U.S. Dist. Judge determines the Reno FBI and U.S. Attorneys Office acted with callous disregard of Mr. Montgomery’s Fourth Amendment rights, as the earlier order from Judge Cooke on November 28, 2006, was affirmed on March 19, 2007.
Ruling in Trepp case raises questions about Gibbons' role
The story unfolds, below.
How Deep Does Political Corruption Run?
Although most of the case was sealed...it's looking as if Pandora's Box will open any minute - affording the general public a breathtaking display of the lengths the FBI will go to protect its perceived political interests rather than protecting Amercians from attack - although the below lack of experience by the FBI agent, is enough to give anyone the willies.
However, what's Always true is:
A good government is a transparent government.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
FBI After Public Officials Not Paying 'Electric Bill. Wow! Big Crimes.
In the "Why write Fiction" department - the FBI is investigating a Memphis City Councilmember who didn't pay his bills.
Sunday, 03/18/07
Memphis councilman may have violated open government law
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A councilman at the center of an FBI investigation may have violated the state's open government law when he talked privately to council members about supporting the man who would eventually become president of the city's utility.
Lawyers hired by the City Council have been trying to interview the president and CEO of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division, Joseph Lee, as part of an independent probe into the utility accounts of Councilman Edmund Ford. The lawyers are scheduled to present their findings on Tuesday.
The FBI is investigating why the utility protected Ford's business and residential utility services from disconnection even though he owed more than $16,000.
Records show Lee aided in that by telling his staff to keep Ford's utilities on.
According to a councilman and other records recently obtained by The Commercial Appeal, Ford played a pivotal role in getting Lee his position and may have violated the law in doing so.
In the days leading up to a 2004 City Council vote on whether Lee should head the utility, Council Chairman Tom Marshall said Ford lined up votes behind the scenes to ensure Lee got the job.
Marshall said Ford privately lobbied council members, claiming Lee's appointment would end "the racial gridlock we were in."
Tennessee's Open Meetings Act prohibits deliberation of public business in closed meetings or electronic communication.
In 1990, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that Shelby County commissioners violated the law when they discussed privately with each other, including in phone conversations, which candidate they would like to fill a board vacancy.
"He did ask me to consider voting for Lee," Marshall said. "He said that as far as he was concerned, it was becoming a very racial issue and we did not need that at the time."
The council eventually voted 7-5 to appoint Lee.
Ford served as chairman of the City Council's General Services & Utilities Committee, which oversees the city-owned utility, until December when he was removed from the post after his arrest on federal bribery charges.
The utility's systems were also set up to notify top utility employees if more than a dozen other Memphis politicos, including Mayor Willie Herenton and some City Council members, faced service cutoff due to unpaid bills.
In a letter to the council last week, Lee's lawyer, Robert Spence said Lee denies ever receiving monetary benefits or items of value from Ford or council members.
Spence also said Lee won't be cooperating in the council's independent investigation because he has already testified before a federal grand jury investigating the utility.
Sunday, 03/18/07
Memphis councilman may have violated open government law
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A councilman at the center of an FBI investigation may have violated the state's open government law when he talked privately to council members about supporting the man who would eventually become president of the city's utility.
Lawyers hired by the City Council have been trying to interview the president and CEO of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division, Joseph Lee, as part of an independent probe into the utility accounts of Councilman Edmund Ford. The lawyers are scheduled to present their findings on Tuesday.
The FBI is investigating why the utility protected Ford's business and residential utility services from disconnection even though he owed more than $16,000.
Records show Lee aided in that by telling his staff to keep Ford's utilities on.
According to a councilman and other records recently obtained by The Commercial Appeal, Ford played a pivotal role in getting Lee his position and may have violated the law in doing so.
In the days leading up to a 2004 City Council vote on whether Lee should head the utility, Council Chairman Tom Marshall said Ford lined up votes behind the scenes to ensure Lee got the job.
Marshall said Ford privately lobbied council members, claiming Lee's appointment would end "the racial gridlock we were in."
Tennessee's Open Meetings Act prohibits deliberation of public business in closed meetings or electronic communication.
