150 replies to this topic

[ISpy]

I didn't go any deeper in the article once I saw where he was going and what he was willing to use as source material. As far as I know, NO, Wheeler didn't tell the press.

I can totally agree with you about Harnett AND Conroy. For all of Higgins faults, I think he was led down the path by those two. He came from the Compliance side of the house and let those two run the LE side with abandon.

I wouldn't doubt that media attention would be taken into account on a case of that size but I don't think that was what was driving the train. Something of that size would naturally draw media attention so I suspect they were going to try to make the most of it. When the warrant went south, the blame the other guy kicked in.

[ISpy]

"Well documented article" my ass. With the vernacular the guy wants to use..."attack" he showed his true colors or agenda. Look at his sources. He claims Wheeler told the press to be there. (12) BS. Read the Blue Book. She just got contact numbers. Whether good or bad, lets deal with the facts and not some Ass with an agenda to print.

The common denominator is the lies after the fact. As I've always heard, it isn't what you did that will get you fired, but the lies to cover it up that will. The same applies here. Tell the truth and take your lumps. Explain your side of it....good, bad, pretty, ugly. But when you start trying to coverup it takes away from any ground you may have had to stand on in the first place.

[ATFTRUTHTELLER]

Sandy,
You are opening old wounds. If you were part of the investigation, you would know most of everything you have heard in the media is extremely slanted. One of the wounded agents successfully sued the media (local newspaper and TV station) and the ambulance service for eight figures. (never reported) The undercover house didn't see him go jogging everyday, because he didn't. I will say it was a mistake. They should have stopped when they lost the element of surprise, but dragon was alive and wouldn't be stopped. It probably was influenced by money, not by media. The common theme at the time was everyone in the compound would commit suicide based on interviews with cult members that had left the group. Guess what, they were right. They were a suicide cult and we made their prophecies come true when we tried to execute the warrant after we lost the element of surprise. Please don't go there. You piss on the grave of those four brave agents when you say they were just doing a publicity stunt. The Davidians had machineguns and handgrenades. They were violating federal firearms and explosives laws. The one common denominator you could go with is the lies afterwards. They lied after Waco about losing the element of surprise. When you screw up, be responsible and admit your mistakes. It's the right thing to do and it minimizes the damage. Same thing we teach our kids in kindergarden. In Waco, they tried to pin the mistakes on lower level people and protect HQ.

Sandy,
Did you ever get a copy of the full interview of Higgins on 60 minutes. It showed how slanted Wallace really was. The female supervisor complaining of sexual harassment didn't file a complaint, she was the target of the complaint. Mike Wallace sort of left that part of the interview out of the aired story. ATF ended up paying a fortune to that young male agent. I know the young girl interviewing for the job was harassed and ATF settled with her. The husband and wife team story was just goofy.

[Patriot]

Very good point, but a downgrade to a GS15, still leaves them in a managerial position and that is not acceptable. The field has zero confidence in our senior leadership. While they are working hard to protect their careers and run for cover, they are asleep at the wheel when we are facing serious budget issues. They should all step aside to field 13 positions in place wherever they are. A good supervisor can get a days work out of them until they are eligible to retire. Does anyone think moving them around the chessboard a solves anything. Leaders have to lead and make decisions, these guys are no longer capable of doing that with any credibility. I know it won't happen only because the one person who would have to do it is Melson and he is sitting in the same boat. I cannot wait to see them exempt themselves from the furloughs and shove the burden down to those who can least afford it, but then that is their management style. My guess is that they don't see the injustice because they all have a sense of self entitlement that they have thrived on for years.

[VINCENT A CEFALU]

The braves ACTIONS speak louder than words. Why are those who sat silent, ie. Martin, Hoover, Chait, McMahon, the members of Chief counsel, Ford and others not being called before the PRB for failure to report. We have line Agents pending proposed termination RIGHT NOW for not reporting their first line supervisors for trivial mis-steps. Yet per the Congressional report, (NOT MY WORDS), all of these senior managers CHOSE to not get involved. I think the quote was "they all left the room". That's NOT reporting ladies and gentleman. That's self promoting cowardice. Anyone of the SES'rs who were aware that members of our Agency were conspiring to traffic in firearms, violating the Arms Export control Act or any other matter of rule, law or policy should be immediately removed. That's where the abysmal mismanagement of our financial situation can and should be corrected. Dump the inordinate amount of SES managers who have clearly under performed and do not RATE the elevated salary packages. For example, if a manager, say Joe Riehl, fails so miserably that he tanks our NRT program and WASTES 10-20 million dollars of agency funding, (Again, not MY words, the OIGs)then perhaps a down grade to GS-15 might be appropriate? Just saying. You violate every ethical standard, misuse government resources to construct a glory hole in a public hotel, perhaps a simple downgrade would be appropriate? Why are we continuing to pay high end salary's and retirement moves for SACs who supervise no more assets or people than they did 10 years ago. Those final moves are costing us a fortune. Not to mention the SES bonuses. Yet we are in a position to furlough or RIFF the workers in the agency. Somebody please explain. If we cut half of the SES positions being funded by this grab all you can leadership, our salary issue is OVER. Nobody gets falsely fired or "Encouraged or motivated" to retire. AND the government could save the $25,000 early out incentive. Because with a avg. experience base in ATF of 6-10 yrs, I wouldn't be so quick to run off the Agents and Inspectors who ACTUALLY know how to do this job and train the new folks.

[The Original Ralph]

anyone know anything about this?

http://www.elpasotim...rce=most_viewed

Documents: Feds allegedly allowed Sinaloa cartel to move cocaine into U.S. for information

By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times
Posted: 08/04/2011 08:30:37 AM MDT



U.S. federal agents allegedly allowed the Sinaloa drug cartel to traffic several tons of cocaine into the United States in exchange for information about rival cartels, according to court documents filed in a U.S. federal court.

The allegations are part of the defense of Vicente Zambada-Niebla, who was extradited to the United States to face drug-trafficking charges in Chicago. He is also a top lieutenant of drug kingpin Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman and the son of Ismael "Mayo" Zambada-Garcia, believed to be the brains behind the Sinaloa cartel.

The case could prove to be a bombshell on par with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' "Operation Fast and Furious," except that instead of U.S. guns being allowed to walk across the border, the Sinaloa cartel was allowed to bring drugs into the United States. Zambada-Niebla claims he was permitted to smuggle drugs from 2004 until his arrest in 2009.

Randall Samborn, assistant U.S. attorney and spokesman for the Justice Department in Chicago, declined comment.

The court in Chicago had a status hearing on Wednesday and ordered the government to respond to allegations in Zambada-Niebla's motion by Sept. 11.

According to the court documents, Mexican lawyer Humberto Loya-Castro, another high-level Sinaloa cartel leader, had his 1995 U.S. drug-trafficking case dismissed in 2008 after serving as an informant for 10 years for the U.S. government.

Guzman and the Zambadas allegedly provided agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with information about other Mexican drug traffickers through Loya-Castro.

"Loya himself continued his drug trafficking activities with the knowledge of the United States government without being arrested or prosecuted," the court documents state.

Zambada-Niebla met voluntarily with U.S. federal agents on March 17, 2009, at the Sheraton Hotel in Mexico City, which is near the U.S. Embassy, "for the purpose of his continuing to provide information to the DEA and the U.S. government personally, rather than through Loya," court records allege.

"DEA agents (then) told Loya-Castro to tell Mr. Zambada-Niebla that they wanted to continue the same arrangements with him as they had with Mr. Loya-Castro."

Five hours after the meeting, Mexican authorities arrested Zambada-Niebla and extradited him later to the United States. His father and Guzman are fugitives.

The court documents also allege that the U.S. government is using a "divide and conquer" strategy, "using one drug organization to help against others."

Zambada-Niebla's motion seeks U.S. government records about the 2003 Juárez case involving an informant who participated in several homicides for the Carrillo-Fuentes drug cartel, while under ICE's supervision.

He also requested records about the ATF's "Operation Fast and Furious," which permitted weapons purchased illegally in the United States to be smuggled into Mexico, sometimes by paid U.S. informants and cartel leaders.

