UN whistleblower asks US to withhold UN payments

NEW YORK (AP) ? A U.N. whistleblower who won his case but received only 2 percent of the $2.2 million he sought in damages and costs is asking the U.S. government to withhold 15 percent of its payments to the United Nations.

James Wasserstrom alleged corruption involving senior officials in the U.N. peacekeeping operation in Kosovo in 2007. He is now an anti-corruption adviser at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

Wasserstrom told a news conference Monday that he was sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and key lawmakers asking that they implement a federal law requiring such withholding if an organization does not take steps to implement "best practices" to prevent retaliation against whistleblowers.

"The evidence is overwhelming that the U.N. has failed to take such steps," Wasserstrom said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-08-US-UN-Whistleblower/id-c13f29f7a93a42c8acd2a88c603df875

Kayla Harrison Mars landing Gabby Douglas John Orozco Garrett Reid shawn johnson Tony Sly