In 1990, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that Shelby County commissioners violated the law when they discussed privately with each other, including in phone conversations, which candidate they would like to fill a board vacancy.
"He did ask me to consider voting for Lee," Marshall said. "He said that as far as he was concerned, it was becoming a very racial issue and we did not need that at the time."
The council eventually voted 7-5 to appoint Lee.
Ford served as chairman of the City Council's General Services & Utilities Committee, which oversees the city-owned utility, until December when he was removed from the post after his arrest on federal bribery charges.
The utility's systems were also set up to notify top utility employees if more than a dozen other Memphis politicos, including Mayor Willie Herenton and some City Council members, faced service cutoff due to unpaid bills.
In a letter to the council last week, Lee's lawyer, Robert Spence said Lee denies ever receiving monetary benefits or items of value from Ford or council members.
Spence also said Lee won't be cooperating in the council's independent investigation because he has already testified before a federal grand jury investigating the utility.
Friday, March 16, 2007
FBI is Not Interested in Crime.
Slight Problem with Law Enforcement. Try to find some.
In an update to the story of lying CHP officers, The Public on the Hook for 2 Million Dollars
the FBI did get back to Steve Grassilli's attorney.
We Are Truly Not Interested.
Yes, the FBI is Not going to investigate the case. Neither is the District Attorney's office, where Bill Gore, former head of the FBI's San Diego branch, now collects a pay check. (See earlier posts.)
So the secret's out. Crooks welcome in San Diego. (As if the Pension scandal didn't convince you). Come on down.
San Diegans? Raise your hand whose surprised.
(Scanning the terrain..)
Hey look Ma, no hands.
In an update to the story of lying CHP officers, The Public on the Hook for 2 Million Dollars
the FBI did get back to Steve Grassilli's attorney.
We Are Truly Not Interested.
Yes, the FBI is Not going to investigate the case. Neither is the District Attorney's office, where Bill Gore, former head of the FBI's San Diego branch, now collects a pay check. (See earlier posts.)
So the secret's out. Crooks welcome in San Diego. (As if the Pension scandal didn't convince you). Come on down.
San Diegans? Raise your hand whose surprised.
(Scanning the terrain..)
Hey look Ma, no hands.
NY Lawyers San Ethics - San Diego Wants You!
Partner Admits Ethics Violations While Prosecutor
New York Lawyer
March 16, 2007
By Brendan Smith
Legal Times
Faced with overwhelming evidence of his misconduct in a witness-payment scandal, former federal prosecutor G. Paul Howes has admitted to violations of six ethics rules.
Responding to charges filed last month by D.C. Bar Counsel, Howes admits he made a false statement to a tribunal, intentionally failed to disclose required discovery to the defense, and engaged in conduct involving “dishonesty or misrepresentation” and conduct that “seriously interfered with the administration of justice.”
In a stipulation with Bar Counsel released last week, Howes, who served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District in the 1990s, denies that he committed criminal acts or offered unlawful inducements to witnesses.
Both Bar Counsel and a 1998 Justice Department probe found that Howes disbursed more than $140,000 in federal witness vouchers to 132 people during the Newton Street gang trial and another murder trial, making improper payments to witnesses, friends and relatives of witnesses, and former police officers.
Howes is scheduled for an April 11 hearing before the Board on Professional Responsibility, which could recommend sanctions including disbarment. Howes, now a partner in the San Diego office of Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins, and his defense attorney, Plato Cacheris, would not comment last week on his case. But Howes’ response to the charges states that the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not have a clear policy on witness-voucher payments at the time and that he “was continually in trial for approximately 18 months with minimal support, assistance, or supervision.”
Cacheris, who has represented Monica Lewinsky and FBI turncoat Robert Hanssen, is leading a high-profile defense team, including John Hundley and Barry Coburn from his firm, Trout Cacheris, and Steven Tabackman from Tighe Patton Armstrong Teasdale, who also used to be a federal prosecutor in the District.
New York Lawyer
March 16, 2007
By Brendan Smith
Legal Times
Faced with overwhelming evidence of his misconduct in a witness-payment scandal, former federal prosecutor G. Paul Howes has admitted to violations of six ethics rules.