"It is estimated that approximately 3,000 people were killed in Mexico as a result of 'Operation Fast and Furious,' including law enforcement officers in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico, the headquarters of the Sinaloa cartel," the court documents allege. "The Department of Justice's leadership apparently saw this as an ingenious way of combating drug cartel activities."

Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.

[JL2010]

"Excalibur", get out the whetstone and sharpen your intellect. People like you and CI*** misinterpret this site and the whistleblowing that goes on here. The problem isn't our agency, agents, or 99% of the organization, it's the 1% that is being critically debated here.

You claim you "want" ATF defunded....yet I'm sure you fail to realize that we are, factually, the best federal law enforcement agency. That's right NOW, and it isn't even debatable. We recommend more defendants for prosecution per agent than any other federal agency (five times the FBI). Our defendants receive longer sentences on average than any other federal agency. So not only do we have the quantity of cases, by one true measurable we have the highest quality federal cases as well. We do it on a cost basis that is 80% of our sister organizations per personnel, so adding to our factual record as the most effective federal law enforcement agency is the fact that we are efficient, and often extraordinarly so. And, pssp....those regulatory firearms offenses you "think" constitute our agency's "mission" in actuality are less than 3% of our prosecutions. We are almost always actually spending our time prosecuting felons, drug dealers with guns, home invaders, robbers, etc- and NOBODY does it better.

I don't blame you for not knowing this really, we suck at marketing ourself. But I do blame you for going on a public message board with your misguided, erroneous, and crass opinion without one scintila of original thought or research going into it.

Stop mindlessly listening to the saber rattling that goes on by extremist political action organizations and start thinking and researching for yourself, for once. You didn't happen to serve on a certain jury in judgment of a suspected child killer in Florida last month, did you? The truth is almost always just a bit below the surface.


http://trac.syr.edu/...enmedtimeG.html

https://trac.syr.edu...rt.sas&_DEBUG=0

https://trac.syr.edu...rt.sas&_DEBUG=0

[avatar]

Here is an update on Carter's Country by their attorney, who says that the gunwalking occurred in 2006, and that if his client is messed with he's gonna squawk big time because his client voluntarily cooperated with ATF, and won't tolerate getting hung out to dry:

http://onlygunsandmo...walking-in.html

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms -- the agency tasked with keeping U.S. guns from being smuggled to Mexico -- has come under fire for allegedly allowing firearms to cross the border into Mexico.

Last Friday, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to the ATF stating that his office had "received numerous allegations that the ATF sanctioned the sale of hundreds of assault weapons to suspected straw purchasers, who then allegedly transported these weapons throughout the Southwest border area and into Mexico." Grassley asked for ATF officials to meet with his staff to discuss the matter, noting that "there are serious concerns that the ATF may have become careless, if not negligent, in implementing the Gunrunner strategy." Gunrunner is the name of the ATF operation to keep guns from entering Mexico.

On Monday, a concerned Grassley sent a follow-up letter, writing that while ATF had not yet responded to his request for a meeting, one of the whistleblowers that Grassley's office had been dealing with -- a current ATF employee -- was "allegedly accused... of misconduct" by his boss for talking with Senate staffers.

Note: See letters here and here. The letters initially surfaced on the website of gun rights blogger David Codrea. Sen. Grassley's Press Secretary Beth Levine confirmed to FoxNews.com that the letters were genuine.

ATF spokeswoman Janice Kemp referred questions from FoxNews.com to spokesmen Drew Wade and Scot Thomasson, who did not respond to calls or e-mails from FoxNews.com on Tuesday morning.

But a former ATF agent told FoxNews.com on condition of anonymity that ATF Headquarters allowed guns to cross the border, for the reason that ATF wanted to glean more intelligence about who would come to possess the guns and what regions of the country they would end up in. Additionally, Dick Deguerin, attorney for a Texas gun store named "Carter Country," told Fox26 Houston that the ATF asked the store to sell the guns to even those they thought were going to smuggle them to Mexico -- so that ATF could track where the guns went.

"They were told to go through with sales of three or more assault rifles at the same time... They went through with the sales because the ATF told them to go through with the sales," Deguerin said, adding that the store reported all suspicious sales to the ATF. Federal investigators are known to use such techniques in drug trafficking investigations.

"Controlled delivery is an investigative technique that allows specific consignments of illegal drugs or other controlled substances to pass through the territory of one or more states with the objective of identifying not only the street dealers, but the individuals controlling the drug trade network," a State Department website notes.

However, the ATF has not admitted to using that technique for gun trafficking investigations. While ATF did not respond to requests for comment from FoxNews.com, Mexican newspaper El Diario El Paso reported last week that ATF spokesman Scot Thomasson told them, "we do not permit the exit of arms to Mexico."

Grassley's first letter to the ATF hinted at the potential problems with allowing firearms to cross borders, writing that two of the weapons that the ATF allegedly sanctioned to be sold to straw purchasers were sold to Mexican gangs and "were then allegedly used in a firefight on December 14, 2010, against Customs and Border Protection agents, killing CBP Agent Brian Terry."

Gun rights bloggers have speculated that the reason for allowing the guns into Mexico was to pad statistics on the number of guns crossing the border -- the suspicion being that a higher number would make the ATF's mission in preventing the guns from crossing seem all the more urgent. The former ATF agent who spoke with FoxNews.com said that he had no reason to think that padding the statistics was a motivation.

FoxNews.com previously reported that an often-quoted statistic that 90 percent of guns used in Mexico crimes came from the U.S. was, in fact, a myth. Only 17 percent of guns found at Mexican crime scenes have actually been traced to the U.S. None of the claims about the ATF allowing guns to cross the border have been conclusively proved. But Sen. Grassley has called for the ATF to be more transparent to allow the truth to come out.

"This is exactly the wrong sort of reaction for the ATF," Grassley's second letter reads. "Rather than focusing on retaliating against whistleblowers, the ATF's sole focus should be on finding and disclosing the truth as soon as possible."

--------------------

[Excalibur-2112]

Trust nothing. The ATF is full of criminals right now. The bad agents far outnumber the good ones. The rest are just lazy and sitting around on their asses waiting for informants to do all their work. This Castaway thing is full of holes. This country wants to start seeing bosses and agents being arrested. Period.

I havent heard of this castaway thing, but you are absolutely correct when you say that the country wants to see a lot of dismissals.
Frankly, there are a lot of us that want the ATF defunded entirely at this point.
I am shocked to find out that the ATF wasnt alone in the gunrunner scandal. Apparently the Justice Dept. has been up to no good for some time now.
Its bad enough when we find out that one man has been committing acts of treason against the American citizen, let alone what could be dozens or hundreds overall.
We trust and pay all of you with our taxes and this is what we get in return (not you here on this forum, but just in general...we are very thankful for those of you here who have come forward with the truth).

We want Eric Holder gone. He can willingly step down or Obama can fire him, works either way for me.
If Obama knew about the corruption, and the evidence is starting to make it seem like he did and maybe even complicit, then the man must be impeached. Of course that leaves an even more incompetent man in the White House.
Everyone who knew anything about GR needs to be fired and never allowed to be in law enforcement again. Its clearly too much authority for them to have over other human beings.

[apostate]

I am often critical of the leadership of ATF, and at times the guys who are trying to do right are overlooked. Kudos to Gil, Kumor and Rowley for doing the right thing. Unfortunately it appears that they were either lied to or just ignored. Darren Gil was articulate, thoughtful and credible in today's hearing. He is a true professional in every way.

I think Mr. Gil did a very admirable job of testifying. Was referring to the management who were present during the meeting with Martin who ran away.

[Patriot]

I am often critical of the leadership of ATF, and at times the guys who are trying to do right are overlooked. Kudos to Gil, Kumor and Rowley for doing the right thing. Unfortunately it appears that they were either lied to or just ignored. Darren Gil was articulate, thoughtful and credible in today's hearing. He is a true professional in every way.

