- To ALL concerned:
-
- I wish you guys could show us "whistleblowers"
who have had to take a stand for what we ALL believe in?
-
- I suffered for doing my job and now still another colleague
of mine is suffering for working an under cover operation posing as a "dirty
inspector" in Arizona which resulted in the indictment of 19 bad guys
trying to buy FREE passes for loads of marijuana and cocaine. This involved
a Bribery case of a public official or law enforcement official who was
solicited. 18 USC 201.
-
- The Customs agency did NOT investigate.
-
- This particular bribery "sting" operation was
investigated by the Treasury OIG agents who "allegedly" got promoted
and transferred. Another bribery case in San Luis Arizona by the same Customs
inspector was also investigated by Customs I.A. and those agents were also
"allegedly" rewarded with a promotion and transfer. See a pattern
here?
-
- Customs internal affairs did NOT participate in the other
case and was embarrassed as they are probably too dirty and can't investigate
itself. Apparently an NICB agent name Jesus Alvarez was busted taking bribes
and was "allegedly" discovered to be on the Customs "new
hire" list. He was still awaiting his school date at FLETC. I guess
Customs management got caught on that one. Sometimes Customs waits into
the first year before catching some of the "new" hires that have
a questionable background or flaw. (According to our sources, others in
management were involved as well as narcotics cartels)
-
- The employee is currently getting threats by the cartel
and suspects as they know where his family lives.
-
- He gets numerous telephone hang ups everyday, etc....
-
- I am assisting and advising him personally, but this
is the very same type of stuff that does NOT get support by the U.S. Attorney
who is prosecuting this case. Customs is NOT co-operating or assisting
this brave man. they are leaving him out in the open and should be protected
like the agents that were "allegedly" promoted and transferred.
-
- There is NO PROTECTION for the employee or the family.
-
- This employee should get an automatic transfer, promotion
and maybe some special protection until he can be "set up" at
another location of his choice away from the Southern Border. Instead,
the OIG or AUSA of the DOJ will probably do nothing and leave this fine
man out to hang for doing a very good job. His career may be over and all
the AUSA is interestedd in is getting this ONE 19 count prosecution. This
AUSA will most likely get a promotion out of this case as well.(ALL FELONIES
for bribery a public official 18 USC 201)
-
- Instead all they gave him was a Commissioner's Award
and about $5,000 cash award. After that nothing else.(Note: Cash awards
ARE taxed) What award???
-
- Most other cases I have seen the employees were also
treated unfairly and without concern abut safety.
-
- In other cases, the employee was take well care of, transferred,
later promoted to an area of his choice.(Cash awards are taxed and promotions
are permanent, but most are not taken care of) Maybe it depend son who
your CMC Director is?
-
- You will NOT see 19 indictments on a routine basis. It
will also cause various attorney's in the AUSA's office to get THEIR promotions.
You can do this once in a lifetime and then after that move to another
area where the cartel doesn't know you.(If you want to take that chance)
I don't recommend it. The southern border and specifically in Arizona is
very bad with corruption and illegal alien invasion issues at this time.
-
- WHAT YOU CAN DO?:
-
- YOU can write you local Congressman and Senator to support
us Customs whistleblowers by supporting the laws that are supposed to help
us and get new legislation to enforce the laws that protect us all. Force
the government to support us.
-
- Contact local newsmedia and ask them why they don't report
on this case??? John Carman-Editor <http://www.customscorruption.com>www.customscorruption.com
-
-
-
- Government Betrays Inspector Who Went Undercover
for U.S. Customs
- He Is Forced to Return to Border Town with
His Cover Blown
- By Bill Conroy
- Special to The Narco News Bulletin
- May 10, 2004
-
- Several years ago, in the Arizona border town of San
Luis, a U.S. Customs inspector was convinced by Internal Affairs to go
undercover to sting an alleged narco-trafficker.
-
- The inspector was recruited by Internal Affairs because
he reported that he had been approached by the suspect and offered an opportunity
to "make some money," according to law enforcement sources.
-
- It was an extremely dangerous assignment, particularly
for a green Customs inspector with no previous training in undercover work.
He played the role of a crooked inspector, often wore a wire, and was even
required to invite the alleged trafficker into his own home as part of
the sting. The inspector wasn't allowed to tell his family about his undercover
activities, creating yet another layer of stress in his life.
-
- Somehow, the inspector pulled the mission off. The narco-trafficker,
ringleader of a group that was smuggling drugs into the country via truck,
was eventually arrested in 2002. He was later convicted of conspiracy to
bribe a public official and of attempting to import a controlled substance
into the United States.
