAR PLANT
/Former Employee of Palisades, Seabrook Allegedly Lied About Past, Still 
Given Sensitive Jobs/

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior 
member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, today wrote to the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) demanding answers in light of 
reports that the former security manager at the Palisades nuclear plant 
in Michigan who had also been employed at the Seabrook nuclear plant in 
New Hampshire, is an individual who claimed to be a paid assassin and 
evidently fabricated much of his background but still managed to obtain 
both of his sensitive jobs and the necessary security clearances.

“If they’re handing out sensitive nuclear security jobs to someone who 
claimed to be a gun for hire, who else are they hiring to secure nuclear 
materials? If the reports about this individual, William E. Clark, are 
true, there are potentially deadly gaps in the current process used to 
evaluate prospective employees,” said Rep. Markey. “Nuclear plant 
operators can build all the walls or blast-resistant chambers they want, 
but if they’re not screening the security personnel, none of that will 
matter.”

According to an article in the June edition of Esquire, Mr. William E. 
Clark was hired as the head of security at the Palisades nuclear plant 
in early 2006 and resigned several weeks ago, before the article was 
published. Mr. Clark also reportedly worked at the Seabrook nuclear 
plant prior to working at the Palisades plant. Mr. Clark reportedly told 
the author of the Esquire article and others that he had been employed 
as a marksman for Blackwater Corporation; had killed people in Vietnam, 
New Orleans and Iraq; had top security clearances at the Departments of 
Energy and Defense; served in the French Foreign Legion; worked as a 
guard for President Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan and Paul Bremer in Iraq; 
and was a covert operator employed by the Federal Government through a 
“handler,” which required his identity to be kept secret.

Rep. Markey’s letter asks NRC Chairman Dale E. Klein to respond to 
detailed questions about how Mr. Clark was hired and the general vetting 
process for other individuals employed at nuclear reactors. The 
questions included:

• How and when did the Commission and the licensee, Entergy, first 
become aware of the possibility that Mr. Clark had fabricated portions 
of his resume?
• Has the Commission or the licensee considered the possibility that Mr. 
Clark may pose a danger to the facility, or to other nuclear facilities, 
since he now possesses sensitive information regarding the operation of 
nuclear power plants and any security weaknesses? If so, what is the 
Commission and/or the licensee doing to ensure that he cannot gain armed 
or unarmed access to a nuclear power plant?
• Mr. Clark reportedly claimed to his employer that he had been a paid 
assassin, although it appears that this claim was not in fact true. Can 
the Commission account for how someone making such a claim, true or not, 
could be considered eligible for employment at nuclear power plants?
• Please fully describe the process by which applicants for sensitive 
positions at nuclear reactors are screened. What background checks are 
required? How are claims made on resumes verified?
• When did Mr. Clark work at the Seabrook nuclear power plant, and in 
what capacity? Did he work for any other nuclear power plants, and if so 
which, and during what time period?

“Mr. Clark has reportedly resigned his position at Palisades, but this 
episode, if true, raises serious questions about every other individual 
employed at nuclear reactors across the country. The NRC needs to 
quickly explain the troubling circumstances of this bizarre episode and 
ensure that all reactor employees are properly vetted before receiving 
sensitive responsibilities,” concluded Rep. Markey.

Rep. Markey's letter to the NRC 
<http://markey.house.gov/docs/energy_environment/Letter%20to%20NRC%20re_Clark.pdf>