[apostate]

I find the behavior of ATF HQ staff interesting in this article. When confronted with what appeared to be serious felony firearms violations they all ran away. Probably still hiding under their desks in HQ. Am sure when this blows over they will crawl out from underneath their desks and all slap each other on their backs and say what brave agents they were. They will then rotate out to leadership positions in the field as SAC's, ASAC's AD's wearing monogramed shirts ( what's up with the monogramed shirt? It does not make you a leader ya know) to once again harass field employees. Meanwhile field agents who came forward over a year ago to try and expose F&F are fired, suspended, threatened.

How come not one person in HQ mgt tried to stop this? What do you do in ATF HQ?

The only hope to save this agency are the honest ATF field agents

Amazing



http://www.foxnews.c...ough-operation/

The failed federal anti-gunrunning program known as Operation Fast and Furious got so out of control in November 2009, it appeared the U.S. government was single-handedly "arming for war" the Sinaloa Cartel, documents show, even as U.S. officials kept lying to fellow agents in Mexico about the volume of guns it helped send south of the border.
Those shocking allegations are revealed in the latest congressional report investigating the operation.
At one point, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives say guns sold under the program took just 24 hours to travel from a gun store in Phoenix to a crime scene in Mexico. ATF agents there pleaded for help but were told nothing about Fast and Furious, which was intended to let guns "walk" in order to track them to higher-profile traffickers.
RELATED STORIES
Feds Silent on How Convicted Felons Bought Guns in 'Operation Fast and Furious'

Meanwhile, the report claims the agents' superiors in Washington met every Tuesday, to review the latest sales figures and the number of guns recovered in Mexico.
"How long are you going to let this go on?" Steve Martin, an assistant director of intelligence operations asked the ATF top brass at meeting Jan. 5, 2010, according to a transcript of the meeting contained in the congressional report. None of the men responded and several quickly left the room, the transcript reveals.
By Feb. 27, 2010, Lanny Breuer, the head of the Criminal Division of the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., was allegedly told that the ATF had successfully helped sell 1,026 weapons worth more than $650,000 to members of the Sinaloa cartel. The briefing included all top ATF officials, including the agents in charge in Los Angeles and Houston, as well as a half dozen top Justice Department attorneys.
"So there's no doubt after this briefing that guns in this case were being linked to the Sinaloa cartel?" a congressional investigator asked Martin during a July 2011 interview.
"I'd say yes." Martin replied.
"Very apparent to everyone in the room?” the investigator asked.
"That's correct," Martin said.
Meanwhile, ATF agents in Mexico were seeing a flood of weapons coming south. When asked, ATF brass told the resident ATF attaché in Mexico things were "under control."
"They were afraid I was going to brief the ambassador on it or brief the government of Mexico," said Darren Gil, former ATF attaché in Mexico.
For months, officials assured Gil that Fast and Furious was going to be "shut down," but it wasn't.
"We're getting hurt down here," Gil told ATF International Affairs Chief Daniel Kumor.
Kumor reportedly raised Gil's concerns and was told the case "was going great," and nothing happened until the death of Agent Brian Terry in December 2010.
Ironically, a year before, in December 2009, Southwest Border Czar Ray Rowley threatened to expose Operation Fast and Furious because of "the large number of guns that had already been trafficked" but ATF officials talked him out of it.
When the case was finally revealed in the press, Gil said, "never in my wildest dreams ever would I have thought of (gun walking) as an (investigative) technique. Never. Ever. It was just inconceivable to me."
"You don't lose guns. You don't walk guns. You don't let guns out of your sight."
The precise number of casualties in Mexico isn't known, but ATF officials confirm the murder of Mario Gonzales Rodriguez, brother of the Chihuahua attorney general, with a Fast and Furious gun.
According to the report, the U.S. knew for eight months of the link between the ATF operation and his death, but refused to tell any Mexican officials. Finally the acting ATF attaché told the Mexican Attorney General Maricela Morales. Her reply, "Hijole," which translates into "Oh my."


Read more: http://www.foxnews.c.../#ixzz1TDZFOXpH

[MichaelC]

A few months after Chairman Darrell Issa's House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform started hearings into the BATFE's Project Gunrunner, whistleblowers have brought another ATF gun smuggling operation to the public's attention. It's Operation Castaway, a Tampa, Florida office operation that allegedly smuggles guns to Central America. There's only one problem: Those guns are reportedly ending up in the hands of M-13 drug cartel members.

What does anyone know about Operation Castaway?

[Zorro]

atfsa,

If you are proven correct you get will get kudos from me. As others have pointed out, it would be a fairly simple thing for someone to simply say it didn't happen if it did not - and unlike at other times found later to be telling the truth after an investigation and consequently adding to said leader's credibility. If it turns out you were the only employee in TFD/ATF willing to defend a (good) operation, you deserve some recognition. If it turns out you were stumping for corrupt management while they cowered in the shadows, you may become a legend.

Of course with everyone in elevated self preservation mode, I would not be surprised that no one would say a word even if ATF is proven golden in this one. Even when we are right, we are scared to say anything; fear and lawyers rule the day (ie, shut up, hide, and hope the question goes away) which only makes it eaiser for lies to be presented as truth.


Just an observation from the below article:

"I knowingly, intentionally, and repeatedly comitted felony crimes. I should have received a warning. The tools and fruits of the crimes should be returned to me."

If any criminology professors or police academy instructors are reading this - here is a great case study.

While Mr. Crumpler did a fine job of making a case that a prison cell is a suitable locale for him, the root question remains unanswered. Much like when the SACs were issued orders to say Dodson was a troubled employee, I still want to know if the allegations are correct.

[Pama]

Considering the length of time that the Tampa/Castaway allegations have been in the public eye, I believe this is a valid question.

With the dire state of affairs at ATF and in desperate need of something, anything, to be postive, why has not one single official or person of authority at ATF publicly stated that no guns were walked from any Tampa based investigations?

I want atfsa to be right and everyone else to be wrong. But, if it didn't happen then why is Melson, Hoover, Chait, Julie Torres, Virginia O'Brien, the U.S. Attorney or anyone in the know beside atfsa coming out and saying gunwalking absolutely did not take place?

If it didn't happen then why no response from ATF? All we need is someone of authority to say look at our reports, look at our notes, look at our evidence, listen to our recordings, watch our surviellance tapes and see for yourself that we did not walk guns. Then this would be over.

The fact that the only defense of the allegations is an annomous blogger on a rogue website is just too wierd.

ATFSA: Methinks you doth protest too much. What about the assertion that the agents told the man his case was being handled by DC? Is that normal? Frankly the DOJ is quite short on credibility at the moment and it is very evident that you have an agenda. As far as the man not being particularly friendly toward AFT, are you joking? I am personally aware of a malicious prosecution by ATF in my state, which shall remain nameless.

http://www.examiner....e-his-own-words

[atfsa]

I don't have that answer, but I too welcome it asap. I can only guess that they want to conduct a thorough review and not make any premature statements (again).

[atfsa]

I know we agreed to let the fact-finding process play out and to readdress the Operation Castaway gunwalking allegations when an official release of facts is credibly made, which we all hope happens sooner than later. However, I just want to make a couple quick observations of Mr. Codrea's below article regarding the primary target, Mr. Crumpler. Mr. Crumpler is currently a convicted felon who voluntarily plead guilty to dealing firearms without a license (firearms trafficking) and is currently incarcerated as a result of an ATF investigation, Operation Castaway. Thus, Mr. Crumpler would certainly not be a fan of ATF, and he even stated that his goal in coming forward now (after the gunwalking allegations surfaced) is to get an early release from prison (despite already receiving substantial assistance credit) as well as to somehow receive his numerous seized firearms and money back from ATF. Even Mr. Codrea stated in this article that "no representations to accuracy or credibility are being made...", and we have to seriously question Mr. Crumpler's credibility and motivation. In any event, Mr. Crumpler wrote that most of his purchases and sales took place during the last half of 2009 and early January 2010, and ATF stopped him and solicited his cooperation in late January 2010. I believe that this shows that ATF moved quickly on Mr. Crumpler and perfected a complex, international firearms trafficking investigation in very little time (we all know how time consuming a complex firearms trafficking investigation normally takes), which is inconsistent with Mr. Crumpler's purported belief that ATF must have been watching him a long time. Mr. Crumpler merely speculates that ATF must have been aware of firearms being illegally exported; however, he admits that ICE (actually ATF and ICE) confiscated numerous weapons during the time of his cooperation (contrary to the recent false gunwalking allegations). Furthermore, Mr. Crumpler admits that ATF recently contacted his wife to assure her that Mr. Crumpler's case is not similar to the Fast and Furious case as reported in the news because ATF actually confiscated the firearms that Mr. Crumpler transferred. I am confident that we will find out that the numerous reported firearms exported to other countries (including Honduras) by Mr. Crumpler and his associates actually occurred prior to ATF's operation and unbeknownst to ATF. Mr. Crumpler’s attorney in this criminal matter actually became very knowledgeable of the investigation and prosecution, and last week he reported to The Tampa Tribune that he does not believe the recent gunwalking allegations regarding Operation Castaway. In the same article, which is linked below, The Tribune reported that these guns apparently wound up in the hands of criminals before Operation Castaway was even launched, according to federal court records.