-
- That same inspector now works for the U.S. Bureau of
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) - a Department of Homeland Security
agency that replaced the U.S. Customs Service. After the successful undercover
sting in San Luis, the inspector was transferred to another border town,
Nogales, Ariz. Soon after that, he once again was thrust into another high-stakes
undercover assignment.
-
- Only this time, in the wake of completing the sting in
Nogales, he was allegedly put in harm's way by the very government that
had enlisted his help, law enforcement sources contend.
-
- On Monday, May 3, the inspector was transferred back
to San Luis, with his role in the prior undercover sting there by now completely
exposed to the narco-trafficker he helped to bust - as well as to the
convicted smuggler's circle of family and friends on both sides of the
border. To make matters worse, the narco-trafficker had allegedly ratted
out one of his accomplices, a federal immigration officer who worked at
the port of entry in San Luis. The immigration officer wound up getting
30 months in prison for his role in the smuggling operation.
-
- The convicted narco-trafficker, court records show, was
slated to be released from prison sometime this spring.
-
- Given that backdrop, it is not surprising that the very
day the inspector showed up for work at the San Luis, sources say, he was
warned by another employee at the port that he "better watch his back."
-
- Nogales Blues
-
- The inspector's most recent nightmare journey into the
world of undercover had its genesis in early 2003, while he was working
in the Export Office at the Customs and Border Protection port of entry
in Nogales, Ariz. The Export Office deals with, among other things, processing
the paperwork for vehicles being exported from the United States into Mexico.
Among the rules in place for such exports is that the paperwork for the
vehicles must arrive in the Export Office at least 72 hours in advance
of the vehicle being moved across the international border. This gives
Customs inspectors at the port the opportunity to verify they are not dealing
with stolen vehicles.
-
- After the waiting period, assuming everything checks
out, an employee in the export office signs off on the paperwork - using
a government stamp.
-
- However, the inspector noticed something funny going
on in the Nogales Export Office. It appeared that at least one individual
in the office was taking bribes from individuals who wanted to by-pass
the 72-hour hold period on vehicle exports.
-
- In this case, that individual was a "public official"
who was not a U.S. government employee, but rather a private-sector employee
of an insurance-industry-funded group called the National Insurance Crime
Bureau (NICB).
-
- The NICB is a private investigative agency that works
closely with law enforcement, often through contracts with government agencies
such as the FBI, in battling insurance fraud and vehicle theft. The NICB
maintains a major database that can be used to track stolen vehicles.
-
- In this case, the NICB employee working at the Nogales
Export Office was charged with conducting computer checks to verify that
automobiles presented for export were not stolen. In addition, the employee,
through an agreement between the NICB and the government, was empowered
to sign off on the paperwork of vehicles in line to be exported. It was
that stamp of approval that the NICB employee was allegedly selling, for
bribes ranging from $100 to $350.
-
- The inspector reported his suspicions about the bribery
scheme to his superiors.
-
- After a number of months had passed, he was approached
in the fall of 2003 by agents from the Department of Homeland Security's
Office of Inspector General (OIG) - which is charged with investigating
allegations of corruption within the department. The agents asked the inspector
to help out with their investigation of the alleged bribery scheme - specifically,
they wanted the inspector to go undercover again.
-
- So for some seven months, the inspector, wearing a wire,
again played the role of a government employee on the take, attempting
to needle his way into the alleged bribery racket underway at the Nogales
port of entry.
-
- In March of this year, the sting paid off. A total of
18 people were indicted on bribery charges and are now awaiting trial in
federal court in Tucson. The individuals were business owners or employees
of companies that helped people export used vehicles to Mexico. The maximum
penalty for bribing a public official is up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000
fine, or both.
-
- The NICB employee, Jesus Alvarez, also was indicted on
three counts of "accepting money in exchange for stamping the automobile
ownership documents with the export stamp, allowing those automobiles
to circumvent the mandatory 72-hour waiting period," according to
a <http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/OIG-AZ_030304.pdf>press
release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona.
The maximum penalty for accepting such a bribe is up to two years in prison,
a $250,000 fine, or both.
-
- Shortly after the indictments came down, the inspector
who went undercover to work the sting was transferred to Tucson temporarily
to help the OIG agents assist with case preparation for pending trial,
according to documents obtained by Narco News.
-
- That's when his troubles began.
-
- The government informed the inspector that he was to
be sent back to the Nogales port of entry in April, after his work in Tucson
was wrapped up - despite the fact that all 19 of the individuals he helped
to get indicted have been released on bail. As a result, the inspector
wrote a letter to his supervisor, dated March 18, expressing his concern
about the danger he would be exposed to if he was forced to return to Nogales.