Responding to charges filed last month by D.C. Bar Counsel, Howes admits he made a false statement to a tribunal, intentionally failed to disclose required discovery to the defense, and engaged in conduct involving “dishonesty or misrepresentation” and conduct that “seriously interfered with the administration of justice.”
In a stipulation with Bar Counsel released last week, Howes, who served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District in the 1990s, denies that he committed criminal acts or offered unlawful inducements to witnesses.
Both Bar Counsel and a 1998 Justice Department probe found that Howes disbursed more than $140,000 in federal witness vouchers to 132 people during the Newton Street gang trial and another murder trial, making improper payments to witnesses, friends and relatives of witnesses, and former police officers.
Howes is scheduled for an April 11 hearing before the Board on Professional Responsibility, which could recommend sanctions including disbarment. Howes, now a partner in the San Diego office of Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins, and his defense attorney, Plato Cacheris, would not comment last week on his case. But Howes’ response to the charges states that the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not have a clear policy on witness-voucher payments at the time and that he “was continually in trial for approximately 18 months with minimal support, assistance, or supervision.”
Cacheris, who has represented Monica Lewinsky and FBI turncoat Robert Hanssen, is leading a high-profile defense team, including John Hundley and Barry Coburn from his firm, Trout Cacheris, and Steven Tabackman from Tighe Patton Armstrong Teasdale, who also used to be a federal prosecutor in the District.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Does the FBI Support Full On Judicial Corruption?
Interesting that the attorneys currently going gang-busters in the Nevada's Governor Jim Gibbons' corruption case, ran into a brick wall in San Diego.
(Raise your hand whose surprised.)
When they wondered why Judith McConnell routed all of the ball park cases to herself, San Diego FBI agents said they hadn't gotten the Green light in DC to open a formal investigation.
Huh?
That's core politics, not investigative work. Since when must a local office ask permission before investigating corruption? If that's true what's next?
Unfortunately, next is generally more corruption at an expanded level.
Consider the pattern within the District Attorney's Office, which may explain the too cozy relationship with the DA behind the FBI's systematic slacking.
Consider: Bill Gore who didn't investigate judges when he headed up the FBI, is now working with the District Attorney's Office.
Consider: District Attorney's Office now houses Casey Gwinn and who can explain why the FBI isn't investigating Gwinn particularly after San Diego's $20,000,000.00 Kroll report described San Diego's "Culture of Corruption" during a time GWINN was City Attorney.
Since our tax dollars are paying for this, shouldn't the public demand accountability? Or a refund? Otherwise history will simply continue repeating itself, with agents who should be fired, drawing paychecks instead, and as history demonstrates; the crooks in the District Attorney's Office have operated at the highest level.
Former deputy DA enters guilty plea
Longanbach could face jail for running private business on county's time
By J. Harry Jones
STAFF WRITER
November 10, 2001
The former head of the district attorney's economic fraud unit pleaded guilty yesterday to a felony charge of grand theft for using county employees and equipment for his personal business.
Peter J. Longanbach, 56, could face up to three years in prison and the loss of his license to practice law. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 18. [Update - Longanbach easily avoided jail. With a nod to Justice San Diego Style; Longanbach was fined and sentenced to teaching poor kids how to play golf.]
Longanbach admitted he operated his real estate business on county time out of the district attorney's downtown offices.
"I used San Diego district attorney staff to prepare personal documents," he wrote in his guilty plea form. "I used San Diego District Attorney's Office fax, copy machine and telephone equipment for personal purposes, and I worked on private matters during district attorney office hours."
In a plea bargain with the state Attorney General's Office, Longanbach and state prosecutors agreed to give San Diego Superior Court Judge Kenneth So wide latitude in deciding Longanbach's punishment.
Although Longanbach pleaded guilty to a felony, his attorney, Pat Swan, will be allowed to ask So to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor, which could allow him to continue practicing law. The attorney general will argue against a reduction.
While Longanbach technically could be sentenced to as much as three years in prison, Deputy Attorney General Adrianne Denault told So the state will seek no more than one year in local jail.
