Archived Comments: 10/2009

Author: Blackhawk replied to comment from seenitall October 31, 2009 11:02 PM Don't forget that 8 months ago, Andy "Director" Traver told his subordinates in a RAC conference that because of his ties to Obama while he was senator, Andy was certain to be named Director. How's that working out for you, Andy? I guess if you are willing to spend a year in SFFD, and have a written deal that you get your office of preference move to a SES gig after a year of Bay Area time, life is pretty good. Instead of counting your chickens before they're hatched, how about showing some leadership? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Snake Bite replied to comment from 007 October 31, 2009 7:25 PM I am glad that the SFFD was able to get rid of Vido, but again all ATF did was move there problems to another FD. As a result, Vido is sitting in his office in Louisville asking all of his suck ups, why everyone wants to leave his FD. He is so detached from what goes on day to day, he really has no clue why people can't stand to work for him. To help him answer his own question I suggest that Paul Vido take the time to look in the mirror and he'll see the main reason. After you do this, wait until after 11:00 am and then walk down the hall and wake up your ASAC and you'll see the other. You had better do this before 2:00 pm, because after he wakes up, he goes home. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: seenitall replied to comment from Blackhawk October 31, 2009 4:31 PM You can add Andy Traver, in Chicago to that list of young, incompetent SAC's at the age of 40ish. Here is a recent example of his "leadership"! Chicago just held a Fantasy Agent Draft! They took approximately 75% of the Agents, only the ones located in the Chicago land area (because we can't afford to move anyone) and moved them from group to group based on their popularity with a Supervisor! They even had a pre-draft meeting where the Supervisors were told the rules and order of which they were to make their selections! The Supervisors were able to "protect" 1-2 of their favorite agents (read between the lines: good-old boy-club). The dry erase board went into overdrive as the Supervisors threw agents under the bus and argued with other Supervisors in-order to trade agents! It was the most unprofessional processes you can imagine. Traver threaten discipline on any Supervisor who leaked what actually went on inside the trades! Yet, Traver, his front office team and supervisors thought it was a great idea. At the same time, Traver had his Supervisors meeting where he basically tore up HQ's and showed his continued disdain and lack of respect for all his bosses. Yet, he wonders why not one of his management team respects him. For that matter, none of Andy's counterparts (SAC's) respects him. He leads by example...No interest in ATF nor any respect for bosses! If only the agents could get a dry erase board and select their Supervisors, ASAC's and SAC. I bet the only survivor would be the Supervisor who just returned from exile, Fargo North Dakota. If only someone in HQ's gave a damn about the sinking ship in Chicago, they would clear out the front office and all participating Supervisor in this fantasy draft!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Blackhawk replied to comment from Thor God of Thunder October 31, 2009 2:47 PM Thor, you are on the money, bro. I wonder if there’s some correlation between the age people become supervisors in this agency, and rotten performance? Although I think you can generally say people are being promoted too early and too fast, Mark Logan is proof you can be a bad leader at any age. It’s sad to see him in action, and I think many others can see TPD has slid a million miles from the Gale Rossides days, which only hurts the whole agency. Our current poor showing with the DOJ OIG on explosives is a great example, because when we can’t (or won’t) train our CES, NRT, EEOs and CFIs because TPD won’t do what it takes to make sure the money is properly spent, we can end up looking like a 2nd tier agency in explosives work. One of these days, the failure of our people to be consistently trained and recertified is going to get somebody hurt or worse, and then you CAN BET the finger pointing is going to start fast and furious. Of course by that time, the toothless lion of TPD will be gone. For about 7 years now the guy has been in charge of TPD, so he has nobody to blame but himself. I am told he got a master’s degree while on the job and a bachelor’s degree before that since he came on without one. Kudos for bettering himself, but isn’t this a little like Nero fiddling while Rome burned? Maybe if he had traveled less, paid attention to his directorate, and actually written all his class papers, and not had his secretary do some of his work, he would be better educated. Before that, he did a really bang up job in PGA, but the response from ATF leaders? Give him a presidential rank merit bonus. Great plan! Someday, if we are still around as an independent agency, people are going to look at the results of promoting people to GS-15 and SES jobs when they are about 40 (or in some cases FAR LESS). How do you think some of those “Got my SAC job at 40 or below” will be seen? In case you are wondering, here are a few that I have heard are on that Fab-40 list: BJ Zapor, Bill McMahon, Bill Newell, Kelvin Crenshaw, Mark Potter, Edgar Domenech, Larry Ford, etc. Anybody know more? So we don’t forget about the current guys on top of the heap, Billy Hoover got his at 42 and Mark Chait scooped Billy by a year, getting his at 41. This does not even begin to list the far longer list of those who got their 15 in their early 30s. My training officer had a ton of experience, and it was damn rare to see ASACs and SACs (and even RACs) who didn’t have some gray hair or a little balding. That didn’t make them great (I am glad to see some of the dinosaur SACs and ASACs leave), but at least our leadership had some experience, and occasionally even the respect of the agents because they walked the walk. There are way too many up and comers who see nothing wrong with pinning on their supervisor bars after 5-6 years, and the AC lets them do it. What do these people know about leadership - or ATF - with that amount of time? If they set their sights on an ASAC job or higher, there is little to stop them, especially if they are willing to move, and cozy up to people on the 5th floor of 99 New York. Is it any wonder we’re in the condition we’re in with this sort of “leadership” who allows it all to happen? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Thor God of Thunder October 29, 2009 8:49 PM Update on Mark Logan! I have to share this funny but sad story..... Apparently, Mr. Logan had a staff meeting because the recent GS-15 promotion of Thomas Murray to a Division that is being re-organized for the 100th time. Mr. Logan stop reorganizing your directorate to cover up your weakness and inadequacies as a leader. In any case, the staff meeting was being held and the question with regards to the displacement of staff members was asked and Mr. Logan said that no one will be displaced. Well, one of the female members did not believe him and asked him would he swear on the Bible. Mr. Logan mentioned that he was some type of minister or deacon at his church but did not swear on the Bible to dispell any doubts or lack of confidence by his own employees. This is truly a sad commentary. This is a demonstration of how little integrity, credibility and honesty Mr. Logan really has. His own staff members are doubtful and do not believe him. They have to reassure themselves that he is telling the truth by asking him to swear on the Bible. When Mr. Logan would not swear on the Bible another female employee slammed the Bible shut! In all fairness to Mr. Logan, why should anyone be fair to him when he has been so unfair to so many!! I say good for the employees. They need to stand up for themselves because no one else will. I hope that Mr. Logan would change his inappropriate behavior but I highly doubt it. He needs to retire today!! Don't wait for the ink to dry on your retirement papers, get out now! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Thor God of Thunder replied to comment from CUATF Webmaster October 29, 2009 2:25 AM We should not lose all hope for agency reform and change. I can tell you personally that it does get better. When some of these fossil fuel dinosaurs leave and retire with all of their prejudices and crack bad habits, it does get better. This is why it is great that mandatory retirement age for Special Agents is age 57. Speaking of mandatory retirement age, I will be so glad when Mark Logan retires. He has done nothing but bring TPD down (since the days of Gail Rossides) and he is an idiot asleep at the wheel and is one of these fossil fuel dinosaurs with bad crack habits. Everything this guy does is based on crack bad habits. The newest deputy chief in TPD and in training to be DAD or even DD, is Thomas Murray. His daddy works or worked with ATF. This guy joined the agency in 1992 and at age 40 is already a GS-15. I too would take GS-15, if it were gifted to me. Mark Logan taking care of the legacies or members of the Nepotism Club. Mark Logan even has a son working for ATF or in a student program. Mark Logan needs to go, which is my original point. Mark Logan is known for taking care of white people and not taking care of black people in the same manner. I do not mean to inject race but it is the truth. Unfortunately, this is his legacy and everyone knows it. Everyone laughs when he goes to Noble and speaks. They know he is not sincere and disengenuos, even when he cries and whimpers. Everyone knows that it is more lip service. As employees that care about the agency, we just need to continue to, in Edgar D. tradition, air out the dirty laundry and let the world know what goes on here. It is the only way that things will get better and change, slowly but surely, will come to our beloved agency. We need to let these folks know that they are going to have to do the right thing and stop doing this nasty, dispicable, illegal and immoral stuff because, if it found out, it will be scrutinized on the CLEANUP ATF.ORG and they will be held accountable and responsible in the court of public opinion, which may be less than what they deserve but at least it is something. I love this website! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: CUATF Webmaster October 27, 2009 7:42 AM Submitted by Agent X: ATF agents in the field have lost all hope for agency reform or change. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: CUATF Webmaster replied to comment from Thor God of Thunder October 27, 2009 7:30 AM Response to Thor (from -unknown-): I attended a past GS-14 assessment center test after 17 years on the job. I was not/am not the perfect agent but I believed that I had enough experience to run a group. I had participated in every type of ATF investigation. I had used nearly investigative technique available to our agency. I had been a case agent on multitude of cases, simple and complex. I had been an acting GS for extended periods of time on numerous occasions over several years. I dealt with personnel issues and other difficult elements of the GS job. I was liked and what I believe to be respected by my agent peers and I believed I was on good terms with managers above me. I actually attended the training only because my SAC and ASAC encouraged me to and advised that I needed to share my experiences from a supervisor role vs. a field agent position. I took the assessment and performed well enough to achieve a high score. I had one hiccup. Then ASAC Julie Torres hammered my critique and score for "lack of leadership skills needed to succeed on the next level." Of all people to challenge anyone's leadership, Julie Torres? I realized that moment that I had no interest in a leadership role with ATF. I had no desire to join Julie Torres' club. That is my story. I am now nearing retirement and Julie Torres serves over me as my DAD, a position she snuck into, not one she earned or deserved. Its been fun and its been real but the last five years have not been real fun and that's a shame because they should have been for me and for all of us. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Blackhawk replied to comment from Thor God of Thunder October 26, 2009 6:19 PM I have also heard from what I believe are reliable sources that ASACs Tommy Stankiewicz and Billy Blair are out of the running for their swank post-ATF jobs, both due to background issues that were “discovered” after they were named. Both issues were EEO and/or IA problems. For the record, Stankiewicz had an even better deal than reported here on CUATF because he was going to be a program manager for the seized property investigators, and that pays in the neighborhood of $170K. That’s a nice neighborhood. ASAC Blair was “only” going to get the $150K that SPIs are getting. All the divisions recently got notices about these positions and other jobs like vault custodians. The bright spot, if there is one, is that the money doesn’t come out of our pants, but from DOJ and the asset forfeiture fund so at least the bad guys are paying. The name of the contractor for this is the West River Group, and they also have the sweet deal on the asset forfeiture investigators. Whoever owns that company is making some serious bank. As to SAC in waiting Phil Durham, it is well known he did about 9 months in the EEO office after Tony Torres was asked to take another assignment in counsel. I guess you could call that more of ATF’s “rehabilitation” for those who are in The Club, which as we all know seems to work like this: the higher ranking you are, the more ATF will move heaven and earth to protect you. In Durham’s case, he and another guy named were found by a DOJ investigation to have violated EEO laws by retaliating against a female agent in the Washington Division. ATF even had to post the notice from DOJ stating that the duo screwed up. I guess that was ATF's weird way of saying Durham had repaid his debt for violating federal law. Maybe this is just the latest example of the old saying “screw up, move up,” but it sure didn’t hurt Phil Durham, since he is on his way to New Orleans with the gold washroom key. The whole AC system for 14s and 15s is a joke. I have a friend who was personally sitting in a meeting with Director Melson and ATF’s so called Strategic Leadership Team when the subject of ADs and others leaking AC selection criteria came up. This is where the selecting official gets to pick 3 or 4 things most important to them, and all of a sudden, the person they really wanted all along magically has those as their high points. Maybe this is not enough to guarantee their buddy gets selected, but it can tilt the balance. My friend said s/he could tell Melson was unhappy because he said that he would not tolerate such actions and the people doing such things were known, and had better stop doing it. I appreciate that Melson was unhappy, but COME ON. That’s it? Where I come from, this is unethical to say the least. You give or get a butt-chewing for a screw up, but rigging the promotion system makes me sick to my stomach, and probably accounts for some of the group of ethically challenged and sometimes clueless people we have at the GS-14 to SES level. I should say that there are bosses out there who give a damn, work hard, are ethical, and support their people when they should, but far fewer than I would like to see. Maybe it isn’t a classic Giglio/Henthorn issue, but I think it is. How can you claim to have integrity and credibility as a federal law enforcement officer and yet lie and cheat on a system which is supposed to give us our future leaders? To me, this is more of the garbage in – garbage out system that is going to prevent us from ever becoming the agency we should be. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Thor God of Thunder October 26, 2009 1:06 AM Speaking about the Assessment Center Let me tell you about the unethical ways that this process is defeated. *First, the assessors are intentionally misassessing. I don't mean to paint everyone with such a broad brush but this does happen, when convenient. If you have done it, then I am talking about you. Assessors are assessing their buddies and they are giving them high scores or giving them an edge by telling them the answer to the exercises. If they dislike you or think you are a threat whether false, they tend to mark you low. Everyone claims that the Assessment Center system is fair but that is a bunch of bull! *Second, the selecting officials are pre-selecting. Once the AC scores are provided, the selecting officials will ask the candidate that they want to select whether they passed the Assessment Center and can they bring their results in so they can see them. The selecting official will review their candidates'results. The selecting official will indicate that he is looking for a candidate that scored the highest in the specific competency area that their pre-selected candidate scored high in. 9 times out of 10, they will get the candidate that they pre-selected. This is an unfair advantage. This is unethical. This is dirty. This is unfair. This goes against the Merit Promotion principles. If it were your sons and daughters being the subject or victims of this illegal hiring practice, you would not tolerate or stand for it. The Assessment Center GS-15 should be abolished. How much longer will we have to live with a hiring system that lacks the integrity necessary to ensure that we truly get the best qualified for a job? How much longer must those of us that have more integrity in one of our pinky fingers than most ATF executives (DD, ADs, SACs, and ASACs)have in their entire bodies? (don't mean to paint all of the executives with the same brush) If you have ever engaged in any of the above practices, I am talking about you. If you truly want to make this agency a better place, please stop it. The folks that are being hand picked are sending this agency to hell. Pretty soon, there will be no more ATF if this crap continues. STOP NOW!!! STOP IT WHILE YOU CAN!!! DON'T DO IT!!