-
- Narco News obtained a copy of that letter:
-
- I hereby would like to request a transfer out of the
Nogales Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona. I know it would be a safer initiative
due to my recent undercover participation in a internal investigation conducted
by the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General. This
successful operation led to nineteen indictments and arrests of subjects
involved with the bribery of a Federal Officer. I believe it would be in
my best interest to transfer because many of the subjects arrested have
friends and relatives in the immediate area that may try to threaten or
intimidate me. I,m certain many of them know of my involvement and may
think their family member or friend may have been falsely accused of wrongdoing.
-
- I am interested in a transfer to Calexico, California
POE (port of entry) due to the reason I have listed. The transfer will
not require the Government to pay for moving expenses. Your help and assistance
with this matter is appreciated.
-
- The inspector apparently was not the only law enforcement
officer involved in the Nogales bribery case who was confronting transfer
issues.
-
- The OIG agents who oversaw the investigation of the case
also were informed that they are to be transferred out of state, according
to several law enforcement sources. The reason, according to those sources,
is that the OIG agents made the mistake of messing with the FBI's turf
by failing to include the bureau in their investigations. As a result,
inter-agency pressure is allegedly being exerted to move the OIG agents
out of Arizona.
-
- One of those OIG agents, Phil VanNimwegen, when contacted
by Narco News, declined to comment on the case or the allegation that he
was being threatened with a transfer.
-
- "I can't say anything," he said. "But
I can direct you to someone who can."
-
- That someone was his supervisor, who failed to return
a phone call from Narco News.
-
- Into the Fire
-
- The government responded to the inspector's plea to be
relocated to another duty station besides Nogales by asking him to choose
between two equal evils, according to law enforcement sources. The inspector,
according to sources, would get a transfer to the San Luis port of entry,
but only if he agreed to sign a letter stating that he "felt it would
be safer to return there than to go back to Nogales."
-
- Despite the fact that the inspector knew his undercover
activity in San Luis was now an open book, with great reluctance, the inspector
signed the letter, sources say. The inspector felt he had little choice
but to do so, short of losing his job, law enforcement sources familiar
with his case contend.
-
- When contacted for comment, Roger Maier, a press officer
for the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, said he would look into
the inspector's case, but indicated that he probably would be precluded
from commenting do to "privacy issues." Maier never got back
to Narco News with a comment.
-
- Although it may be admirable that the government is concerned
about respecting the inspector's privacy rights, it is puzzling as to why
it does not show the same concern for the inspector's life, which now is
in jeopardy in San Luis, according to several law enforcement officials.
-
- The inspector's assignment to the San Luis port of entry
is considered "temporary," but sources familiar with his case
indicate he is likely to be stuck there for four to eight months, maybe
longer.
-
- The government's treatment of the inspector and OIG agents
seems even more bizarre, given what the U.S. Attorney's Office has said
about their work in the Nogales bribery case.
-
- Jeffrey Jacobson, the Assistant U.S. Attorney in Tucson
who is handling the Nogales bribery case, confirmed that the inspector
played an important role in the investigation that led to the indictment
of the 19 individuals involved in the bribery racket.
-
- "I am extremely confident and satisfied with the
work the inspector and the OIG agents did in this case," he said.
-
- Jacobson adds that the case is still in the discovery
stage, with trials not slated to begin until this summer assuming plea
deals aren't cut with some of the defendants.
-
- So if the inspector and OIG agents are key to the success
of a major federal prosecution, and the U.S. attorney handling the case
is happy with the work they did on the case, then why are they being retaliated
against, as some law-enforcers claim is the case?
-
- Do-gooders
-
- Despite the mystery behind the source of the retaliation,
if that is indeed what is going on, one thing does appear to be clear in
this case: The inspector and OIG agents caused more than a bit of embarrassment
for the NICB by snaring one of its employees in a bribery sting.
-
- NICB's reputation is built, in no small way, on its claim
to be a major do-gooder in the international fight against insurance fraud
and vehicle theft. That fight is carried out, the NICB boasts, through
a close working relationship with law enforcement particularly the FBI.
-
- In fact, the NICB, in essence, operates as a private-sector
sister organization of the FBI in many respects. The NICB even has agreements
in place with the FBI that outline its relationship with the bureau.
-
- In addition, Michael Kirkpatrick, an assistant director
with the FBI, serves on the NICB's board of advisors, according to NICB's
2003 annual report.
-
- The president and chief executive officer of NICB, Robert
Bryant, is a former deputy director of the FBI. As deputy director, Bryant
held the second-highest ranking position in the bureau and managed the
day-to-day operations of the FBI.