Longanbach also agreed to pay San Diego County $25,000 in restitution for the money stolen by his use of the secretaries and equipment.
Outside of court, Swan said the restitution is far more money than he thinks Longanbach, a Rancho Santa Fe resident, should have to pay, but said it was agreed to in order to dispose of the case.
Longanbach retired in March 2000 from his position as one of District Attorney Paul Pfingst's department chiefs after state investigators searched his house and the District Attorney's Office for evidence.
The allegations were initially raised within the District Attorney's Office by secretaries, legal assistants and prosecutors who worked under Longanbach and complained to their superiors.
Pfingst said he reprimanded Longanbach but was unaware he continued misusing staff and equipment. Pfingst's discipline in the case has been cited by many of his critics in what has become a sharply divided office.
Earlier this week the San Diego Deputy District Attorneys Association returned a vote of no-confidence in Pfingst's leadership. Two-thirds of the prosecutors who voted cast ballots against Pfingst.
A special grand jury indicted Longanbach in February on 12 felony charges following a 17-month investigation by the state.
Thirty-four witnesses testified before the grand jury, most of them fellow employees and prosecutors who worked with Longanbach.
Had he been convicted at trial of all counts, Longanbach could have faced eight years in prison.
The indictment was dismissed yesterday as part of the plea. Instead, the new grand theft charge was filed and admitted by Longanbach, who has been free without bail.
"This whole process has been extremely expensive and wearing on his family," Swan said, explaining why Longanbach agreed to the deal.
Longanbach left the courthouse without commenting.
Pfingst, through his spokeswoman Liz Pursell, said it was inappropriate to comment on the plea.
"This case has not been concluded," Pursell said. "We still have a sentencing in January."
Copyright 2001 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
-------------------------------------
(Raise your hand whose surprised.)
When they wondered why Judith McConnell routed all of the ball park cases to herself, San Diego FBI agents said they hadn't gotten the Green light in DC to open a formal investigation.
Huh?
That's core politics, not investigative work. Since when must a local office ask permission before investigating corruption? If that's true what's next?
Unfortunately, next is generally more corruption at an expanded level.
Consider the pattern within the District Attorney's Office, which may explain the too cozy relationship with the DA behind the FBI's systematic slacking.
Consider: Bill Gore who didn't investigate judges when he headed up the FBI, is now working with the District Attorney's Office.
Consider: District Attorney's Office now houses Casey Gwinn and who can explain why the FBI isn't investigating Gwinn particularly after San Diego's $20,000,000.00 Kroll report described San Diego's "Culture of Corruption" during a time GWINN was City Attorney.
Since our tax dollars are paying for this, shouldn't the public demand accountability? Or a refund? Otherwise history will simply continue repeating itself, with agents who should be fired, drawing paychecks instead, and as history demonstrates; the crooks in the District Attorney's Office have operated at the highest level.
Former deputy DA enters guilty plea
Longanbach could face jail for running private business on county's time
By J. Harry Jones
STAFF WRITER
November 10, 2001
The former head of the district attorney's economic fraud unit pleaded guilty yesterday to a felony charge of grand theft for using county employees and equipment for his personal business.
Peter J. Longanbach, 56, could face up to three years in prison and the loss of his license to practice law. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 18. [Update - Longanbach easily avoided jail. With a nod to Justice San Diego Style; Longanbach was fined and sentenced to teaching poor kids how to play golf.]
Longanbach admitted he operated his real estate business on county time out of the district attorney's downtown offices.
"I used San Diego district attorney staff to prepare personal documents," he wrote in his guilty plea form. "I used San Diego District Attorney's Office fax, copy machine and telephone equipment for personal purposes, and I worked on private matters during district attorney office hours."
In a plea bargain with the state Attorney General's Office, Longanbach and state prosecutors agreed to give San Diego Superior Court Judge Kenneth So wide latitude in deciding Longanbach's punishment.
Although Longanbach pleaded guilty to a felony, his attorney, Pat Swan, will be allowed to ask So to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor, which could allow him to continue practicing law. The attorney general will argue against a reduction.
