USPTO PLACED IN "ARRESTING" POSITION: According to conversations with USPTO people, as well as a USPTO Weekly e-mail distribution, the arrest of a patent examiner is not a new thing. A "small number" of people (my sources tell me 3 examiners) were arrested previously while at work for "embezzeling" from the USPTO.

According to the USPTO Weekly, City of Alexandria police have arrested employees (not necessarily examiners) with outstanding criminal warrants for activities unrelated to the USPTO. They have also arrested employees accused of defrauding the government by the Department of Commerce's Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The Federal Protective Service arrested those accused of theft from USPTO employees.

No USPTO employee has made an arrest. Representatives from USPTO's Office of Security are alerted that an arrest will take place just as the law-enforcement officials arrive at our buildings. A representative from USPTO's Office of Security typically accompanies the officers.

A more interesting question raised was why have USPTO employees accused of a crime been arrested at work? According to the Weekly, law-enforcement agencies decide where to make arrests. Evidently, for criminal charges stemming from alleged wrongdoing at work, the workplace has been the venue for arrest. But for whatever reason, criminal charges stemming from alleged wrongdoing outside the Office, some law enforcement officials have made a decision to arrest USPTO employees at work as well.

Maybe it's the "new office smell" in the recently-built Alexandria offices . . .