http://www2.tbo.com/...scru-ar-243657/

[avatar]

Novelist Larry Correia blogged, "If I were to write a thriller in which a federal law enforcement agency knowingly allowed and even encouraged
thousands of American guns to cross the border to arm Mexican drug cartels, in an effort to pad their stats to push for more gun control laws, even
though innocent Mexican citizens and a U.S. Border Patrol agent were killed in the process and afterward there would be a huge cover-up that went all
the way to the President, ... some reviewers would say that my plot was silly."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Source of below: http://www.examiner...._alerts_article


Exclusive: Story of central ‘Operation Castaway’ figure in his own words

David Codrea
Gun Rights Examiner

July 20, 2011 - Like this? Subscribe to get instant updates.

“Congress questions Tampa gun investigation,” Howard Altman of The Tampa Tribune writes in a July 20 report.

Grassley, Bilirakis and U.S. Rep. Darrel Issa, R-Calif., began looking into Operation Castaway after a pair of bloggers, David Codrea and Mike Vanderboegh, wrote a piece based on an anonymous source claiming that the Tampa ATF office was "walking" guns to Honduras the way the Phoenix office ran Operation Fast and Furious. The story was widely repeated in the conservative blogosphere and then on Fox News.
But a plea agreement in May 2010 — well before Terry was killed and Operation Fast and Furious became news — seems to show substantial differences between the two operations.

That may well be. Mr. Altman approached this correspondent and Mike Vanderboegh of Sipsey Street Irregulars for details on this story on July 12, and this is what Vanderboegh took special care to point out in his responding email:

Mr. Altman,

Please read the first link below that David sent you to my story this morning. It covers the distinction between the public face of Castaway and the Honduras gun walking allegations by our sources, which may, or may not, be related. You would do well locally to ask questions on the general subject and not specifically Castaway.

Now, if you would like to make a proposal for an interview that I can pass on to my sources, they can decide if they wish to get in touch with you to talk about it. This is how David and I have handled requests from the politicians and media to the ATF whistleblowers since January. Sometimes they want to talk, sometimes they don't. Sometimes you'll get a response from one, just to see how you handle it, and it it goes well, you'll hear from others. Sometimes, if you're Michael Isikoff, we'll get a response back saying, "I'm not talking to that arrogant a******."

So, frame your request to the agent(s) and I'll pass it on.

Mike Vanderboegh

Altman’s story does not appear to have taken Vanderboegh’s specific caution to separate Operation Castaway from “gunwalking” allegations into consideration, but it does acquaint readers with a central figure in that investigation: As a result of the investigation, Hugh Crumpler III, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, acknowledged that he illegally sold about 1,000 guns, shipping the bulk of them to Honduras and other countries in Central and South America.

This correspondent has established communications with Crumpler, currently doing time at a federal corrections facility, after being approached by a friend of his:

My dear friend, Hugh Crumpler III, was the sole gun dealer in the middle of the ATF Operation Castaway. He is now doing time at a Federal Medical Facility in Lexington, KY. In hopes of gaining early release, he would like very much to share his true story with you for publication. His wife is being contacted by the ATF, I believe to discourage him from telling his story and causing further embarrassment to them for this ill-advised program that ran concurrently with Fast and Furious. My sole mission in this is to help him get his story out. It is truly fascinating and coming from one of the most honest guys I have ever had the privilege to call "friend". Please let me know if you are interested and if so, I will be happy to put you in touch with Hugh.

What follows are my communications with Mr. Crumpler and his story in his own words, posted below, unedited, in the order sent. No representations as to accuracy and credibility are being made other than they are the words of Mr. Crumpler.

7/14/2011 11:51:40 AM

David-

Hugh Crumpler here. Glad we could connect. Please forward any questions you want answered. My time on the e-mail system is limited. I will do what I can within the time allotted and then continue on my next available opportunity.
Looking forward to any info you can relate to me.

God Bless You,

Hugh Crumpler III

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7/14/2011 5:21:51 PM

David-

I am ready to provide what ever information you wish. Please let me know how you wish to proceed.

God Bless You,

Hugh Crumpler III

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7/14/2011 10:10:17 PM

Hellow David,

Trying to reach you. Have you received the previous two e-mails?

God Bless You,

Hugh Crumpler III

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[NOTE: This correspondent had not yet established an account on CorrLinks, an email utility for communicating with incarcerated persons.]

Codrea, David on 7/15/2011 3:33 PM wrote:

Your friend contacted me and said you wanted to give me some information. My response to him was to caution that anything said to me does not enjoy lawyer-client privilege, and while I am committed to protect my sources, going through CorrLinks with its attendant monitoring guarantees there can be no true confidentiality--so with that established, if you wish to proceed, my first question would be: Do you have evidence that any representative of the US government, either from ATF Tampa or any other agency--violated US law and/or ITAR regs and was involved in the illegal transport and transfer of firearms or other ordnance--and if so, did it involve export to any foreign nation, Honduras, or anywhere else?
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7/15/2011 5:06:40 PM

David-

I will e-mail you "my story" a very short version later. It will take some time to enter into the computer.

My case, Operation Castaway, centered around me. Agents from the Tampa, Orlando, Miami, and West Palm Beach offices of the ATF were actively involved. I have no "proof". Basically, my attorney never checked into what the ITAR regs (whatever that is) were, or even into the normal operations of the ATf. My attorney did not know anything about firearms. He was court appointed.

The other night, Senior Agent Keven McCann called my wife and told her that there were Blogs in the Tampa area comparing Operation Castaway to Operation Fast and Furious. Kevin told my wife the operations were not similar because the ATF comfiscated the weapons I sold from the folks I delivered them to.

While I was working with/for the ATF I informed them of several ways that those who bought guns from me at the Alvena Way, Orlando residence shipped the guns to Honduras. One way was through an International Shipper who shipped the guns in a Shipping Container. ATF agents followed residents of the Alvena Way, Orland residence, with guns I sold them, to the international shipper. The activities were photographed by the ATF. The guns were placed in a shipping container. The shipping container was taken, by the shipper, to a sea port. I believe Miami, but I am not certain. Agents McCann and Temple were visibly upset when ICE intercepted the shipment prior to its arrival at it destination. The destination was Honduras. This took two or more days, from the time the guns left the Alvena Way, Orlando residence until the guns were intercepted by ICE.

The agents told me they had been "Watching me for a long time". My attorney never asked for all records. They had bunches.

Two of the guns I sold were susposedly used by criminals. One in Columbia and one was found on a hit man in Puerto Rico. All that is in my Plea Agreement. Normally when they trace a gun used in a crime they ask every one from the manufacturer on down who had the gun next. They never asked or contacted me. I don't know if that is a violation of law, procedure, or?

I will get much more to you later.

God Bless You,

Hugh

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7/15/2011 7:20:49 PM

David-

My attorney, Roger Weeden, said on Fox News that he thought no guns made it to Latin America. How would he know? He did not request all the info of the investigation from the ATF. He did not interview ANY of the over 20 agents who participated in my case. He was not familiar with weapons, the ATF, or its operations and made no attempt to gain that knowledge. All he did was what the Prosecutor and the ATF wanted. Which is EXACTALLY what he is doing now. He was a court appointed attorney.