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Thor God of Thunder replied to comment from Marshall Plan October 26, 2009 12:22 AM To answer your question, I understand that he was fired. Who wouldn't be? If you are promised a $150k contractor's job in exchange for retiring and you don't get to keep the job, you would be upset too! Just some reinforcement to what Blackhawk is saying.... You are right with regards to personnel! They are the worse bunch of them all. They see on a regular basis the injustices and illegal personnel practices that occur and that are committed on a daily basis and look the other way. If you say Phil Durham has all of this EEO baggage, why was he assigned to the EEO Office? To respond to Jay with regards to not revealing your identity... You know if we do we are toast in the agency and they will do everything in their power to get back at you. Unlike you, I don't have a pending lawsuit or dispute with the agency. I love the Bureau too! Its just that the Bureau does not love me back! Therefore, this site has provided me with the opportunity to get this all off my chest and out to the open. You know Gary Ingle is retiring at the end of this month, if he has not done so already. It is unfortunate that an ATF veteran, like Ingle, has to leave this agency angry and bitter. Mr. Ingle can not stand to watch all of the injustices that occur when it comes to personnel actions and selections. As he has indicated himself, the Assessment Center GS-15 is a sham and should be abolished. You see when you let them know that you know what they are doing, it takes their power away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Marshall Plan replied to comment from Blackhawk October 25, 2009 2:46 PM Brother, that was an outstanding response. The question remains: did Stankiewicz get to keep his contract position or not? One comment on this website has him losing the position due to intervention by the Director (which is hopeful for the agency), but another rumor has him keeping the cushy 150K retirement job. I want to believe the first version...but the predictable version is that he is safe within the friends and family club making the equivalent income of a seasoned anesthesiologist...all on the company's budget. Well. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Blackhawk October 25, 2009 1:43 PM ASAC Stankiewicz isn’t the first ATF boss to get a special deal, and I’m sure he won’t be the last one this year. I place the blame for these shorts of games at the feet of our executive leadership. If you think Billy Hoover and Mark Chait were ignorant of what ASAC Stankiewicz did, or that they did not know he was leaving on a Friday and coming back the following Monday as a contractor, you are fooling yourself. The buck is supposed to stop with them, but they seem more concerned with feathering their own nests and protecting the agency at all costs from the outrageous deeds committed by SACs, DADs, ADs and the DD. I really had hope when Ronnie and Billy got into their HQ positions. I hoped because they had good reputations and knew where the skeletons were buried they would change things, not make it worse. Boy, was I wrong. The sole job of senior executive leadership is to do those things only they can do exactly because they ARE in those positions. Get the hell out of the weeds up there and start addressing the huge problems that face us. Make some very hard choices and remove those people who have failed in their jobs. Stop recycling HQ executives back to the field where they will park themselves for YEARS until they decide to retire (Kelvin Crenshaw, Virginia O’Brien, Dewey Webb, Hugo Barrera, Edgar Domenech, Dick Chase) If they can’t cut the mustard in HQ, don’t stick the field with the problem!!! Cowboy up and deal with the problem. Look at the sorry state of the Office of Management and what they have given us with a broken personnel division, a joke of a space management branch, and a financial management division that can’t seem to really figure out where our $$$ even is. Maybe some of the people there need a professional spanking, instead of trying to award people like Melanie Stinnett with big bonuses, promoting incompetent people into GS-15 or pay band slots, etc. PGA has done a hell of a job, too! Maybe the reason we are a non-player in the media compared to our brothers and sisters in DEA, FBI and ICE is because we think it is a big deal to get some documentaries, a story with Al Roker, some face time with Oprah, and think it is a big deal to pal around with Denzel Washington while they filmed that lousy movie Déjà vu. Instead of hiding all the tons of good stuff we do and then scrambling to send out talking points to cover our butts every time a sensitive story comes out while screaming “no comment” how about actually engaging the national and large local media with a steady diet of all of what we do? Where are the national news stories? And our legislative affairs people? We are a joke on the hill, and it is NOT because of some very good people we have there, it is because of 99 New York Avenue. We get lots of lip service but no happy ending. We jump up and down with joy for the few crumbs we get, while ICE, DEA, FBI, USMS get substantial increases of hundreds of millions or even billions of bucks. