Bob Lazar: Difference between revisions
remove repeated sentence |
United Nuclear in info box |
||
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
| death_date = |
| death_date = |
||
| death_place = |
| death_place = |
||
| occupation = |
| occupation = Former photo processor<ref name="LATimes1993"/>/owner of United Nuclear |
||
| spouse = Joy White |
| spouse = Joy White |
||
| parents = |
| parents = |
||
Revision as of 22:13, 27 May 2009
Robert Scott Lazar | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 26, 1959 |
| Occupation | Former photo processor[1]/owner of United Nuclear |
| Spouse | Joy White |
Robert Scott Lazar (January 26, 1959), or Bob Lazar, claims to have worked from 1988 until 1989 as a physicist at an area called S-4 (Sector Four), located near Groom Lake, Nevada, next to Area 51. According to Lazar, S-4 served as a hidden military location for the study of extraterrestrial flying saucers. His credibility has been questioned.[2]
Biography and claims
In November 1989, Lazar appeared in a special interview with investigative reporter George Knapp on Las Vegas TV station KLAS to talk about his alleged work at S-4. Physicist Stanton Friedman has called Lazar's claims "all bunk."[3]
Lazar says he has degrees from the California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1993, the Los Angeles Times looked into his background and found there was no evidence to support his claims.[1] Friedman was only able to verify that Lazar took electronics courses in the late 1970s at Pierce Junior College.[3] The Times did discover that in 1990 Lazar had pled guilty to felony pandering, declared bankruptcy and listed his occupation as self-employed photo processor on documents.[1] A 1991 Times article reported, Lazar was "on probation in Clark County, Nev. on a pandering charge. His educational and professional background cannot be verified -- a fact he attributes to government deletion of records."[4]
United Nuclear
In 2000, Lazar started United Nuclear, an amateur scientific supply company operated in Sandia Park, New Mexico. United Nuclear sells a variety of materials including radioactive ores, powerful magnets, scientific curiosities like aerogel, and a variety of lab chemicals. United Nuclear claims "over 300,000 satisfied customers," including law-enforcement agencies, schools, and amateur scientists.
In 2006, Lazar and wife Joy White, were charged with violating the Federal Hazardous Substances Act for shipping restricted chemicals across state lines following a federal investigation started in 2003.[5] The charges stemmed from a 2003 raid on Lazar's business where records of what chemicals were sold to his customers were looked at.[5] The maximum penalty is 270 days in prison and a $15,000 fine.[5] Lazar again gained attention that year from news reports that he sold polonium, the isotope that killed Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko who was poisoned by Russian agents.[6] Lazar believed he could legally sell some of the chemicals after he checked online.[7]
In 2007 Lazar/United Nuclear were fined $7,500 for violating a law against selling chemicals and components used to make illegal fireworks.[8] Lazar "pled guilty to three criminal counts of introducing into interstate commerce and aiding and abetting the introduction into interstate commerce of banned hazardous substances."[9] Lazar also "entered into a consent decree that permanently limits the amount of future sales of fireworks-related chemicals" and United Nuclear Scientific Equipment and Supplies was placed on probation for three years.[9]
Desert Blast
Lazar and Gene Huff also run Desert Blast, an annual festival for "explodaholics" in the Nevada desert. Starting in 1987 (but only formally named in 1991, inspired by Desert Storm) the festival features home-made explosives, rockets, jet-powered vehicles, and other pyrotechnics, with the intention of emphasizing the fun aspect of physics.[10]
References
- ^ a b c "Unusually Fanatical Observers Ike Struck Deal With Aliens! Trip to..." Los Angeles Times. May 6, 1993.
- ^ "...so credible was Lazar's highly detailed story--until Lazar's credibility crumbled. Schools he was supposed to have attended had no record of him, while others in the scientific community had no memory of ever meeting him..." "Tales of Vegas Past: The truth was out there". Las Vegas Mercury. June 12, 2003. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ a b The Bob Lazar Fraud December 1997 By Stanton Friedman
- ^ "Believers Are Not Alone Outer space: A Nevada military base lures the Faithful". Los Angeles Times. March 20, 1991. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ a b c "Don't Try This at Home". Wired. June 2006. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
- ^ "Don't Peddling Poison - How Scary Are Online Polonium Sales?". Newsweek. November 30, 2006. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
- ^ "Albuquerque firm feuds with feds over sale of fireworks parts". Albuquerque Tribune. July 24, 2007.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "NM: Company fined in fireworks case". ABC News. 20 Jul 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
- ^ a b "New Mexico Company Fined, Ordered To Stop Selling Illegal Fireworks Components". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. 20 Jul 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
- ^ "Ka-Booom!!" Wired magazine, December 1994
External links
- BobLazar.com– Official website
- United Nuclear (a company founded by Bob Lazar) – Official website