While Longanbach technically could be sentenced to as much as three years in prison, Deputy Attorney General Adrianne Denault told So the state will seek no more than one year in local jail.
Longanbach also agreed to pay San Diego County $25,000 in restitution for the money stolen by his use of the secretaries and equipment.
Outside of court, Swan said the restitution is far more money than he thinks Longanbach, a Rancho Santa Fe resident, should have to pay, but said it was agreed to in order to dispose of the case.
Longanbach retired in March 2000 from his position as one of District Attorney Paul Pfingst's department chiefs after state investigators searched his house and the District Attorney's Office for evidence.
The allegations were initially raised within the District Attorney's Office by secretaries, legal assistants and prosecutors who worked under Longanbach and complained to their superiors.
Pfingst said he reprimanded Longanbach but was unaware he continued misusing staff and equipment. Pfingst's discipline in the case has been cited by many of his critics in what has become a sharply divided office.
Earlier this week the San Diego Deputy District Attorneys Association returned a vote of no-confidence in Pfingst's leadership. Two-thirds of the prosecutors who voted cast ballots against Pfingst.
A special grand jury indicted Longanbach in February on 12 felony charges following a 17-month investigation by the state.
Thirty-four witnesses testified before the grand jury, most of them fellow employees and prosecutors who worked with Longanbach.
Had he been convicted at trial of all counts, Longanbach could have faced eight years in prison.
The indictment was dismissed yesterday as part of the plea. Instead, the new grand theft charge was filed and admitted by Longanbach, who has been free without bail.
"This whole process has been extremely expensive and wearing on his family," Swan said, explaining why Longanbach agreed to the deal.
Longanbach left the courthouse without commenting.
Pfingst, through his spokeswoman Liz Pursell, said it was inappropriate to comment on the plea.
"This case has not been concluded," Pursell said. "We still have a sentencing in January."
Copyright 2001 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
-------------------------------------
LEN DAVEY - The FBI marries the Peter Principle.
March 15, 2007
The Peter Principle lives.
Peter Lance's "Triple Cross" aside, the Peter Principle lives, coursing through the veins of purported agent supervisor Len Davey. With the agents we spoke with, it seems to be a departmental affliction.
For newer readers, the San Diego branch of the FBI has significant problems.
An absence of professionalism coupled with an attitude most often seen in surfers who don't actually want a job - Service is not the watch-word in San Diego.
As such, San Diegans would do well to erase any visuals of hard-working crime fighting agents. With San Diego's long history of judges being convicted of bribery, we suspect there would be more if agents possessed some kind of work ethic. But this is not the case.
Neither should San Diegans picture lazy agents, avoiding work. No, a more accurate picture is it's much darker than that.
Picture a bureaucracy of agents who refuse to get out of their chairs.
Picture a bureaucracy of agents who refuse to identify themselves.
Picture a bureaucracy of agents who under no circumstances will be accountable in any manner.
Sometimes it really is just that simple.
Alleged supervisor LEN DAVEY refused on four separate occasions to identify his supervisor. He was asked his supervisors name after saying,
"Well if you insist on giving us information, you can come down..."
Insist on giving them information? We have to do their jobs too?
That seems so bizarre, we decided to record the call. When informed we were going to record the call, our G-MAN bravely hung up.
In one of several call backs, we next spoke to STEVE HARLEY Harley fancies himself a comedian. Short on material, Harley likewise refused to provide basic information. Information as to DAVEY's boss. Before hanging up HARLEY invited us to call "headquarters" adding in a sing song voice,
Have a nice day!
Then he hung up.
Another fine example of San Diego's professional G-MEN at work!
With management like this, San Diegans simply can't express surprise at the continuing level of public corruption, or any kind of future attack.
Sometimes it is just that simple.
Stay tuned.
The Peter Principle lives.
Peter Lance's "Triple Cross" aside, the Peter Principle lives, coursing through the veins of purported agent supervisor Len Davey. With the agents we spoke with, it seems to be a departmental affliction.
For newer readers, the San Diego branch of the FBI has significant problems.
An absence of professionalism coupled with an attitude most often seen in surfers who don't actually want a job - Service is not the watch-word in San Diego.
