Any word on when Mr. Brandon will be reporting to Tampa?

Can anyone justify how the SAC from Ohio was removed for what has been described to me as a FULL ON MUTINY under HER watch by 2 SACs and a former member of the Ombudsman's office, is now a DAD. Isn't that just BEGGING for more Congressional oversight? Come on guys, we can do better. I mean we are not talking just a low popularity, or low level incompetence. We are talking a complete break down. What happens IF she continues to screw the pooch, complaints or allegations come in and that stuff comes out in discovery or during investigations. COME ON. We can do better.

Goodworker, haha, right on - name something that Jones has taken any personal accountablity for?  He has no issue allowing his subordinates to take it for him.  Is that leadership?  How nice would it be to hear him say; I run this agency, I own what we do, the problems that I inherited are now mine to fix?

To accept responsibility, would in fact require Mr. Jones to take action and provide solutions. We dont have a one yr plan, a two yr plan or a 5 yr plan. What does that say to the field. He may be bate and switching our problems from Congress(I doubt it), but the field is watching his EVERY move. Outrageous abuses, continued disputes with field Agents, unwillingness to settle clear cut cases of retaliation. I have been tracking CUATF for years. For the first time, highly respected Agents and Inspectors who truly wanted to save this agency are now lamenting that it may not be able to be saved. This is very sad. I hope they are wrong.

Deputy Director Brandon recently sent out a memo reminding Agents that they MUST keep their firearms in their personal control when on commercial airlines. Seriously? Over 20 weeks of advanced training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and mandatory FAA flying armed training and we need to be REMINDED of this?

Am I the ONLY agent insulted by his relentless, clueless leadership that even allows the non-stop failure of accountability? Some things shouldn't have to be addressed to the whole field. Talk about LOW confidence and faith in your employees.

http://www.ticklethe...tings-is-crazy/

The question is, is how do you hold a Director and Deputy Director accountable? Or is it just the agents and supervisors? The hits just keep on coming.

The fact that Director Jones and Brandon are OK with the McMahon double dip, it NOT likely they will fire, demote or otherwise discipline Julie Torres, Zapor, Milanawski, or Brandon. And please do not insult the ENTIRE fields intelligence or that of Congress by suggesting, encouraging these people to retire with FULL benefits is somehow decisive. Its not. More of the same. The walls are caving in, and it appears that THEY, Jones, Brandon and Turk don't care.

Stop the joke which is the Newark Division and just eliminate it.  Turn all of NJ over to New York.  One less SAC, two less ASAC's, one less DOO, one less Intel Supervisor, one less SOO, one less DTA, one less FIC.  [does Newark have a PIO, while we're at it?  A GS-13 PIO is probably the biggest waste of a -13, especially when any PIO is an idiot.]

 

Put a few more agents back into groups to produce cases; meanwhile, less bosses is always a good idea.

 

While we're at it, get rid of Baltimore too.  Turn it all over to Washington FD.  Again, less bosses, more agents to produce cases.

 

After all, isn't ATF supposed to produce good cases and arrest violent criminals?  Or is it to produce as many SES positions and cushy collateral jobs for a certain few -13's?

 

I remember the day when ATF compared itself to the Marines, while the FBI was like the Army.  Every Marine is a rifleman, and every ATF agent does cases, someone once claimed.  Well, that's not the case any more.  Too many ATF agents who have found themselves a way to get -13 pay without having to do -13 work.

Great thoughts, but after fluffing up all these positions, do you really think they are gonna let them go?. Not the way of the government. They'll make more. HQ has bloated for yrs. We now have 3 GS-14s doing what one GS-13 project officer used to do. Some shops have more 14s than 13s. If GAO ever does a desk audit, about 2/5ths of HQ Agents will be demoted and returned to the field. They used to be there to support us, now its the other way around. 2 ASACs in very field division where historically there was one. If my math serves me, when I came on over 20 years ago we had 2000-2500 Agents and a Approx. 250,000,000 budget. We now have 2000-2500 Agents and a 1.1 BILLION dollar budget. ????????????????????????????????????????

THIS is what happens when you refuse and disrespect the United States Congress. Mr. Jones et al have obviously ignored Congress ONE too many times. A little less time fighting Agents and a little more time cleaning up their messes and who knows what could happen to this outfit. Congress is not going to stop pounding on ATF until they get some sincere cooperation.

