More discipline doled out in Dover mortuary case

(CBS/AP) WASHINGTON - The Air Force has reprimanded for a second time a colonel accused of retaliating against workers at the Dover, Del., military mortuary who had reported the mishandling of body parts of some of America's war dead.

The disciplinary actions come following an independent federal investigation by the Office of Special Counsel of allegations by whistleblowers that war remains had been mishandled or gone missing at Dover.

Last November the Air Force went public with the findings of its inspector general, which concluded that mistakes made in the handling of war remains were not criminal but reflected "gross mismanagement" at Dover.

The Office of Special Counsel then investigated the whistleblowers' allegations of reprisals by Col. Robert Edmondson, Dover's commander, and by others. Reprisals against four whistleblowers included suspensions, threats of firing, terminations and disciplinary letters.

The investigators concluded that Edmondson was the "primary force" behind most of the retaliation.

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In March Bill Zwicharowski, chief mortician at Dover Air Force Base, told CBS News national security correspondent David Martin that he was branded a troublemaker when he called for an outside investigation of the way the mortuary was run.

Caroline Lerner, who heads the Office of Special Counsel, told Martin that Zwicharowski consequently was targeted by an escalating campaign of retaliatory personnel actions, all the way up to termination.

"It was clear they were trying to send a message to the other employees at the mortuary that this is what happens to people who come forward," Lerner said.

In a written statement the Air Force said Monday that it issued a reprimand against Col. Edmondson and ordered him to forfeit $7,000 in pay.

Last year the USAF reprimanded Edmondson and denied him further command assignments. He remains in uniform but the punishments are likely to curtail his career.

The Air Force also said it has suspended Trevor Dean, who had served as Edmondson's top civilian deputy at Dover, for 20 days without pay, for his role in the reprisals. A third person accused of taking inappropriate actions against the whistle-blowers, Quinton Keel, resigned before action could be taken against him.

For their roles in the mishandling of remains, Dean and Keel last year took a cut in pay and were moved to nonsupervisory jobs.

In its announcement Monday, the Air Force also said it has corrected the whistleblowers' personnel records "to eliminate any negative information that resulted from any prohibited personnel practices committed" by Edmondson and supervisors.

The Air Force also expressed gratitude to the whistleblowers for having reported the allegations of wrongdoing.