As such, San Diegans would do well to erase any visuals of hard-working crime fighting agents. With San Diego's long history of judges being convicted of bribery, we suspect there would be more if agents possessed some kind of work ethic. But this is not the case.
Neither should San Diegans picture lazy agents, avoiding work. No, a more accurate picture is it's much darker than that.
Picture a bureaucracy of agents who refuse to get out of their chairs.
Picture a bureaucracy of agents who refuse to identify themselves.
Picture a bureaucracy of agents who under no circumstances will be accountable in any manner.
Sometimes it really is just that simple.
Alleged supervisor LEN DAVEY refused on four separate occasions to identify his supervisor. He was asked his supervisors name after saying,
"Well if you insist on giving us information, you can come down..."
Insist on giving them information? We have to do their jobs too?
That seems so bizarre, we decided to record the call. When informed we were going to record the call, our G-MAN bravely hung up.
In one of several call backs, we next spoke to STEVE HARLEY Harley fancies himself a comedian. Short on material, Harley likewise refused to provide basic information. Information as to DAVEY's boss. Before hanging up HARLEY invited us to call "headquarters" adding in a sing song voice,
Have a nice day!
Then he hung up.
Another fine example of San Diego's professional G-MEN at work!
With management like this, San Diegans simply can't express surprise at the continuing level of public corruption, or any kind of future attack.
Sometimes it is just that simple.
Stay tuned.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Incompetent or Just plain Lazy? - You Decide
March 14, 2007
Around 6:00p.m. I received a call from FBI agent John Ireland. He wanted to reschedule our meeting...the one he canceled last week.
Turns out Ireland wasn't interested in looking into the evidence I have concerning myself and a Judge who talked to his DA wife about a trial during the trial, or abuse of San Diego Police under color of authority, and a California attorney who engineered it...
Ireland informed me he was only interested evidence I have concerning certain City, County and State officials. (I am three for three in this area.) But not in any others. Why? Because he either can't, or doesn't want to see a connection. Makes his job easier.
Ergo, does this the FBI's own pr on how they see itself,
Not Worth the Time it Takes to Read?
My guess is "Yes."
In 2003, when my attorney and I first dropped by, I still believed government officials were interested in doing their job. But I was younger then and she hustled me out saying that the FBI Day Agent was but a window dressing.
This seems to be true in the case of Ireland. But is he a typical example of a not-willing-to-investigate, agent?
Don't know. No clue. So I asked Ireland the name of his supervisor, and additionally that he telephone me, tommorow.
Ireland's supervisor is LEN DAVEY and we'll see if he calls.
However, is it any wonder people are so disgusted with government?
It's almost as if government is determined to remain broken. Common sense dictates When the Justice Department issues a report featuring many FBI personnel violating the rights of thousands of Americans, they can at the Very least conduct a thorough investigation.
Yet this concept seems not only almost completely foreign to Ireland...but one he has no interest in grasping.
Time will tell if the supervisor is any better.
Stay tuned. But meanwhile for a little light reading.
FBI informers' hotel orgy led U.S. prosecutor to shelve cases
Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 8, 2006
U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton refused to prosecute a major Arizona corruption case after learning that FBI informers sexually abused an unconscious prostitute during a Las Vegas hotel orgy, according to a letter sent by Charlton to the bureau's top Arizona agent at the time.
There are no allegations that FBI personnel participated in the orgy. However, Charlton's letter complained that agents did not mention the incident in official reports nor did they advise prosecutors of possible crimes committed in the hotel room, including knowledge that "one of the women in the suite may have been raped."
Charlton's conclusion: "Our office will not prosecute any additional cases involving any of these individuals (informers) until the circumstances of the Oct. 16, 2002, incidents in Las Vegas are fully investigated."
Seventy-one U.S. military personnel, prison guards and law enforcement workers have been convicted in the sting known as Operation Lively Green, which involved undercover operatives and agents posing as Mexican narcotics traffickers. The government employees were bribed to haul cocaine from southern Arizona to Phoenix and Las Vegas, sometimes wearing uniforms and using military vehicles.
