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Southwest Border: What a Joke


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#51 apostate

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Posted 23 September 2010 - 08:27 PM

My story is probably typical of those who participated in the GRIT details: I was one of the fortunate chosen ones to participate in the GRIT Detail fiasco in 2009. One day after completing a dope/gun buy I was walking into the office with the recently purchased contraband to process evidence and write my reports. I walked past the ASAC, who was leaving for the day to go home in his suit and tie. It was 1645 hrs. He glanced at me and saw I was wearing jeans and a t shirt. You know the appropriate attire to wear when working in the dangerous neighborhoods targeting the worst of the worst dope and gun gangs. Any hooooo I could tell by his condescending glare that he did not appreciate my attire. He is one of the many SAC's and ASAC's who think that agents should wear suit and tie when doing u/c buys. Well, fast forward a week ahead and I am down in Texas for four months on the GRIT detail. One day notice to inform me that I was going and leave the next day for a 4 month detail. (More than happy to go down to the border and fight the bad guys, however would appreciate more than one day's notice when I am going to be away from my family for four months). My wife, who was very sick at the time and undergoing medical treatment, was not too happy but she had grown accustomed to ATF management treating their agents like crap. Other agents, with 0 investigations in my division volunteered but the ASAC thought I should go even though I had over a dozen open active investigations to include an investigation involving the trafficking of firearms to Mexico and the ZETA's. You know the old ATF management adage: Rule by fear and intimidation. When I arrived in Houston and was told the importance of OPSEC. Don't tell anyone about GRIT. Big secret! All arriving GRIT detail members attended a briefing/meeting and when GRIT agents left the meeting and opened the door the press was waiting and taking pics of everyone. The SAC and ASAC's of Houston were obliviously giving interviews and bragging to any microphone or camera in their JC Penny suits how great they were. Next day articles in US News and CNN article about the super secret GRIT details in TX. OPSEC???? Well, that shut everything down for the detail. Nice job management. I was shuffled to four different offices in S texas during the GRIT detail because they had no work for us. Good job Houston management! I ended up helping local gang units who were motivated and great guys. Managed to take at least a few bad guys off of the street. O h I did interview a 78 year old man who purchased 3 Mosin Nagant rifles from a GRIT lead. We agents joined ATF because we want to fight crime and put the bad guys in prison. We are very passionate about our work and our desire to protect our communities. We work long dangerous hours away from our families and do not complain. It is a shame we are unable to do our jobs.

#52 x1811

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Posted 23 September 2010 - 06:24 PM

I heard they are going to address these issues once half of the executive staff returns from Dublin, Ireland. Must be doing a site survey for the next gunrunner group.


Are there any mummies in Ireland?

#53 Doc Holiday

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Posted 23 September 2010 - 03:16 PM

I heard they are going to address these issues once half of the executive staff returns from Dublin, Ireland. Must be doing a site survey for the next gunrunner group.

Everyones frustration is understandable, enough is enough. However, (and I truly understand the context of the phrase, "what a joke"), but unfortunately the Southwest Border is NOT a joke. Yes ATF's response is. Yes our senior leadership continues to fail us with veiled smoke and mirror responses to EVERY issue that arises. Yes they openly encouraged and counseled Mr. Melson to deny the retaliatory and abusive practices. Yes they sold the farm on our explosive jurisdictions, either by apathy or ignorance. Yes they have lied to and misled Congress and the American people, and yes they have relied upon an unethical Chief counsels office to guide this Bureau. BUT, the violence in Mexico and along the southwest border is NO joke. People are dying, many of whom are friends and family members of American citizens who DO pay our salaries. It may just be headlines for Webb, Torres, and Newell and others, but standing up to bullies is what we do better than anybody at ATF. We have offered and been ignored. We have asked and been denied to meet with the ATF leadership regarding all of these issues. Maybe now when our appropriations are threatened, Mr. Melson or Mr. Holder will get serious and clean house. What could have been done with a scaple two years ago now must be accomplished with a push broom. Remember, the best way to defeat the self-serving people who see fit to destroy this Bureau is TO MAKE CASES. Do it in spite of the obstructionist SACs and ASACs. Remember, we have spent our ENTIRE careers running to the gunfire. They spent 6 -10 yrs and ran to HQ as fast as they could go.