God Bless You,

Hugh Crumpler III

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7/16/2011 12:05:47 AM

David-

I went to gun shows throughout Florida. I both sold and purchased guns. I did not intend to be a large volume buyer and seller. That evolved. There are Private Sellers and Gun Dealers at gun shows. A Private Seller is one who sells guns from his collection. Through both attending and haveing a table at gun shows I learned that a vast majority (almost all) Private Sellers were selling guns for a profit without a license.
Some of these Private Sellers had been doing it for more than twenty years. That is, they were selling guns for a profit without a lisence. Over a period of time I learned some of their procedyures and practices. I also learned how the ATF treated the Private Seller.

Amoung the practices and procedures of those Private Sellers who had been in business for a long time: buy guns from other Private Sellers where no paperwork was required; sell only for cash; and a couple of Private Sellers sold only long guns.

Purchases and sales through a lisenced gun dealer require a background check and paperwork. Sales or purchases of multiple handguns require additional paperwork and reporting. All the reports alert the government. Several Private Sellers told me they were given either verbal or written warnings to stop or to get a lisence. Some stopped. Some got a lisence and afew got more cautious and continued selling guns for a profit without a lisence.

I did not intend to be a volume gun dealer. in did not intend to be a long term gun dealer. I kept no secrets. i purchased guns from Private Sellers. However, by far, the vast majority of my purchases were from gun dealers. The vast majority of gun purchases, by far, were mulotiple firearms purchases. Three sets of paperwork were required: a background check; a multiple purchase report; and a receipt.

Clues that alert the ATF that a Private Seller may be selling guns for a profit inclued: the frequency of purchases; purchases of the same model gun; the volume of the purchases; and the particular models of firearms purchased. i was not attempting to hide anything! I expected the ATF to stop me and give me a warning. I planned to stop.

In the beginning my purchases were of one, two or three firearms; two to three times a week. Most were handguns. All purchases were from gun dealers. Appropriate background checks and multiple purchase/sales forms were filled out.

Several gun dealers asked me if I was concerned that the ATF might be watching me. My answer was: "i am sure they are!" I believed the ATF would follow past practices and give me a warning.

I developed a group of clients. Some in West Palm Beach, Orlando, Jacksonville, and Miami. These clients all wanted many of the same model gun and many of them. A large percentage of these clients were from Honduras. I was positive the government was watching me. But, why were they allowing me to continue?

My thought process was: OK - these guys want the same model guns and lots of them - why? So...I did my research. Zalia was the President of Honduras. Zalia was supported by Chavez (anti-US). The Honduran government was supported by Chavez through lower oil prices. The Hondurans were indeed sending the guns to Honduras. I was told (once I found out) and i believed what i was told, theat the guns were for the general population to defend against Chavez, a corrupt government, and crime. OK - I've heard of Oliver North. Maybe the government actually wanted the guns in Honduras so they were letting me make the sales.

Low and behold Zalia presented the Honduran Congress with legislature that he be the President for life = the same thing Chavez did. Zalia was escorted out of office. Now there was real turmoil in Honduras. Chavez was sending two Cesnas into Honduras daily. Each was filled with ten million U S dollars in twenty dollar bills. (I got paid in alot of twenty dollar bills during that time.) The money was distributed to peasants to protest against the ouster of Zalia.

By this time I was making daily firearms purchases of thirty or more firearms and delivering them daily - six days a week. My thoughts continued to be that: "Surely the government knew what I was doing. And since they did dnot approach me they must either want me to do this or they approve.
Most of my sales and purchases were during the last half of '09' and early January '10'. When the ATF stopped me in January of '10' I was informed that the guns I sold were ending up in the hands of Cartels. Two had been connected with crimes. The ATF asked for my cooperation and I said: "Lets go get them!"

With my cooperation and risking my life to obtain evidence at least twice the ATF was able to charge and convict numorous individuals; intercept weapons shipments and gain intelligence.

I asked the ATF agents handling my case many times why they did not stop me and warn me. For many months they did not respond to my question. Towards the end of their operations the ATF agent in charge gave me two different answers - neither of which I considered plausable.
From the very earliest contact the ATF informed me that my case was supervised at the National Level. (I thought it must have been because of my anti-Obama sentiments.) This was the time when Obama had the 'Tell on your friends" website.

The government provided me with an attorney who knew nothing about firearms and nothing about the ATF or its operating procedures. He made no attempt to learn. He never intervied any ATF agent involved with the case prior to the sentencing hearing. He did not return any messages left by the ATF agent, Temple who asked him to return call. He did not formally request notes of meetings or recordings of meetings I asked to get. My attorney neglected in returning phone calls. One of the ATF agents had the same problem with him. My attorney made ZERO progress on my behalf. During the Sentencing Hearing the Judge intimidated my attorney. My attorney stuttered and stammered. he did not ask my sitnesses any of the questions he told them he was going to ask them; he did not call all of my witnesses; and my attorney's closing argument enraged the Judge.
The ATF continues to investigate individuals based on information I provided them.

Recent revelations regarding ATF actions in Arizona appear to be actions taken very similar to actions taken in my case. The ATF actions were Supervised Nationally and guns were intentionally let fo into the hands of criminals.

I feel I should be immediately released from prison; given a warning; pardoned; and both the firearms and the cash the ATF took from me be returned. Based on recent revelations the ATF allowed me to sell guns way longer than under normal ATF practices. The ATF has had my complete cooperation. Basically, I should be reinstated to the position I would have been in when a warning should have been issued.

Information in the press indicated the ATF confiscated fifty thousand dollars from me. In actuality, the ATF confiscated a little more that four thousand dollars from my person and home. Other cash was obtained from other indivciduals by me under ATF supervision as evidence; seventeen thousand dollars in cash during a supervised transaction'; over thirteen thousand dollars from several individuals at one location - at the same; and a six thousand dollar deposit to my bank account. (The cash was immediately given to the ATF,.)

I would be happy to testify in front of Congress. And I have sent info to many congressmen (none have responded - info was sent in mid '10') so indicating.

During the ATF investigation and during my cooperation it was discovered that I was selling guns to the two largest gun dealing families in Honduras. One with ties to the government. Serious ties. Solictor General and one of the new President's staff.

God Bless America,

Hugh Crumpler III

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Codrea, David on 7/16/2011 12:03 PM wrote:

I'm going to need some time to digest this and consult with my advisers. Also, will be in and out all weekend with limited internet access.
What I want you to think about is what it is you want me to do with this information, how it can best be used, all with a mind toward what best protects your vulnerability from further legal action and/or retaliation. I am more than mindful that your present surroundings could make such retaliation difficult to prove, yet nonetheless intimidating.

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7/16/2011 2:35:47 PM

David-

I am not worried about retaliation. Most likely, if any, retaliation would come from the criminal element that I helped to turn in. I did not for a second believe that I was selling to cartels. I was looking for any connection to crime and I could find none. The "looking" is how I was able to determine as much as I did.

I said it many times to the ATF that "It is easier to get guns out of the country than it is to get money in!"

I believe that the ATF allowed me to sell guns by not doing anything when they should have. Further, they did not do follow up questioning of me when they found I gun I had purchased was used in a crime. They were deliberately lax.

I would like to see the approach to the article that I was used by the ATF to locate the individuals who were shipping guns to cartels and put me in a position where I could be of invaluable assistance to them- which I was.

God Bless You,

Hugh Crumpler III

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7/16/2011 3:21:16 PM

David-

I have always wanted to be a hero. My heros were John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Batman, Zorro, and so on. I joined the Army to fight the Communist Invasion of South Vietnam in Feb of 1966. I voluntered for Officer Candidate School that same year. And graduated from OCS as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry in Feb of 1967. I was assigned duty in Vietnam in 1968. I was there for the Tet Offensive. I was an Infantry Platoon Leader in the Fourth Infantry Division. Our missions were primarily along the Laosan & Cambodian borders with South Vietnam. We went up and down the Ho Chi Minn Trail. NO MAN UNDER MY COMMAND WAS KILLED!! Not many Infantry Platoon Leaders can say that. I never heard of another. I was awarded medals for individual heroism by my country and by Vietnam. Late during my tour in Vietnam I was promoted to Company Executive Officer.

