The person in charge of nuclear waste in America
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Samuel Brinton — who has served as the Energy Department's (DOE) deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition since June — allegedly stole a suitcase with a total estimate worth of $3,670 on July 6 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, according to a declaration filed by a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) detective on Wednesday. The bag contained jewelry valued at $1,700, clothing worth $850 and makeup valued at $500.
The detective wrote in the report that a woman traveling from Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas on July 6 reported one of her checked bags missing shortly after the incident. Police then reviewed security camera footage and observed "a white male adult wearing a white T-shirt with a large rainbow colored atomic nuclear symbol design" removing baggage that matched the victim's description of her missing bag before quickly exiting the airport.
Police closed the investigation, though, after they were unable to identify the person who took the suitcase.
However, on Nov. 29, after media reports highlighting Brinton's alleged theft in a Minnesota airport surfaced, investigators reopened the case since the suspect matched Brinton's description. Upon viewing the news articles, the officer who had closed the case months earlier "immediately recognized" Brinton "as the suspect pertaining to this case."
Police were then able to confirm that Brinton traveled on the same flight to Las Vegas as the victim on July 6 and found an Instagram post in which Brinton posted a selfie wearing the same rainbow-colored atomic symbol shirt.
Seems that the "second bag" was actually the first.
"Brinton demonstrated several signs of abnormal behavior while taking the victim's luggage which are cues suspects typically give off when committing luggage theft," the LVMPD detective wrote in the report. "Specifically, Brinton pulled the victim's luggage from the carousel and examined the tag."
"Then placing it back on the carousel, looking in all directions for anyone who might be watching, or might approach," it continued. "Pulling it back off the carousel and demonstrating the same behavior by looking around before walking away with it quickly. Brinton only having checked one piece of luggage, which Brinton had already claimed from the carousel, had no reason to be examining and taking any other pieces of luggage."
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I guess Sam’s new pronouns are Fel/Ony?
@LuFins-Dad said in The person in charge of nuclear waste in America:
I guess Sam’s new pronouns are Fel/Ony?
Or Mis/Demeanor?
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Va.—Sam Brinton is a free man. The disgraced former Department of Energy official pleaded guilty to petit larceny as part of a sweetheart deal that will see him serve no jail time after facing felony charges that carried a sentence of up to 20 years.
State prosecutors quietly announced the plea deal during a hearing last week in Arlington General District Court, which is just an eight-minute drive from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport where Brinton stole a Tanzanian female fashion designer's luggage containing her custom designs six years ago.
According to prosecutors, Brinton entered into an adult diversion program, which requires him to undergo mental health treatment, write a letter of apology, and complete 50 hours of community service helping the elderly. As part of the deal, the charges against Brinton were amended from grand larceny, a felony offense, to petit larceny, a misdemeanor.
The agreement allows Brinton—who made headlines in June 2022 as one of the first-ever nonbinary gender-fluid federal appointees—to escape jail time in a case that could have resulted in as many as 20 years imprisonment, according to Virginia sentencing guidelines for grand larceny. The agreement marks the third time Brinton has been able to escape serving any jail time for stealing women's luggage from airports.
While the agreement was finalized last week, the case remains open. A follow-up hearing in the case is slated for June 2025 to review Brinton's progress. The case may then, at that point, be closed.
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complete 50 hours of community service helping the elderly.
So he’s joining Biden’s staff again?
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complete 50 hours of community service helping the elderly.
So he’s joining Biden’s staff again?
@LuFins-Dad said in The person in charge of nuclear waste in America:
So he’s joining Biden’s staff again?
We can hope.
He's not, after all, a felon.
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Nope…
Though, except for the fashion designer, this never approached grand larceny, and it clearly was a mental illness
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Right. It probably made sense to slap him on the wrist the first time.
But the third? Seems absurd.
Though maybe the victim accepting the apology and forgiving him carries weight in VA.
@jon-nyc said in The person in charge of nuclear waste in America:
Right. It probably made sense to slap him on the wrist the first time.
But the third? Seems absurd.
Though maybe the victim accepting the apology and forgiving him carries weight in VA.
Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t think he was actually caught for the first 2 until he got busted for the third. Police saw the news of the third incident and were able to put his face and name to older cases? In that type of situation, it’s not like a 3 time loser.