#54 Guest_Epic Failure_*

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Posted 21 September 2010 - 09:57 PM

The people at CleanUpATF are not prophets but they have been able to see the future before anyone in Headquarters could. Look at what has been posted here in the last 18 months. It's all true! Gunrunner is investigated by the Office of the Inspector General and found to have been grossly mismanaged. CleanUpATF long ago stated that with Webb, Newell and Torres as ATF's border SAC's this would happen. Is any of this a surprise? All three are known throughout ATF for their incompetence but obviously not in HQ. When Newell spends more time seeking interviews and sabotaging the Mexico Attache than he does running his division what was expected? Arizona is key in fighting border crime but Newell's priority is stealing the attache job from the current person holding it. Our explosives jurisdiction was handed over. CleanUpATF predicted what was taking place but no on in HQ seemed to know until it was too late. Employee moral is at an all time low but it took a survey for Melson's ears to perk up to that. What was his reaction? Hire an independant contractor to tell him how this happened. All he needs to do is read CleanUpATF. His answers are right here and have been for months. Don't trust your employees, trust the XYZ Corporation to figure this out for you, right Ken? Every single bad thing happening in ATF has been discussed and discribed in detail right on this website and better, has been done months in advance of the various predicted collapses. From the border to personell issues to trafficking to violent crime to explosives to special programs and on and on is a disaster at ATF. Is there one single thing that our leadership is doing that is right or good? Name one single thing and don't try to sell me on the mummy task force either! No more excuses or denials are acceptable. The inner trust at ATF is corrupt. Chief Counsels office is corrupt. And, Melson going along with ity all shows he is corrupt. Welcome to life at ATF.

#55 VINCENT A CEFALU

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Posted 21 September 2010 - 06:18 PM

Everyones frustration is understandable, enough is enough. However, (and I truly understand the context of the phrase, "what a joke"), but unfortunately the Southwest Border is NOT a joke. Yes ATF's response is. Yes our senior leadership continues to fail us with veiled smoke and mirror responses to EVERY issue that arises. Yes they openly encouraged and counseled Mr. Melson to deny the retaliatory and abusive practices. Yes they sold the farm on our explosive jurisdictions, either by apathy or ignorance. Yes they have lied to and misled Congress and the American people, and yes they have relied upon an unethical Chief counsels office to guide this Bureau. BUT, the violence in Mexico and along the southwest border is NO joke. People are dying, many of whom are friends and family members of American citizens who DO pay our salaries. It may just be headlines for Webb, Torres, and Newell and others, but standing up to bullies is what we do better than anybody at ATF. We have offered and been ignored. We have asked and been denied to meet with the ATF leadership regarding all of these issues. Maybe now when our appropriations are threatened, Mr. Melson or Mr. Holder will get serious and clean house. What could have been done with a scaple two years ago now must be accomplished with a push broom. Remember, the best way to defeat the self-serving people who see fit to destroy this Bureau is TO MAKE CASES. Do it in spite of the obstructionist SACs and ASACs. Remember, we have spent our ENTIRE careers running to the gunfire. They spent 6 -10 yrs and ran to HQ as fast as they could go.
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#56 x1811

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Posted 21 September 2010 - 09:03 AM

Ouch, Read the article below and then access the MSNBC report through the link. U.S. Bid to Stem Flow of Weapons to Mexico Cartels Misfires MSNBC (09/21/10) Isikoff, Michael The Justice Department's Office of Inspector General has released a report on the problems with Project Gunrunner, a Justice Department initiative that aims to prevent weapons from being smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border and given to Mexican drug cartels. Although officials have claimed that Project Gunrunner has been a success, the report says that the programs suffers from several "significant weaknesses," including a lack of cooperation between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)--which runs the project--and the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). For example, ATF and ICE do not share intelligence about illegal gun trafficking, nor do they conduct joint investigations with one another, the report said. The report also noted that the two agencies do not notify each other about what cases they are working on. In addition, the report criticized ATF for failing to cooperate with Mexican law enforcement officials in executing Project Gunrunner and for distributing leads about illegal gun purchases that are untimely and thus of little use to investigators. The report attributed the problems with Project Gunrunner to several factors, including a lack of funding from Congress and a lack of gun laws that ban weapons trafficking. Critics also say that ATF has been ineffective in stopping the smuggling of weapons across the U.S.-Mexico border because President Obama has yet to appoint a director for the agency. U.S. bid to stem flow of weapons to Mexico cartels misfires A U.S. program aimed at intercepting the flow of weapons to Mexico's drug cartels is misfiring due to bureaucratic turf battles and a failure to share critical intelligence , according to a Justice Department report obtained by NBC News. http://www.msnbc.msn...87/from/toolbar

