Former Contract Worker at National Records Center Pleads Guilty to Mutilating and Destroying Public Records

St. Louis, MO – PETER PANOUZIS pled guilty to charges of mutilating and destroying United States Selective Service records of 50 or more individuals.  The records are part of the National Archives deposited and held at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.

Through a partnership with Ancestry.com, the National Personnel Records Center is in the process of digitizing World War II era Selective Service records, including Draft Registration Cards and their attachments.  According to court documents, Panouzis was a contract worker hired by Ancestry.com as part of the National Archives’ Digitization Project Plan.  As such, Panouzis had access to original World War II era Draft Registration Cards and original attachments to those Draft Registration Cards, archived at the National Personnel Records Center.

Instead of scanning and digitizing all of the attachments to individual Draft Registration Cards, Panouzis mutilated and destroyed some of the attachments.  Specifically, on March 9 and March 11, 2015, Panouzis tore up the attachments rather than digitizing them.  He then stuffed the torn pieces into his work gloves and discarded the gloves in bins and trash cans in his work area.  On March 12, 2015, Panouzis made an off-site call to a National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) archives technician who was working at the facility, and asked the technician to do him a “favor” and discard a glove on his desk, empty a bin on his desk and empty a trash can near his work area.  The glove, the bin and the trash can each contained archived records that the defendant had previously mutilated and destroyed.  Upon finding the archived records mutilated and destroyed by Panouzis, the technician immediately contacted a NARA supervisor.

Panouzis, East Alton, Illinois, pled guilty to one count of destruction of public records before United States District Judge Carol E. Jackson.  Sentencing has been set for December 10, 2015.

This charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.  In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

This case was investigated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)-Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Charles Birmingham is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.