Charlton's letter of March 29, 2004, to Charlene Thornton, then-FBI special agent in charge for Arizona, suggests that crimes by informers and questionable conduct by agents were so troubling that he backed away from the case entirely.
Thornton said in an interview that she recalls the letter and Charlton's decision to drop the case. She said Charlton sought an investigation by the Inspector General's Office. After that request was declined, she said, the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility reviewed the allegations and exonerated all agents.
Charlton declined to comment.
Deb McCarley, a bureau spokeswoman in Phoenix, describes Lively Green as "one of the most successful public-corruption cases in the FBI's history" but said she could not comment further because prosecutions still are pending.
The Justice Department's Office of Public Integrity wound up pressing charges, allowing each defendant to plead guilty to a single felony with no public trials or disclosures in U.S. District Court.
Charlton's letter to Thornton spells out the Nevada events of Oct. 16, 2002, in detail: Eleven suspects had just delivered 132 pounds of cocaine from southern Arizona to Las Vegas. FBI agents rented the presidential suite at the MGM Grand Hotel for three informers who invited a half-dozen targets to join them. That night, five prostitutes were hired to participate in an orgy with the men.
The letter says one of the prostitutes fell unconscious because of drug or alcohol consumption and was draped naked over a chair. It says she may have been sodomized by informers and suspects, who also posed for pictures with the woman.
Disclosure papers from a military court previously revealed that the photographic evidence was destroyed after an FBI agent told one of the informers he "did not want to see them again."
Charlton said in his letter that, under Justice Department rules, he felt obliged to tell state or county prosecutors in Las Vegas about the suspected criminal conduct of FBI informers.
Clark County, Nev., District Attorney David Roger said he never was contacted about the MGM Grand incident by the U.S. Attorney's Office or the FBI. Police in Las Vegas said they never were asked to investigate.
Thornton said Charlton's letter contained "some conclusions that wouldn't be supported by the facts," but she declined to elaborate.
She also disputed a disclosure report in military court that says a key FBI agent was removed from Operation Lively Green as a result of the Office of Professional Responsibility inquiry.
"There was no misconduct found," Thornton said, "so there was no action taken as a result of the internal investigation."
Five months after Charlton wrote the letter, Thornton was appointed by FBI Director Robert Mueller as assistant director at the bureau's Inspection Division, in charge of internal investigations and professional conduct. She said she had no part in reviewing behavior by agents in Lively Green.
According to the military court disclosure, there was no surveillance on the hotel suite during the night in question. It is unclear why FBI agents, amid a major sting operation, would not have set up eavesdropping devices in a room rented for informers.
McCarley, the Phoenix FBI spokeswoman, said Lively Green "underscores the FBI's commitment to fighting public corruption at all levels of government. . . . (When) all remaining prosecutive activity is complete, the FBI will be in a position to offer comment on this investigation.
Around 6:00p.m. I received a call from FBI agent John Ireland. He wanted to reschedule our meeting...the one he canceled last week.
Turns out Ireland wasn't interested in looking into the evidence I have concerning myself and a Judge who talked to his DA wife about a trial during the trial, or abuse of San Diego Police under color of authority, and a California attorney who engineered it...
Ireland informed me he was only interested evidence I have concerning certain City, County and State officials. (I am three for three in this area.) But not in any others. Why? Because he either can't, or doesn't want to see a connection. Makes his job easier.
Ergo, does this the FBI's own pr on how they see itself,
Not Worth the Time it Takes to Read?
My guess is "Yes."
In 2003, when my attorney and I first dropped by, I still believed government officials were interested in doing their job. But I was younger then and she hustled me out saying that the FBI Day Agent was but a window dressing.
This seems to be true in the case of Ireland. But is he a typical example of a not-willing-to-investigate, agent?
Don't know. No clue. So I asked Ireland the name of his supervisor, and additionally that he telephone me, tommorow.
Ireland's supervisor is LEN DAVEY and we'll see if he calls.
However, is it any wonder people are so disgusted with government?
It's almost as if government is determined to remain broken. Common sense dictates When the Justice Department issues a report featuring many FBI personnel violating the rights of thousands of Americans, they can at the Very least conduct a thorough investigation.