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Posted 17 September 2010 - 11:24 PM

THE NEW GUNRUNNER IMPROVEMENT DOCUMENT WAS CHAIT'S CYA REPORT FOR SOME VERY DISTURBING ASSESSMENTS OF ATF'S PERFORMANCE ON THE BORDER BY OIG. CHAIT SLAMMED TOGETHER A REPORT TO GET OUT IN FRONT OF THE OIG CONCLUSIONS SO THAT ATF COULD SAY WE ALREADY HAVE ADDRESSED OUR FAILURES. WE'RE NOT STUPID OR NAIVE TO HOW YOU GUYS PLAY BALL. YOU THINK NO ONE BUT YOU KNOWS WHATS COMING? 99 NEW YORK AVENUE IS INFO-LEAK CENTRAL. EPIC FAILURE.

#58 Doc Holiday

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Posted 16 September 2010 - 06:45 PM

Seriously Chait and company, do you guys really presume to blame our guys in Mexico for the debacle youve created in "Gunrunner"? Remember, garbage in garbage out. Every one of those guys are capable and have busted their asses. Your failures are not theirs. NEW strategy? That document rambled for 10 pages and said absolutely nothing. More smoke and mirrors. Stop faking it and ask the people who know. THE FIELD. BTW, since there is no PRE-SELECTION, I guess Chait isnt already slated to be demoted and transferred to Philly. Just sayin

#59 Doc Holiday

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Posted 15 September 2010 - 06:58 PM

Look folks, Boarder or border, our glaring lack of leadership has shined through. Mr. Melson is going to claim victory for GRIT tomorrow, having full knowledge that the Department of Justice OIG has categorically stated that we have failed miserably at project gunrunner and related initiatives. This is unacceptable. Hearings into ATFs regulatory functions cancelled with allegations looming that Chief Counsels office knowingly and willfully have tried to circumvent Federal law and artificially impact statutory import procedures. If Mr. Melson cannot reign in the Executive leadership with his vast education and experience, what makes anybody think Andy Traver is more capable? We need a leader and we need it now. Before DOJ/FBI picks our agencies bones clean. HELP CONGRESS.

#60 testify

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Posted 15 September 2010 - 12:00 PM

When leveling charges of impropriety, it's especially important to be clearly understood. Misuse of the language can paint one as not competent to level the charge. A "boarder" is someone who "who pays a stipulated sum in return for regular meals or for meals and lodging". A border is "the line or frontier area separating political divisions or geographic regions; a boundary". If you are referring to the agents in question as the "boarders" in the Southwest that are a joke, then I applaud your well-crafted word play.

#61 x1811

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Posted 15 September 2010 - 04:36 AM

Thanks for an eye opening exposure. I wonder if there was any pre-planning and coordination with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to assist in or initiate investigations. I have seen task forces formed and agents flood in to towns uninvited only to sit around and waste money. In the end nothing gets accomplished. A case like this can possibly draw the attention of the DOJ OIG to review matter for any evidence of wasteful spending. I agree with your assessment about management making policy and spending funds in a wasteful manner just to "show the flag." It tends to reduce the credibility of an agency.

#62 1desertrat

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Posted 14 September 2010 - 11:24 AM

If you would like to see incompetence refined to a form of art take a look at the recent Boarder Initiative that was launched in the Phoenix Division. Numerous Agents were brought in to Tucson from all over the country to form a Task Force to address escalated boarder crime recently in the news. Although the Agents could barely find their way from their hotels to the office they were dropped into an unfamiliar city to "save the day". They spent several months in Tucson drawing full per diem and accomplished absolutely NOTHING! There was a flurry of email from ATF managers begging Agents to find things for the task force agents to. As such the task force agents became "helpers" doing surveillance on existing cases and working NICS cases that no one else wanted to do. Not a single Agent left the city of Tucson or actually got any place near the boarders! Obviously the objective here was to show that ATF spend a lot of money and sent a bunch of Agents to the "boarder" (City of Tucson) to fix violent crime. The case codes will most likely be manipulated during this period to attribute all cases to the "task force" and request more money from Congress. ATF becomes more and more a joke every day!! Before we talk about how corrupt the Mexicans are we need to look inward at our own organization's leadership (I use the term loosely).




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