As an "ATF" family member and one of the many wives sons and daughters of Agents that have decided the internal workings of ATF have gone too far and cost too many so much, I have decided to no longer sit silent. The unethical abuses heaped upon my husband and so many other Agents like him for standing tall and upholding the oath they took, must end. ATF does not get to ignore the devastation they have heaped upon these brave souls and more importantly their FAMILIES. They also do not get to ignore that the families of those targeted are also NOT fair game for their cover-ups and reprisals. That ATF indirectly attacks the families of its own agents has been well-documented. Complaints are swelling even from within the ranks of headquarters. We will no longer allow the waste, fraud and abuse of those in power to destroy what field Agents have all stood for and demanded that their families support. For the last 3 years, my children, family and I have sat idly by at my husband's request, under the naive assumption that "the system works" and "justice always prevails". There are examples of ATF management campaigns to fabricate allegations, assassinate the character and destroy the livelihoods of, and punitively transfer any agents (and their families) who stand up to improper and unlawful conduct. Corrupt ATF lawyers use bogus documents and misinformation to defend their corrupt bosses. The Directors and Assistant Directors are always fully aware of, and in many cases, have personally orchestrated these despicable and flagrantly illegal acts.
In blatant and entirely unwarranted acts of pure retaliation against my Husband, he (and of course, our family) has been transferred FIVE times in the last 36 months. These and other acts, including outright character assassination, have been flimsily camouflaged as "disciplinary action", yet when deposed and under oath, not a single RAC, ASAC or SAC could identify a single "improper" act worthy of discipline! My husband's character has been savagely smeared nd he has been overtly threatened with far worse than being transferred. My children have had to leave schools and friends too many times. We live in constant fear about our future and well-being. The stress of watching my husband having to walk into a hostile work environment every day is indescribable. Knowing he does it not only for us but for all the agents and their family members who have suffered due to corruption within ATF is little comfort. Our faith in the federal government and ATF has all but disappeared. This has to stop! I speak with family members who have suffered far worse than we have. ATF exceutives such as Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Carter, Mr. Hoover, and now Mr. Melson, sit idly by, studiously ignoring irrefutable evidence of significant wrongdoing by senior ATF management, yet continue to cover for and unlawfully protect them. Shame on you, Mr. Carter and Mr. Hoover in particular for speaking of your "love" for this agency and its agents, while constantly looking the other way while good agents and their families are crushed by your minions.
When the Number 2 man in ATF publicly states that "speaking out (against ATF) is an act of career suicide", there can be no doubt that the situation is completely out of control. The recent public humiliation suffered by my friend, Gwen Dobyns (wife of veteran undercover Agent and New York Times Best Selling author, Jay Dobyns) perfectly demonstrated the extreme arrogance, corruption and untouchable mentality of ATF managers. When the Dobyns home was burned down by criminals with Gwen and the children sleeping inside, ATF did not send one agent to ensure the security of their own agent and his family, nor conduct even the most laughably token investigation. Instead, in a standard act of character assasination, they "unofficially" implied that Jay himself (who was 100 miles away on ATF business at the time) was a suspect! All because Jay, like my husband, refused to bow down to the criminal acts of corruption, misconduct and incompetence that ATF managemnent demands that its agents accept without question. It's nauseating and outrageous.
Agents who file complaints and expose corruption have their lives and careers destroyed over a trivial typo on a voucher, an innocent comment twisted out of context, or something equally ridiculous. And ATF management can't find something to use, they'll simply make it up. On the other hand, a SAC who was publicly exposed as having lied under oath to federal investigators, abused her position, and committed overts acts of criminal discrimination and retaliation, received a "hero's" retirement sendoff rather than demotion, disgrace and possible prison time. How does that work, Mr. Carter? How is it that one of your lead attorneys repeatedly falsified documents aimed at viciously attacking one of your own veteran undercover agents, but rather than being fired and prosecuted, was quietly transferred to another agency with ZERO adverse consequences???
I respectfully urge and implore everyone who reads this to immediately write your congressional representatives and demand accountability, before this agency is simply disbanded. Senators Feinstein, McCain, Leahy and others have been advised of these facts in writing and have declined to open this dirty Pandora's Box.
This was once a proud agency bound together by the common desire to make our country safe for all citizens. However, ATF now spends much of its time and taxpayer funds to conceal and perpetuate their abject lack of leadership and personal integrity. My family and many others have taken our own savings, children's college funds, car funds and vacation funds to fight for our children's security against the very people who are supposed to provide that security. I am not an ATF agent. I do not know the Bureau's intricacies. I do, however, know the toll it has taken on my family and the families of many agents across the country. What happened to common decency? Clearly, it is not a required let alone desirable attribute for management positions within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Sincerely,
Family members in support of Cleanupatf
