Contract worker admits destroying some military records

ST. LOUIS -- A contract worker for a national military records repository in St. Louis has admitted in federal court that he mutilated or destroyed dozens of the records.

Thirty-one-year-old Peter Panouzis of East Alton, Illinois, pleaded guilty to a count of destruction of public records.

Federal prosecutors say Panouzis was hired by Ancestry.com to help the National Personnel Records Center in digitizing World War II-era Selective Service records, including draft registration cards and their attachments.

But investigators say instead of scanning and digitizing the records, Panouzis in March mutilated or destroyed records of 50 or more people.

Authorities say he stuffed the torn pieces of the records into his work gloves and discarded them in bins and trash cans.

Sentencing is set for Dec. 10.