Yet this concept seems not only almost completely foreign to Ireland...but one he has no interest in grasping.
Time will tell if the supervisor is any better.
Stay tuned. But meanwhile for a little light reading.
FBI informers' hotel orgy led U.S. prosecutor to shelve cases
Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 8, 2006
U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton refused to prosecute a major Arizona corruption case after learning that FBI informers sexually abused an unconscious prostitute during a Las Vegas hotel orgy, according to a letter sent by Charlton to the bureau's top Arizona agent at the time.
There are no allegations that FBI personnel participated in the orgy. However, Charlton's letter complained that agents did not mention the incident in official reports nor did they advise prosecutors of possible crimes committed in the hotel room, including knowledge that "one of the women in the suite may have been raped."
Charlton's conclusion: "Our office will not prosecute any additional cases involving any of these individuals (informers) until the circumstances of the Oct. 16, 2002, incidents in Las Vegas are fully investigated."
Seventy-one U.S. military personnel, prison guards and law enforcement workers have been convicted in the sting known as Operation Lively Green, which involved undercover operatives and agents posing as Mexican narcotics traffickers. The government employees were bribed to haul cocaine from southern Arizona to Phoenix and Las Vegas, sometimes wearing uniforms and using military vehicles.
Charlton's letter of March 29, 2004, to Charlene Thornton, then-FBI special agent in charge for Arizona, suggests that crimes by informers and questionable conduct by agents were so troubling that he backed away from the case entirely.
Thornton said in an interview that she recalls the letter and Charlton's decision to drop the case. She said Charlton sought an investigation by the Inspector General's Office. After that request was declined, she said, the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility reviewed the allegations and exonerated all agents.
Charlton declined to comment.
Deb McCarley, a bureau spokeswoman in Phoenix, describes Lively Green as "one of the most successful public-corruption cases in the FBI's history" but said she could not comment further because prosecutions still are pending.
The Justice Department's Office of Public Integrity wound up pressing charges, allowing each defendant to plead guilty to a single felony with no public trials or disclosures in U.S. District Court.
Charlton's letter to Thornton spells out the Nevada events of Oct. 16, 2002, in detail: Eleven suspects had just delivered 132 pounds of cocaine from southern Arizona to Las Vegas. FBI agents rented the presidential suite at the MGM Grand Hotel for three informers who invited a half-dozen targets to join them. That night, five prostitutes were hired to participate in an orgy with the men.
The letter says one of the prostitutes fell unconscious because of drug or alcohol consumption and was draped naked over a chair. It says she may have been sodomized by informers and suspects, who also posed for pictures with the woman.
Disclosure papers from a military court previously revealed that the photographic evidence was destroyed after an FBI agent told one of the informers he "did not want to see them again."
Charlton said in his letter that, under Justice Department rules, he felt obliged to tell state or county prosecutors in Las Vegas about the suspected criminal conduct of FBI informers.
Clark County, Nev., District Attorney David Roger said he never was contacted about the MGM Grand incident by the U.S. Attorney's Office or the FBI. Police in Las Vegas said they never were asked to investigate.
Thornton said Charlton's letter contained "some conclusions that wouldn't be supported by the facts," but she declined to elaborate.
She also disputed a disclosure report in military court that says a key FBI agent was removed from Operation Lively Green as a result of the Office of Professional Responsibility inquiry.
"There was no misconduct found," Thornton said, "so there was no action taken as a result of the internal investigation."
Five months after Charlton wrote the letter, Thornton was appointed by FBI Director Robert Mueller as assistant director at the bureau's Inspection Division, in charge of internal investigations and professional conduct. She said she had no part in reviewing behavior by agents in Lively Green.
According to the military court disclosure, there was no surveillance on the hotel suite during the night in question. It is unclear why FBI agents, amid a major sting operation, would not have set up eavesdropping devices in a room rented for informers.
McCarley, the Phoenix FBI spokeswoman, said Lively Green "underscores the FBI's commitment to fighting public corruption at all levels of government. . . . (When) all remaining prosecutive activity is complete, the FBI will be in a position to offer comment on this investigation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)