From my layman's reading of this submission by the Gov't. they have taken sworn testimony from a former Wasatch employee who was made to remove and dispose of Asbestos from a locomotive without the proper removal nor disposal tools or procedures.

If the court grants the Governments request to admit this as evidence in the trial it certainly won't help Rimmasch's case as I read it.

It will be interesting to see what the trial unearths.

Ross Rowland

Looks like two witnesses for the government conveniently disappeared a few days before trial. The trial date will get moved to a later date. My lawyer neighbor tells me the U.S. Marshalls will likely be looking for them. I wonder why they disappeared?

Key witnesses going off-grid and disappearing into the wind mere days before a federal trial? Every document dropped is somehow more wild than the last. This is turning into a locomotive restoration spin-off of the 'Tiger King' series on Netflix.

Tiger King was the most normal thing about 2020.

Uh-oh.… Looks like we’re gonna need a LOT more popcorn.

I'm probably a little out of touch but this seems a bit overzealous for improper asbestos abatement? The fraudulent invoicing for services incomplete seems strong enough by itself so it seems a bit extreme to go to such lengths to assure the asbestos charges stick unless the DA is worried about the case being tossed without it? Had the DA invested these many resources commandeering material witnesses in the case where two former employees were killed in the tank car explosion, I could see justification for the resource investment. Hopefully someone with a better handle on the legal strategy can provide some insight to my layman's perspective.

Jeff

Ummm, maybe they got new jobs and had to move out of the area? Or they visited Blind Frog Ranch and got abducted by aliens???

Yeah, but if you're on the witness list for a federal trial about to begin, one would think you don't just up and skip town with no forwarding address (or letting the court know).

And then for that to happen to two witnesses? Seems awfully odd.

As Dorothy said....this is getting curiouser and couriouser !!! Sure is.

Ross Rowland

Legacy dot com has a September 2019 obituary for a Kentucky resident whose name, including the middle initial, matches the name of the government's first missing witness. This deceased person had two sons, both Kentucky residents, according to an obituary that is still posted on the funeral home's website. One son's name matches the name of the government's second missing witness. The other son has the same first and last names as his father but a different middle initial.

If these individuals happen to be government's missing witnesses, I see a reason why they may have decided to hide from the government.

Pray tell Chris, what's the reason??

Thanks, Ross Rowland

WOW!

Is this the first episode of yet another spin-off - LAW & ORDER: The Environment?

I'm not surprised at all that the Defense has agreed to the continuance since disappearing witnesses raise enough red flags without the other side trying to exploit it.

I bounced this off of my little brother (since this is more in his line of work than mine) and of course Grandfather, and the possibilities we came up were that; 1) They had been put in WitSec and somebody forgot to tell the US Atty; 2) They had been put in WitSec and somebody did tell the US Atty (implications being that there is a a bit more to this or that they are muddled up in something else entirely); 3) They are muddled up in something else entirely and now the US Atty, the Marshals, and maybe the FBI and the Kentucky DCI are all trying to figure out what; 4) Let's not even go there for now; or, 5) They are going to turn up Monday morning and explain that they had to buy new phones because of the 5G transition.

Don't forget another option...maybe they're both in jail? Or would the powers that be have checked into that option as well?

Given what I have seen reported in the Baltimore criminal justice system in the 25 years I lived there........... you cannot assume the latter.

I have not linked to my sources or posted their names because I do not know if the survivors named in the obituaries are the missing government witnesses.

However, for the sake of discussion, let's assume they are the same people. Seeing the deceased father's name in the Motion to Continue Trial made me wonder if the son was using his deceased father's identity instead of his own?

To continue this discussion, let's also assume that the government's witness was committing identify fraud. The other government witness most likely knew about it (because they're brothers) and so both witnesses would have good reason to disappear - they want to avoid perjuring themselves on the witness stand!

This particular RYPN thread has a few earlier posts describing how the defendant was being arrogantly confident about his chances at the trial. Let's consider another assumption: the defendant knew the witnesses against him had committed identity fraud. The defendant would then have a really good reason to be confident about his chances at trial since the defendant would have known that the witnesses against him would not be credible.

Again, I do not know if the survivors named in the obituaries are the missing government witnesses nor do I know if any of my assumptions are correct.

Per the KY Department for Environmental Protection, two people whose names match the names of the missing witnessed used to hold "Asbestos Abatement Worker" and "Asbestos Abatement Supervisor" licenses in Kentucky. The database lists all their license statuses as "Terminated" with expiration dates in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

I think it's interesting that their state licenses expired several years before the NPS issued its solicitation to restore CNJ 1021 (May 2016.)

Wyoming does not seem to have any registration or licensure program for asbestos removal.
This thread needs the Law & Order "Dun-dun" sound inserted between posts.