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that something ISN’T WORKING, and this has been the case for years. The response by Billy and Director Melson? Well kids, they just gave a presidential rank award bonus to Larry Ford worth 20 percent of his $170,000 pay. Ronnie Carter got one too. How are we choosing SACs, DADs and ADs nowadays? It seems if you are a company man, drink beers with the in crowd or socialize with Billy Hoover and Mark Chait that you are In Like Flint. I can count the number of SACs and ASAC that agents in the field respect on one hand, but if you have serious EEO baggage (Matt Horace and Phil Durham being recent examples), it is no big deal. What does the 5th floor at 99 New York do with problem executives and GS-15s? They “rehabilitate” them. Where is YOUR accountability, Director? Why is it people with EEO issues and internal affairs issues (Vanessa McLemore, Kelvin Crenshaw and Tommy Stankiewicz come to mind) get a pass? I would be burned at the stake for doing what they have done, but what was done to address these sorts of problems? What we see from the cheap seats is wasted taxpayer money for trips back to the west coast and Texas (Kelvin and Ronnie), huge expenses for TDY assignments (Ronnie, McLemore and Stankiewicz) and cushy jobs (Stankiewicz and New Orleans ASAC Billy Blair). I bet you some of this money could be used to buy more cars, pay for needed office space, (and not those like SAC John Torres with his frosted glass doors and private bathroom) give us more agent cashier and mission travel funds, etc. What does ATF get in return for sending Edgar Domenech to the war college and John Torres to the FBI national academy other than to try and buy people off or settle some lawsuits? How much money are we going to spend in a few weeks to fly every DIO in the country in for the “official business” of a "DIO conference" that just happens to coincide with Super Inspector (oh sorry, I mean “investigator”) DAD Jim Zammillo's retirement? $25,000 or more I would bet. That sort of thing may seem small but we are watching you and to us it stinks. I expect that you are going to ride off into the sunset in mid-November, Mr. Director, which is a little sad, because you were slow to act, but at least showed some promise. If you really want to clean up ATF, you better start at the top, because the fish stinks from the head down. Get rid of executives who can’t get the job done or show REAL results. Stop promoting or moving people who are barely breathing or who have scandal baggage. Have a promotion system that is based on real performance and not one that has a few hours of phony-baloney exercises and is mostly designed to prevent us from being sued. We have some awesome talent in this agency from the newest agents to senior executives, but until you kill off the old and pathetic way of doing business and demand results, we are screwed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Marshall Plan October 25, 2009 10:23 AM Brothers and Sisters: With respect to the recent traffic I am requesting a fact check. Was Tom Stankiewicz' "sweet deal in the face of discipline" contract IN FACT cancelled by HQ? I have heard more than one variation of the Philly debacle. Furthermore I heard that there were several smokin' hot deals being offered to other dead-weight executive types on the brink of retirement (and for the sake of Math...an SES retirement plus "special country club members only" contract equals about 250K a year--you know, like, sky rocketing an empty suit toadie to high professional wealth for their years of careerist insecurity). I hope the Director actually visits this website, folks...but I sincerely doubt that any executive does (thus, the SES catch phrase "I am not going to entertain or encourage that disgruntled dribble"). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Commander Cody replied to comment from Thor God of Thunder October 24, 2009 2:44 PM ASAC Russ May. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Commander Cody replied to comment from Thor God of Thunder October 24, 2009 2:43 PM I'd like to see Mr. Chait and Mr. Melson apologize to my brother about the way his rights were violated by The Cousin. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Thor God of Thunder October 24, 2009 2:42 AM In a recent contract that the Agency entered into and under Terry Clark's watch, I understand. The agency had to pay $45k in order to get out of a contract that had already been obligated but not cancelled in time to get out of paying a cancellation fee. This is truly waste in its worst form!! This is tragic and unfortunate. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Thor God of Thunder October 24, 2009 2:32 AM Here is the email that Mr. Stankiewicz sent out to the Philadelphia exchange, including his victim. Prior to his retirement and after sliding into that sweet $150k contractor's job at ATF HQ and as a consequence of his own decisions, Mr. Stankiewicz should have been let go and not hired as a contractor,respectively. So here it is, in Mr. Stankiewicz' own words...."It so hard to say goodbye to yesterday...": From: Stankiewicz, Thomas L. Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 9:23 AM To: All Phila Exchange Subject: Retirement To all, I wanted to take this opportunity to advise all of you of my upcoming retirement, effective October 3, 2009. Any departure always comes with mixed emotions. I have spent the past 29 years of my life in government service and enjoyed every minute of it. In 1980, I served as an ATF intern in the Philadelphia Field Division and I dreamed of being an agent from that point on. If you work hard dreams can come true. I have had a wonderful and memorable career. At ATF, our purpose is to make a difference-reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer. Hopefully, I played some small part in that. As an ASAC, one of the things that I truly valued was to sit on every interview and promotion panel as I felt it so important to let you know that hiring the right people (you) for the ATF family was special. I believe that the legacy of any leader can be demonstrated by who he hired. I feel confident in leaving today that the Philadelphia Field Division is in great hands and it is the best Division in the country. I have made many friends and professional acquaintances over the years with ATF. Many of you have taught me to be a better person and supervisor. I will forever be grateful to all of you. All of you have made it fun to come to work. I can honestly say I have enjoyed coming to work at ATF. I will miss my job but I will miss all of you more. It is the people in the trenches that make the difference at ATF not the Bureaucrats. I know my departure comes somewhat unexpected but I have a new career opportunity that I could not pass up. My thanks to all of you! I wish all of you the best. God Bless and Take care! Thomas L. Stankiewicz Assistant Special Agent in Charge ATF Philadelphia Field Division (215) 446-7804 (office) Thomas.Stankiewicz@atf.gov Let me clarify a few of his statements: "In 1980, I served as an ATF intern in the Philadelphia Field Division and I dreamed of being an agent from that point on." What he meant to say was...In 1980, I served as an ATF intern in the Philadelphia Field Division and I knew I would be an agent from that point on. My relative told me if I kept my nose clean that I would be a high bureau official because the good ole' boy network would take care of me. "Any departure always comes with mixed emotions." What he meant to say was...Any departure always comes with mixed emotions, especially when I am being forced to retire and reallly do not want to. I really wanted to become the SAC of Philadelphia. I was so close yet so far! "If you work hard dreams can come true. " What he meant to say was...If you work hard dreams can come true only and only if you have the good ole boy network promoting, giving you awards/bonuses, Outstanding evaluations and QSI's every step of the way. "As an ASAC, one of the things that I truly valued was to sit on every interview and promotion panel as I felt it so important to let you know that hiring the right people (you) for the ATF family was special." What he meant to say was...As an ASAC, one of the things that I truly valued was to sit on every interview and promotion panel as I felt it so important to let you know that hiring the right people (you) for the ATF family was special, so that I can deny minorities, drink to my hearts content, if you are a male, abuse you, step on you and, most important of all, if you are a female, sexually harrass you. "I know my departure comes somewhat unexpected but I have a new career opportunity that I could not pass up." What he meant to say was...I know my departure comes somewhat unexpected but I have a new career opportunity that I could not pass up. Due to the pending EEO complaint and internal affairs investigation, I must depart with haste! In addition to that, I have a cushy contractor's job paying me the same amount as my government job. So, I leave the government, collect my retirement and an additional $150k. I am still close to the good ole' boys and now can work on gettig my son promoted to SAC of Philadephia. One of the most offensive and most despicable things that Mr. Stankiewicz did recently, after and excluding victimizing his victim and retiring only to come back as a contractor, was to request a male supervisor in the Philadelphia Field Division to organize a retirement party for him. This would only cause further damage to his victim. Mr. Stankiewicz don't you think you have done enough damage already? For right now, JUST GO AWAY!! Mr. Stankiewicz is guilty as charged and has suffered a career death by his own hand. Although delayed, he was sentenced. One thing is to reach the end of the line, it is yet another to be forced out completely. As Mr. Stankiewicz has held so many employees in the past accountable and responsible for their actions, so must he also be held accountable and responsible for his own actions. This is refreshing and I hope that this a new trend, which continues. This is what this agency needs! Accountability and responsibility from the top to the bottom!! We have seen in the past 10 years where only the lower level employees are held acccountable and responsible for their actions. Managers and executives violate policy and employees every day and are protected and represented by the agency. If the agency did not protect managers and supervisors when they made decisions that were morally wrong, we, as an agency, would have less complaints and lawsuits. This is the reason why these bad decisions are so prevalent and are done without impunity or fear of any repercussions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Thor God of Thunder replied to comment from Commander Cody October 24, 2009 1:12 AM You got to call them by name if you know it. Shine the light on their corruption and they will go running away like cockroaches. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Road Warrior replied to comment from Thor God of Thunder October 23, 2009 12:35 PM If Mr. Melson had not been on the ball Stankiwitz would be enjoying a cushy post-retirement/post-fireing job provided to him by the very hand that removed him. And, in doing so ATF knew Stankiwitz and the agency would be mocking the victim. (See Joe Gordon. Also terminated behind countless EEO complaints only to be brought back by ATF to represent the agency on a national television program. The Stankewitz debacle was not an accident or oversight. It is pattern and practice for the higher ups to take care of themselves and to hell with their victims.) AD Chait tried to slide Stankewitz the consulting job under the table even after knowing "the Stank's" termination was conducted with extreme prejudice. Chait is the guy ATF choose to lead our field operations? What a joke. Apparently integrity is not a prerequist for that position. Where were you Billy? Why did Melson have to catch this? Really, what are you doing? How do you let this happen on your watch? We know your answer, "I wasn't aware of that." What are you aware of? You don't seem to know