- NICB's chief operating officer, Eugene Glenn, also is
a former FBI employee whose 26-year career with the bureau included serving
as special agent in charge of the Salt Lake City Division.
-
- The Chicago-area based NICB operates as a nonprofit,
boasts a staff of more than 300 (a good share of them former law enforcement
officials), and recorded 2003 revenues in excess of $30 million - funds
raised primarily from dues paid by the 1,000 or so insurance companies
NICB counts as its members.
-
- Some law enforcement sources question whether the alleged
retaliation against the inspector and OIG agents might be the result of
pressure exerted by NICB through its law-enforcement connections, specifically
through its ties to the FBI. Such retaliation certainly would serve to
create a chilling effect on future investigations of NICB employees, they
add.
-
- At least one civil rights organization, the League of
United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), has raised similar concerns about
the NICB's relationship with the government, alleging that the privately
funded investigative group has misused its ties to law enforcement.
-
- Narco News contacted the NICB's media spokesperson, Judy
Fitzgerald, for comment for this story, leaving a message on her answering
machine. Fitzgerald did not return the phone call. In addition, phone calls
to NICB employee Alvarez, attorneys were not returned.
-
- In the past, NICB officials have stressed that their
relationship with government law enforcement agencies is guided by high
professional and ethical standards and structured in strict accordance
with the law.
-
- The legislative counsel for the FBI's Office of Public
and Congressional Affairs, in an Aug. 7, 2000, letter drafted in response
to a <http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2000/10/16/story1.html>
congressional inquiry, described the bureau's relationship with the NICB
as follows:
-
- The NICB is a not-for-profit organization which is funded
by approximately 1,000 property and casualty insurance companies. The NICB
serves as a conduit between the insurance companies and law enforcement
agencies to "facilitate the identification, detection and prosecution
of insurance criminals." The NICB accumulates and analyzes insurance-claims
data from insurance companies it works with to identify and forecast fraud
and theft activity and trends. This information is shared with the law
enforcement community.
-
- Although the extent of the NICB's involvement in the
individual FBI investigations varies, the NICB has commonly provided personnel,
insurance industry expertise, and liaison contact with the victim insurance
companies. In these cooperative investigations, the FBI always maintains
the responsibility of leading, directing and administering the criminal
investigation.
-
- .NICB's degree of involvement in the individual investigations
varies widely from providing data analysis support to providing investigators
to work with the FBI on the investigation on a full-time basis. The NICB
agents are commonly used as valuable resources in assisting the FBI in
auto accident investigations. .
-
- A. Robert Walsh
- Legislative Counsel
- Office of Public and
- Congressional Affairs
-
-
- Cozy Relationship
-
- Although the FBI may see its partnership with the NICB
as a valuable resource, the Hispanic civil rights group LULAC views NICB's
cozy relationship with law enforcement as a source of potential civil rights
abuses.
-
- Last month, LULAC held a http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story
/2004/4/8/231040/8676
- press conference in the border town of El Paso, Texas,
to bring its concerns about the operations of the NICB into sharper focus
for the public. A press release issued by LULAC spells out some of those
concerns:
-
- LULAC has received several complaints from persons who
wish to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. They claim that NICB,
with the assistance of law enforcement, has targeted minority-owned businesses
and individuals for investigation and prosecution. They have also complained
that NICB's relationship with law enforcement authorities in El Paso has
resulted in an abuse of that law-enforcement power. The retaliation they
fear is an arrest, even though not supported by evidence.
-
- Among the specific charges raised by LULAC, according
to its press release, are that the "FBI office in El Paso has allowed
NICB employees to participate in law enforcement activities" an NICB
employee was allowed to interview suspects in the Police Department, in
cases where NICB had brought the complaints to the police department";
and "NICB employees have also been given access to confidential law
enforcement information that is not available to the public."
-
- For his part, the inspector who went undercover in the
Nogales bribery sting has no clue why he is being treated so poorly by
the government after putting his life on the line, law enforcement sources
indicate. When contacted, the inspector declined to comment for this story,
because he feared the government would retaliate against him for talking
to the media.
-
- Ironically, the inspector has been placed in harms way
in (CC-Redacted) by the very government that less than two years ago informed
him that he had been selected for a Commissioner's Award for his undercover
work in that same border town.
-
- Now, according to law enforcement sources, the inspector
goes to work each day in (CC-Redacted) hoping that he won't be recognized
by someone who wants to get even with him because he did his job.
-
- The inspector "is legitimately afraid for his life,"
one law enforcer stresses.
|