I have saved the lives of several individuals as a civilian. It is just my nature. I have never smoked, or done drugs. I don't even know the common terms of the drug culture. Most folks consider me a "Goody Goody". Crime, specifically, selling guns to criminals IS not in my make up. I thought I was being a hero to the people of Honduras and I thought it was what my government wanted.

I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and I was on Citalopram. That drug will alter a person's behavior. I believe that my taking that drug had something to do with my not seeing/being aware of things I should have known. The Judge, at my sentencing hearing said I should have known (referring to the fact that the guns went to cartels). Looking back, in retrospect, yes, I should have known. But "should have" and knowing are not the same thing.

I thought you might want a little of my background.

God Bless You,

Hugh Crumpler III

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Codrea, David on 7/16/2011 4:48 PM wrote:

Rep. Bilirakis of FL is looking into the Honduran allegations--can I share your story with his staff?

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7/16/2011 8:50:59 PM

Please do. I am sending him a written version. I just found out that he was investigating. I am sending him the same as I have sent you.
Definantly, please do. I am willing to testify before Congress. Whatever!

God Bless You,

Hugh

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7/17/2011 7:05:42 AM

David and [REDACTED—name of Crumpler's friend mentioned earlier in this account]-

My internet e-mail access will be down Monday morning until aprox 11 AM. They are doing a software upgrade. I will be checking my e-mail as soon as possible. However, if things work as they usually do around here the flood of e-mail usage when the system comes on will overload the server and we will be a little slow. So......bear with me if you do not have a responce to any e-mail you might send.

Also, the usual BOP reading of incoming and outgoing e-mail applies. That usually means a two and a half hour one way e-mail.

God Bless You,

Hugh Crumpler III

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Codrea, David on 7/19/2011 10:03 AM wrote:

What is it that you want me to do with your story? About all I can figure out is present it unedited on my Examiner.com page, attributed to you, give a background up front on who you are and that we are in communication, and then get out of the way and paste in what you've told me via email correspondence. That will do two things--it will inform the public and possibly get other news orgs interested in finding out more from you, and it will be additional info for Congressional investigators to start pulling threads from.

It's up to you if I do that or not--I always protect sources and never use information or names given to me unless authorized. So what would you like to have me do?

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7/19/2011 11:50:23 AM

David-

Every thing you suggested is perfectly alright with me. Post it, use my name.

Were you able to share the story with the Congressman from Florida's Staff?

God Bless You,

Hugh Crumpler III

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Codrea, David on 7/19/2011 9:48 PM wrote:

Not yet but I will--writing it up and sending my contacts there the link is really the best way--it will consolidate all the info in one place plus I will mention it in the article to help create a pressure for both Bilirakis and Issa staffers to give it a serious look.

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7/20/2011 9:05:42 AM

Thank you. I appreciate all the help.

God Bless You,

Hugh

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7/20/2011 9:50:52 AM

Not Sure If I sent you this info

David-

While I was working for/with the ATF I informed them about methods the individuals at the Alvena Way, Orlando residence used to ship the guns to Honduras. One of the methods was that they took the guns to an International Shipping Company where they were placed in an overseas shipping container and shipped. The ATF photographed individuals leaving the Alvean Way, Orlando residence and driving to the International Shipping Company (I do not know which one.) The guns were placed in an overseas shipping container. The shipping container was taken by the shipping company to a sea port. I believe it was Miami. ATF agents McCann and Temple were visibly upset when ICE intercepted the shipment and confiscated the guns prior to their arrival at their destination. The destination was Honduras. These actions occurred over a period of at least, an probably, two days.

God Bless You,

Hugh Crumpler III

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Codrea, David on 7/20/2011 11:08:02 AM wrote:

When did this take place?

# # #

This article is being forwarded to staffers for Sen. Grassley and Reps. Issa and Bilrakis.

=========================================================================================================


Also see:

• Source claims ATF's Tampa SAC walked guns to Honduras

• Breaking News: Tampa SAC 'in full meltdown...shredders are buzzing'

• ATF’s Melson urged to prove he’s still director and stop alleged Tampa cover-up

• Bilirakis questions Holder, Melson on Tampa gunwalking allegations

A Journalist’s Guide to ‘Project Gunwalker' Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four for a complete list with links of independent investigative reporting and commentary done to date by Sipsey Street Irregulars and Gun Rights Examiner.
Note to newcomers to this story: “Project Gunrunner” is the name ATF assigned to its Southwest Border Initiative to interdict gun smuggling to Mexico. “Project Gunwalker” is the name I assigned to the scandal after allegations by agents that monitored guns were allowed to fall into criminal hands on both sides of the border through a surveillance process termed “walking” surfaced.

------------

Help wanted--inquire within

Regular readers: If you agree that mainstream press coverage of the gun rights issue demands a counter-balance, please help me spread the word by sharing Gun Rights Examiner links with your friends via emails, and in online discussion boards, blogs, social media sites, etc. Then get more commentary at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance.

And don't forget to check out my War on Guns Resistance Radio show, weekdays at 7:00 AM Pacific and 10:00 AM Eastern on NBC 1260 Scottsdale, or by listening live, through weekend encores, or downloading archived programs.

[The Original Ralph]

there was a dealer in Utah, that ATF sent in two UC with an unregistered machinegun to his shop, asking him if he'd mind tightening the screws on the redfield scope rings (redfield uses a special screwhead, believe it was a "torx" head but memory on that aspect is weak). anyway, he said no problem and there'd be no charge - right there at the front counter he grabbed a redfield screwdriver and proceded to tighten the scope rings. They charged him with working on an unregistered machinegun (he had not opened the rifle to look at the internals, nothing).

same as this dealer apparently, financially strapped, he couldn't afford counsel. Prosecutor brow beat him into a plea bargain that if he's admit to the charge, the prosecutor would not seek jail time. Legal defense costs for something like this can go upwards of 100K. He accepted - judge still gave him 2 years. Loss of business, inventory, life destroyed and now a convicted felon over doing what anybody would do, with no intent to break any law. Somebody at that ATF office wanted convictions, regardless of what it took or what it did to someone's life.

There's a number of similiar stories, some more outrageous. I'm sure the agents involved had management promotions in their sights, and obviously i'm not inferring all agents, especially the ones on this forum are of the same ilk.

granted this story was only one news site's account but it has all the earmarks of what's been reported before, and in this example, the Carter Country story, where they were calling ATF worried about the sales, and atf actually telling them to go ahead with the sales and "oh, do you mind walking out into the parking lot and writing down their license plate number?" and then charging them for the 5 minutes of publicity of "dealer charged".

what is a little perplexing, while he was selling to the local mayor & police chief, how it got to 200+ firearms without him documenting communications with ATF on it. the letter sez he isn't the most well read or educated individual, so i'm sure there was probably a little greed and stupidity involved on his part. but i still don't see the criminal guilt on his part.

[The Original Ralph]

wtf? - this is the stuff that makes me sick

need to visit the link to hit the links to read the guy's jailhouse letter

http://www.examiner....der=print#print

New Mexico connection--innocent citizen jailed for cooperating with ATF

* By Anthony Martin, Conservative Examiner

So far in the continually unfolding story of historic corruption and scandal at the Department of Justice and its bureau, the ATF, the focus has been primarily upon Phoenix and Tampa. Another possible connection surfaced last week involving the Houston, Texas field office of the ATF.

However, in the growing media frenzy that has resulted from irrefutable, bombshell evidence implicating the DOJ and the ATF in an illegal scheme to place American guns into the hands of Mexican and Honduran criminals, yet another connection has been largely overlooked involving the state of New Mexico and ATF field agents in the small border town of Columbus, NM.

The importance of the New Mexico connection lies in the fact that an innocent citizen sits in jail on bogus charges, charges that fail to recognize that his 'crimes' involved nothing more than doing what he was told by law enforcement acting on behalf of ATF agents as they made straw purchases of firearms from his gun shop in Columbus.

