Former Biden administration nuclear waste official Sam Brinton was reportedly on a taxpayer-funded trip when the official allegedly stole luggage from an airport in Nevada last summer.
Brinton was on a trip to the Department of Energy's Nevada National Security Site when the nuclear waste official allegedly stole luggage from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, according to documents obtained by the Functional Government Initiative and shared with the Washington Examiner.
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"It's outrageous that tax dollars transported Brinton to and from the scene of a crime, putting the American public unwittingly at the wheel of the getaway car," Peter McGinnis, communications director for the Functional Government Initiative, told Fox News in a statement.
"The federal government obviously needs a more stringent vetting process for senior-level positions. Senior officials committing petty crime while on the clock is a clear indication that something is dysfunctional in the personnel procedures," he added.
The four-day $1,951.50 trip included a round-trip flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Las Vegas on United Airlines and a stay at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club on the Las Vegas Strip from July 6 to July 9, 2022. During that trip, Brinton allegedly stole luggage valued at $3,670 from the airport in Las Vegas.
In December 2022, Brinton was arrested and charged with grand larceny for allegedly stealing the luggage in Las Vegas after security footage showed the official with the stolen luggage. Brinton entered a plea deal in a case involving the luggage robbery in April and was forced to pay $3,670.74 in restitution for the stolen materials and was given a 180-day suspended jail term, per Fox 5 Las Vegas.
The Department of Energy confirmed to the Washington Examiner in December 2022 that Brinton no longer worked for the agency.
“Sam Brinton is no longer a DOE employee. By law, the Department of Energy cannot comment further on personnel matters,” the department spokesperson said in an email at the time.
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Brinton was also charged in Minnesota related to an alleged luggage robbery and was released on no bail in February.
In May, Brinton was arrested on charges of being a "fugitive from justice." The charges related to "allegations of stolen property in luggage from Reagan National Airport that was brought to the department’s attention in February 2023," according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police, which oversee Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, and Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia.