Samuel Brinton, the Department of Energy’s recently-hired head of nuclear waste policy, has been implicated in another alleged theft, this time at a Nevada airport, according to documents obtained by the Exchange Monitor.
Brinton, who has served as DOE’s deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition since June, was accused of grand larceny in a warrant filed Dec. 7 by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Police said Brinton stole a piece of gray hard-shell luggage from a baggage claim at Harry Reid International Airport.
This is the second known time Brinton has been accused of such a crime. The DOE official was charged with felony theft in November by the state of Minnesota for allegedly stealing luggage at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
According to the Dec. 7 warrant, the alleged theft in Nevada took place July 6, just a month after Brinton started at DOE. Surveillance footage captured Brinton, who was wearing a t-shirt “with a very large rainbow colored atomic nuclear symbol design,” removing a piece of luggage from baggage claim that matched the description of a bag that had been reported missing on the same day.
Authorities were initially unable to identify any suspect, and the case was temporarily closed until Nov. 29, when news broke about Minnesota’s charges against Brinton. Las Vegas police were able to identify Brinton’s face in airport surveillance footage.
Police found a photo on Brinton’s Instagram page from July 6 that showed them wearing the same t-shirt from surveillance footage. As of Friday, that photo was still up on Brinton’s Instagram, which is no longer publicly visible.
As of Friday, no formal charges against Brinton had been made publicly available in Nevada.
Meanwhile, Brinton’s boss at DOE, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff, spoke only in general terms to members of Congress last week about possible disciplinary measures for Brinton, who holds a federal security clearance.
A hearing in Brinton’s Minnesota case was scheduled for Dec. 19, but Brinton’s attorney on Friday requested that it be delayed 45 days, until around Feb. 3 or so, saying that the DOE official needed time to arrange for travel to Minnesota and to square away “logistical and financial issues.” The state of Minnesota did not object to that request.
Updated 12/12/2022 9:41 a.m. Eastern time.