Ian Garland owns and operates 'Chapparel Guns' in Chapparel, New Mexico, which is located near Columbus. In late 2009 or early 2010 the police chief and mayor of Columbus came into Garland's store and told him that they wished to purchase high-powered firearms--AK-47s--to give to their families for protection against Mexican drug cartels. According to records, Garland followed the law, obtaining the necessary background checks, completing the required paperwork, and receiving the expressed agreement of the ATF.

What Ian Garland did not know is that he had just participated in an ATF scheme to walk U.S. guns into Mexico. For this, he sits in jail where he has been since March, without bail. His public defender offered him a plea bargain--tell the judge that he knew where the guns were going (to Mexico), which he did not know, and he can get out of jail. In other words, Garland's plea bargain is that in exchange for being released from jail he must lie.

While behind bars Garland wrote a lengthy handwritten letter in which he described what took place. That letter is reproduced in 6 parts here, here, here, here, here, and here. It is an excruciating story of how the life of one innocent citizen was totally ruined by corrupt agents of the federal government. His house, his business, his animals, his good name are all gone. And his wife is on the verge of a complete mental breakdown.
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But why? Why would the ATF throw an innocent man in jail and charge him with multiple felonies involving weapons trafficking?

And Garland is not the only one. The police chief and mayor of Columbus, New Mexico--along with 9 other citizens of the town--have been similarly charged.

To understand the reason for this gross injustice, one must grasp the mindset that is currenty entrenched in the ATF and the Department of Justice under Eric Holder. Obeying the law is not a requirement. What matters is the agenda that must be propagated at all costs. If the law gets in the way, it must be broken, and if caught, a coverup must ensue.

It already has been established that the DOJ and the ATF are presently involved in such a coverup. Project Gunwalker--Operation Fast and Furious--has been exposed. Now the goal is to try to salvage what little reputation is left for the ATF. Thus, the indictments against Ian Garland and over a dozen citizens in Columbus, New Mexico. The indictments were handed down with great fanfare and publicity, supposedly to show that the stellar ATF is doing its job in catching criminals, as this report from Salem News indicates:

...last week, ATF, along with ICE, announced that 11 people in the small border town of Columbus, N.M., including the mayor and police chief, had been indicted on gun-trafficking charges.

From the ATF’s PR announcement on the indictment in Columbus:

The indictment alleges that, between January 2010 and March 2011, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to purchase firearms for illegal export to Mexico. During this 14-month period, the defendants allegedly purchased about 200 firearms from "Chaparral Guns," a store owned and operated by defendant Ian Garland.

But in the case of both of these “good stories,” the facts not included in the PR spin raise some serious questions as to what is really going on behind the curtains of the drug war.

Those 'facts not included in the PR spin' are that ATF whistleblowers inside the bureau have indicated, with proof, that it is the ATF itself that is overflowing with criminals.

Be sure to catch my blog at The Liberty Sphere.

[atfsa]

Microscope: I am not the ONLY person in Tampa who doesn't know that guns got walked. EVERYONE in the Tampa Division with any direct or firsthand knowledge knows that guns weren't walked, and there are numerous directly knowledgable Tampa personnel (agents, IOIs, Intel, support staff, etc) who have been discussing that recently and are also troubled by the false allegations. I am just the ONLY person in Tampa (or elsewhere) who took the initiative to post the truth here (hoping the truth would be embraced). I haven't seen any Tampa "sources" personally post the (false) allegations here, including any source who has stated that they have direct or firsthand knowledge that guns walked, and that is because no one credibly can. It now seems that it is unclear that "Operation Castaway" is actually the alleged case. Like I stated, it is misinformation that people believe to be true or want to be true to support an agenda, and the spread of the misinformation has snowballed out of control.

I believe we have all exhausted this disagreement a long time ago with no progress. So, let's just agree to let the fact finding process play out and we can readdress this when the truth officially emerges (in a credible manner).

[atfsa]

Microscope and Sandy: I am confident that the recently released allegations about gunwalking activity actually does concern Operation Castaway, and I know firsthand (as does the other dozens of ATF agents, local police, and IOIs intimately involved with the investigation) that the allegations are false. There were so many law enforcement personnel involved with the investigation that the truth that gunwalking did not occur certainly has and will continue to surface (it is just a matter of how it will be disseminate by ATF in a believable manner). I don't have or need a "source" providing me with that information. Tampa is a small division, and everyone knows everyone. I cannot imagine that there would be another major international firearms trafficking investigation involving Honduras without everyone in the division knowing about it, myself included. Since the investigation tapped into a large portion of the entire division's resources and personnel, I truly believe that, as investigative discussions circulated to and among non-participants, information was embellished and/or misstated. Through reading these posts and certain online blogs, it is obvious that certain Tampa agents actually do believe the Operation Castaway gunwalking allegations; however, again, the allegations are not true and the "sources" are merely releasing misinformation (that they incorrectly believe to be true). I understand the hesitancy to believe these gunwalking denials (I was just as disgusted as anyone with the F&F operation and its aftermath), and I hope that ATF management will immediately find a believable way to assure you, Congress, and the public that the allegations are false. This can't happen soon enough. In the meantime, any ATF agent here can always feel free to contact any member of the investigative team for direct assurances.

[avatar]

The fallout from Project Gunrunner/Fast & Furious is extending to other agencies, as evidenced by this letter to John Morton. It also seems likely that this will wind up involving the House Committee on Foreign Relations, given the requestors involved. Because of how information gets communicated, there is a lack of clarity between the issue of guns being "walked" to Honduras under Operation Castaway, versus another operation or operations run out of the Tampa office. Only the people actually involved are in a position to say what happened or not.

It is obvious that integrity is a critical issue. In a separate letter posted elsewhere on CleanUpATF, Chairman Issa and Sen. Grassley named 12 Department of Justice staff whom they contend had knowledge of Project Gunrunner/Fast & Furious. This is an unusual move and, no doubt, reflects their frustration at comparing the differences between evidence has been provided to them by ATF whistleblowers and the documents that the Department of Justice maintains are responsive to their inquiries. In fact, the Congress already has most if not all the documents it requested in unredacted form, and is not amused by getting those same documents forked over in redacted form by the Department of Justice.

Something that WILL unite the Congress is reacting to federal employees who lie to them under oath, because that's an issue that undermines too many legal safeguards to ensure the system operates as it should. It seems to me that a reorganization of the way ATF does its business is going to be inevitable, and talk of abolishing ATF frankly fatigues me--abolishing federal law enforcement of firearms laws isn't an option. I don't believe ATF will be abolished, but I think it will get reorganized in light of what's been exposed. In my personal opinion, representing only myself, ATF Special Agents and others at ATF who act with integrity will do just fine as all this shakes out and new rules of engagement are established.

For a PDF of the letter below, see http://www.scribd.co...-ICE-2011-07-13

July 12, 2011

The Honorable John Morton
Director
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Department of Homeland Security
500 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20536

Dear Director Morton:

We are concerned about recent reports that suggest similarities between “Operation Castaway,” a firearms trafficking investigation led by the Tampa Field Offices of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and “Operation Fast and Furious,” an ATF program that provided firearms to Mexican drug trafficking organizations. Specifically, reports indicate that firearms under “Operation Castaway” may have been provided to dangerous criminal gangs in Honduras, including MS-13.

If true, these reports raise serious questions about the leadership of the ICE and ATF Tampa Field Offices. We support ICE’s efforts to disrupt criminal syndicates that traffic in firearms, drugs, and other illicit substances. However, when those efforts serve to fuel the operations of criminal enterprises through the provision of firearms, they must be stopped and those responsible must be held accountable. In an effort to address this issue, we would appreciate your response to the following questions.


1. What role did ICE agents and leadership play in “Operation Castaway?”

2. Can you confirm whether “Operation Castaway” included a gun walking scheme that allowed weapons to be trafficked to Honduras? If so, have any of these firearms ended up in the possession of the notorious MS-13 gang?

3. How many guns have been allowed to pass into Honduras and how many have since been accounted for?

4. Were these weapons subject to any special monitoring processes once they left the United States?

5. Is “Operation Castaway” still ongoing? If so, are you, in coordination with the ATF, planning to terminate the program?