much about any of the events taking place under your command. Most of what is happening in ATF today you and Ronnie own. We thought you guys would be the saviors and instead you fell into lockstep with the old rule. What does this whole situation say to us in the field? I'll tell ya. It says we can abuse you. It says even when we're found guilty of abuse we only need to FAKE a resolution. It says we can insult our victims. It says we can ignore the facts. It says we will lie to accomplish our goals. If a field agent was found guilty of sexual harrassment would Billy and Chait find them a job on the back side. I think not. Your hypocrites with your heads stuck in the mud. You did the right thing by terminating Stank but you immediately blew it when your good 'ol boy scheme was found out. WE DO NOT TRUST YOU! Not to tell us the truth. Not to act with intregrity. Not to be deceptive with us. Not to admit guilt. Not to have concern with anyone but yourselves. Every time you have a chance to do the right thing you blow it and that only makes us mistrust you more. Go away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Thor God of Thunder replied to comment from Thor God of Thunder October 23, 2009 1:49 AM Update to the Update!!!!! Apparently, former ASAC Stankiewicz felt bad about his actions. Stankiewicz is the ATF Philadelphia management official that sexually harrassed a female supervisor subordinate for about a year and whose last official act was to send a Philadelphia Exchange email, which he knew would reach his victim saying goodbye...what a loser. When Stankiewcz retired in disgrace and prior to the disposition of the EEO/internal affairs investigation, Stankiewicz secured and obtained wih the help from AD Mark Chait an ATF contractor's job paying 150k and was to live happily ever after. Oh but wait a minute!! When Director Melson found out about it, he immediately had Thomas Stankiewicz fired and pulled the Acting AD of Field Operations, Mark Chait, on the carpet. I understand that Mr. Chait may have been part of the hook up for Stankiewicz. Mr. Chait met with the Philadelphia female supervisor, I guess to apologize to her I am not sure. (Note:See the connection here is that Mark Chait like Thomas Stankiewicz both served in the Philadelphia Divison. Mr. Stankiewicz on so many occasions had turn in ATF employees for wrongdoing to Internal Affairs. Mr. Stankiewicz did not want to take a bit of his own medicine. Mr. Stankiewicz's moral to his story...mess up at the end of your career so you can retire.) Thank you Mr. Melson and kudos to you for doing the right thing! It takes a lot of courage and strength to take on such an entrenched culture of corruption. As you properly suspect, you can not believe everything that you are told from some (if not all) of the high management officials around you. They are a bunch of professional and executive liars, who only want to maintain the status quo, hook each other up with promotions, awards and hire and promote their sons and daughters. They bet on outliving the Director to continue their illegal, unethical, self gratifying, damaging to the agency and short sighted practices. I hope you will let the incoming Director know that this is what they are dealing with. I look forward to more thunder and lightning! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Road Warrior October 22, 2009 1:08 PM Regarding the Deja vu memorandum and response, all I can say is, WOW! The problems we had as an agency in 1995 are here today, only times-10. Mr. Williams response to HQ was spot on! I knew Larry and all he ever wanted for ATF was to be proud and productive. You headquarters managers and mid-levels have ruined that for the rest of us. You betrayed us. If you think that burying your collective heads in the sand is working, think again. We all know what you are up to. ATF is too small for secrets. Just take a deep breath and do the right thing for the right reasons for a change. Stop the bleeding. It will be good for all of us, yourselves included. Do you want to serve us under shame and disrespect or do you want to man up, face up to the mistakes, fix them and be viewed as real leaders, saviors and heroes to the field? The choice is yours. I believe I already know your safe answer to that question but nothing would make us happier if you proved us wrong. Step up, please! -ATF Special Agent ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: CUATF Webmaster October 20, 2009 9:29 AM Submitted by Wideout: Hey Melson...we know you're gone next month. Most of us believe you did a good job keeping the Director's seat warm (hopefully not for another "acting" director; a real one would be nice). Please don't just use your last month to pack the office. Give the new Director a chance and wash some of ATF's dirty laundry. At least let him or her start with a clean slate. There are still lots of problems to resolve, issues to settle and wicked bosses to remove or reduce. Please don't leave us hanging. Remember, "Men don't follow titles, they follow courage." ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Richard Roe October 16, 2009 9:01 PM I simply need to express to you how grateful I am about this website. Frankly, after 20 years in this agency I know how much courage it took to do this. Rest assured that you are having an impact. Keep up the good work! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: CUATF Webmaster October 15, 2009 6:14 AM Submitted by: SA Somebody It is not that long ago that our leadership was revered. Not always liked but respected for their position. That has crumbled because the people in charge have lost their connection to the agents. SAC's were spoken to as "Yes sir". Now they are laughed at and openly mocked. Once the Director and Deputy and AD's stop listening to the self-serving lies they are told by the SAC's and ASAC's things will get fixed. Until then we are doomed to be a divided agency. The disconnect between the field and HQ is because information received at the top is filtered through division leadership who's agenda it is to paint their divisions as happy, productive and functioning. It happened again last week. SAC's telling HQ how well they are doing. Melson and Billy and the DAD's can believe that if they want. That is the easy thing to do. But it is not the truth. Think about it. What SAC is going to tell HQ that he is having trouble when all his peers are saying they are doing wonderful. They have to lie to survive. ATF is a dog chasing its tail in the middle of the street and doesn't see the cement truck coming. HQ needs to seek the truth and demand honest assessment or ATF is doomed to mediocrity, failure, disputes or abolishment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: 007 October 11, 2009 9:31 AM Leadership at its "Best": After the reign of Vido and Martin, which produced unprecedented levels of division, chaos and employee reprisals through the unskilled and inexperienced ASACs and RACs who did their bidding, the SFFD has sunk to all new lows. With one or two exceptions, the enforcement groups are being poorly managed, their is no camaraderie and no shared sense of mission. One enforcement group is in such disarray that the SAC, ASAC and RAC cannot manage the situation and resolve the conflicts. There is such divisiveness that SFFD management has now decided to employ a "Climate Analyst". NO WE ARE NOT TALKING GLOBAL WARMING. It's a paid consultant who's supposed to resolve everyday and ongoing disputes that in previous years would have been handled by a sit-down PERIOD. This just amplifies the need to be more selective of our managers and start with the ones who have actually done the job for more than 6-8 years. Bosses who can and will make a decision w/o first clearing it through every level of the Bureau, then ELRB, checking it out with Chief Counsel's office and then and only then making a decision. If you have to keep Counsel, ELRB, the Ombudman's Office and your DAD on speed dial, YOU PROBABLY DON'T HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A MANAGER. Try this, READ THE ORDERS. Why do we need these SES managers if they cant trouble shoot their own divisions and not have every dispute end up in a costly and lengthy court battle. Why don't we just hire contract managers since that's what we are doing anyway. This is embarrassing. Less frosted glass guys and more time listening to the folks who are being affected by your decisions/non-decisions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Commander Cody October 10, 2009 4:28 PM According to my brother, story has it that President Obama's new regulations on texting while driving is related to a certain ASAC who crashed his GOV four times in five months, texting while driving. And then he gets a new car out of it??? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: CUATF Webmaster October 7, 2009 12:32 PM Submitted by: The Joke Is On Us A thumbnail of corruption: Deputy Director Edgar Domenech fillets the careers of dozens during his career and doesn't bat an eye or lose a wink of sleep over it. Big Ed wants the Director's job but doesn't have the balls to attach his name to his complaint against Truscott, so he files in anonymously. Big Ed is later found out to be the ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author:. Ouch! Big Ed is not only found out to be a rat but he confirms himself as a coward. Big Ed is demoted 3 levels and gets skipped over for bonuses. After feeling what its like to be on the receiving end of ATF retaliation Big Ed files a 90 page reprisal grievance. Big Ed plays chicken with ATF and threatens to air out all of ATF's dirty laundry is they don't settle with him quick. ATF blinks and accommodates Big Ed with cash, a much cherished slot at the War College and now the kicker...! ATF is holding his Washington Field Division SAC job for him so that when he pads his resume' with an advanced degree he can negotiate a post-ATF job from a position of power! Across the country ATF supervisors are ignoring the felonies of their peers, covering up mistakes, waiting on attrition to rid the agency of bad bosses, mismanaging, participating in corruption and, reassuring themselves that they are doing a great job. "Those damn agents! They don't get the big picture!" The joke is on us and its the same one we have heard for years. Its just not funny anymore. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Thor God of Thunder October 3, 2009 9:38 AM Update on ASAC Thomas Stankiewicz....HE RETIRED! Oh but you have not heard the last from him because he is back as a contractor in HQ!! What sense does that make?? ATF corruption at its best!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Thor God of Thunder replied to comment from Liza Beckner October 3, 2009 9:33 AM What is your personal email??? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Dept of Just Ice October 2, 2009 8:04 PM Director Melson: I hope that you or one of your aides are reading this. Please take the time to read MSPB documents sent to Eleanor Loos in the MSPB case of Adam Delgado VS ATF. Your legal crew told a MSPB Judge that the two agents I wanted to depose via video conference were afraid for their safety as far as I was concerned. One of the first questions asked of each agent was, "Do you have any concerns for your safety because of Adam Delgado?" Both responded "No" with a surprised sound in their voice. Why can the legal division make any claim they want when the rest of us have the Internal Affairs section come after us after we report wrong doing and work place violence threats in an official e-mail aimed at us? Why can a RAC get away with calling an agent derogatory names for a homosexual? The RAC admitted to it under oath. I am married to a woman but I have never seen more unprofessional conduct in a federal agency. -------------------------------------------------------------------------