We find it extremely troubling that the United States government would willfully allow weapons to be acquired by dangerous criminal and drug trafficking organizations, in direct contravention of our strategic and national interests. We look forward to receiving your responses to these questions in a timely manner.

Sincerely,

Gus Bilirakis, U.S. Representative, Florida, 9th District

Michael McCaul, U.S. Representative, Texas, 10th District

Candice Miller, U.S. Representative, Michigan, 10th District

[avatar]

I am posting this letter as a matter of communication about this issue, which is further discussed at http://sipseystreeti...s.blogspot.com/

The letter is on line at http://www.scribd.co...away-2011-07-12


July 12, 2011

Mr. Eric Holder
Attorney General
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 20530

Mr. Kenneth Melson
Acting Director
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
99 New York Avenue NE
Washington DC 20226

Dear Attorney General Holder and Director Melson:

I am writing to share my deep concern about reports that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have participated in multiple acts of "gun walking," purposely allowing firearms to pass from straw purchasers into the possession of criminals and other dangerous third part organizations. These reports raise troubling questions about the motives, intentions, and competency of the ATF and the DOJ.

The ATF has noted that illegal weapons trafficking is a "problem with consequences on both sides" of our border, and that ATF's objective should be to prevent dangerous foreign groups and organizations from obtaining firearms "which they employ to murder rival drug traffickers, civilians, as well as political, military, and law enforcement figures in order to strengthen their grip on the lucrative drug and firearms routes into and out of the United States." However, two weapons found at the scene of the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry were traced back to the ATF's "Operation Fast and Furious" -- a gun walking operation conducted by the ATF's Phoenix Field Division. This evidence suggests that the federal government has severely failed the very objective it proposed for Project Gunrunner, the ATF's comprehensive strategy to reduce violent crime associated with foreign criminal organizations.

In recent days, it has come to light that the ATF and DOJ may have participated in the act of "gun walking" beyond the acts conducted within the scope of "Operation Fast and Furious." Recent reports have suggested that Project Gunrunner may not have been limited to weapons trafficking to Mexico and that similar programs included the possible trafficking of arms to dangerous criminal gangs in Honduras with the knowledge of the ATF's Tampa Field Division and the Department of Justice's Middle District of Florida through an operation known as "Operation Castaway."

As a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, I find it troubling that the United States government would willfully allow weapons to be acquired by dangerous criminal and drug trafficking organizations, in direct contravention of our strategic and national interests.

I would therefore appreciate your answers to the following questions:


1. Can you confirm whether or not the ATF Tampa Field Division and/or the Department of Justice's Middle District of Florida participated in a "gun walking" scheme that allowed weapons to be trafficked to Honduras?

2. If so, does the ATF or the DOJ have knowledge of any of these firearms ending up in the possession of the notorious MS-13 gang?

3. How many guns have been allowed to pass into Honduras and how many have since been accounted for?

4. Were trafficked weapons subject to any special monitoring processes once they left the United States?

5. Has "Operation Castaway" been terminated? If not, does the DOJ or ATF plan to terminate this program or urge its termination?

6. Has the DOJ or the ATF established any criteria or guidance pertaining to what is admissible for future operations aimed at preventing firearms from being obtained and used by dangerous foreign criminal organizations in crimes similar to the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry?


It is my belief that the ATF and the DOJ operated in an extremely misguided manner in allowing guns to walk across the border and end up in the possession of dangerous criminal organizations. These actions have already resulted in the loss of human life and property. I hope that you would agree that we must not allow flawed programs to continue to operate to the detriment of the safety and security of the United States of America.

In that regard, I look forward to receiving your answers to these questions in a timely manner.

Sincerely,

Gus M. Bilirakis,
Member of Congress.

[atfsa]

Seriously Microscope? You already had the last word, and you are stating nothing new here. In your previous post you stated "If I am proven wrong I will be the first person to post here and say so. I challenge you to do the same." Well Microscope, I'll happily take that challenge and I look forward to your admission (I wouldn't take such a strong stance and risk my credibility if I was wrong, and there are enough people on this site who know my identity). I would have no reason to make this up. If I was in management, I certainly wouldn't try to convince a group of management haters on an anti-management website; why would I care about any of you if I was management? I tried to get my peer agents some comforting information because I thought they deserved the truth about Operation Castway after everything that we have been through with Fast and Furious and it's aftermath. I am not trying to protect anyone, certainly not anyone from management, but I do hope to protect the integrity of the investigation and maybe salvage perhaps a tiny bit of any possible remaining dignity of ATF. My posts were intended to inform fellow street agents, but based on some of these replies I regret even bothering. I guess we'll have to wait for the truth to emerge, but stop using information from the misinformed. Yes, your sources are indeed misinformed, and again I invite you or them to reach out to me to discuss further offline (and you can feel free to remain anonymous)

[VINCENT A CEFALU]

Lets focus and grow up here. According to published reports, we have received over 50 million, yes million dollars for project gunrunner. Anybody know where that money is? Chief Counsels Office has Spent THOUSANDS of man hours and MILLIONS yes MILLIONS of dollars attacking its own Agents. They don't need to expend one dime or man hour. They love holding press conferences, so hold one. SAY IT DIDN'T HAPPEN, PUBLICLY. 3 words, no questions just say so. Oooops, Bill Newell did that once I believe it was " Hell No".

atfsa, i'm just a member here and I could not discard your postings here if I wanted to, which I don't. You and those like you have such a defensive mindset. I want your defense to be true. I want to find out that the Tampa op was run good and professionally and with the highest standards. I just don't believe it. If I am proven wrong I will be the first person to post here and say so. I challenge you to do the same.

And, regarding the allegations against O'Brien to, "cause ATF to have to unnecessarily expend a tremendous amount of time and resources to prove that they are false that may be the quote of quotes ever seen here on the two plus years of this website. I had to laugh out loud. ATF does this to their own people every day and doesn't blink an eye. So guess what, who cares if they do.

[atfsa]

Yes Microscope, I absolutely do dispute that, and it is these 4+ people and the "credible" leaks that have spread misinformation about this investigation (they are not referring to another mystery Tampa Division investigation).

These false allegations will cause ATF to have to unnecessarily expend a tremendous amount of time and resources to prove that they are false, which hopefully they will do asap. But, in light of Fast and Furious fallout it sure will be an uphill battle. I never claimed to be "the sole proprietor of truth and justice of ATF" - not even close. I do not have any firsthand knowledge of anything else or any other topic on this website, other than Operation Castaway; and, what I have written is the truth. I did think it would be a breath of fresh air for everyone here to learn the truth and have the record set straight from a brother agent. Yes, I understand the anonymity of the postings (you all have that protection as well in your postings and responses), but I did invite any ATF agent here to contact me offline to discuss further, which would help serve to verify the veracity of my claim. I am done sparring back and forth over this – feel free to discard my efforts and good intentions in these posts.

[Sabrina]

atfsa, Lets simplify this. Maybe it wasn't Castaway but Florida agents (yes several, more than 4) are dead on insisting that over 200 guns were walked out of the country to known criminal targets with the permission, knowledgle and support of Virginia O'Brien and that she has tried to hide those facts. Do you dispute that?

No one in ATF wants this to be true. We have had enough. No one that I know or have spoken to wants this. They are ashamed.

You are hung up on the walking operation was not during Castaway. Was it during some other case with a different title? If yes then just come clean and stop the games. The Tampa guns were walked. We know this. VOB ran it. We know this. Stop acting like you are the sole proprieter of truth and justice at ATF.

As a mere citizen I would lean toward the answer being YES guns were walked in FL and many other places that have yet to be made public. There is no sense for any agent to try and sugar coat what our governments agenda has been for the last 2 years. Now is the time for the ATF to pull down it's pants and expose all the dirty dealing they have been ordered to take part in by this administration.
ATF agents it's time to show every ounce of courage you have to the American people be the hero's and help us stop the second amendment haters of this administration before it is too late. You are off to a good start but I am already seeing the rumblings of well we have done some good things. Yes you have but right now "We the People" want the bad things laid out on the table and we want those responsible in jail don't care if it's a jail cell in America or Mexico.