 

http://oversight.hou...un-Database.pdf

Not surprising. They parade Sen. Durbin through the intel group after cleaning it up, buying a cpl new computers and monitors and make big noise about all the cool data bases we are using, (most of which we have been using for 15 yrs or so) and hold a half dozen press conferences. This and the PUBLICIZED assigning of 7 agents to Chicago FD to beef up our violent crime efforts and in the process disclose our manpower assets in the field division. THAT MY FRIENDS IS LAW ENFORCEMENT SENSITIVE INFORMATION. I am reasonably certain the assignment of 7 NEW HIRES will have minimal impact for at least 3 yrs. as that is the official training period. ALWAYS SMOKE AND MIRRORS. ALL SHOW AND NO GO.

http://www.ticklethe...-eliminate-atf/

I think this article deserves SOME editorial. It is admirable that FLEOA is weighing in on this issue and we (the field) have always supported and been hopeful the Agency could be turned around. However, FLEOA has been aware of the abysmal leadership and the abuses heaped upon ATF Agents starting with Truscott and carrying thru Sullivan,Domenech, Melson and now Jones.They have met multiple times to discuss many of the issues confronting whistle blowers, EEOC complainants and grievances within the Agency. ATFs FLEOA rep is intimately aware of the abuses.

FLEOA has either chosen the road of diplomacy or have proven impotent in supporting dozens of Agents who have sought legal support. Many old timers just let their membership lapse for this very reason. That is not to say FLEOA has not been effective in high profile shooting cases and such. What it means is when you have the force of 25000 Federal Agents, legislative contacts and the ability to champion your members in the media, YOU MUST USE IT. The ability to file class actions were available. When CLEAR CUT management abuses are occurring wholesale and the leaders of the agency continuously give lip service to the association, it must pick a side or those leaders at any given agency are empowered.

The time to have acted was when the Dodsons, Dobyns,Gils Neelys and Cefalus  and dozens of others were having their heads caved in and publicly standing up for the field. When Congress refers to ATF whistle blowers and field Agent abuses openly, THAT would be a good time to step up. Not just when somebody has had enough of ATF BS and wants to abolish us.

June 2 is the deadline for Director Jones to respond to a Congressional inquiry regarding the manipulation of the Titanic deck chairs. AGAIN. I predict something along the lines of, "Sirs" due to privacy act regulations we are currently unable to provide exact responses to your inquiries. HOWEVER, rest assured every attempt was made to hold fully accountable Mr. Zapor and Mr. Milanawski. Due to the scheduling of the professional review board. Mr. Zapor announced his retirement before the agency could act. Much like was the case with George Gillette who stayed in full supervisory pay status until the very last minute when he retired. We would like to point out that Mr. Zapor was demoted one level, (although he was transferring home and didnt lose a dime). As for Mr. Milanawski, we made him come back to headquarters AGAIN and basically hoped you didnt notice. We are however aggressively pursuing actions against Jon Dodson, Vincent Cefalu and Jay Dobyns as well as countless other line agents for exposing the acts of your inquiry. As for transferring multiple SES bosses after less than one year in their current positions, we needed to burn up move money before the end of the year. Yes Mr. Atteberry and others are costing the taxpayers Millions in repeated moves, but at this time we are unable to explain why. We hope this satisfies your concerns with the efficient running of ATF.

Did I get it close?

See if you can track this................

Employee notifies IA of a sexual harassment claim.

Internal Affairs investigates claim and determines it to be UNFOUNDED, (GO FIGURE).

The employee files EEOC. They make the play to terminate the employee. NOW GET THIS........

One of the counts was disrupting the work place by notifying Internal Affairs, and because they found the allegations to be unfounded, it disrupted the work place.

DOES THIS NOW MEAN????????That every time, a retaliatory manager sicks the Internal Affairs dogs on an employee and the allegations are unfounded, that SAID MANAGER will now face disciplinary action?

IT BETTER. WE ARE PAYING ATTENTION MR. JONES AND MR. BRANDON

It seems so simple to generate questions and answers for these hearings. CALL IN CAREER FIELD AGENTS. They don't have agendas, they aren't inclined to play word games. Simple question. Mr. Jones, what has changed in recent years to create all of the failures when ATF has successfully conducted such operations for decades before your arrival without incident?

News flash, new policies aren't the fix. We have policies in place both written and implied regarding safe law enforcement operations. A 20+ year veteran recently stated, hell if we would have been allowed to act like this for the past 20 years, our job woulda been so much easier. STOP promoting MORONS, and STOP promoting or shifting incompetents, ie Zapor and Milanawski. Stop letting OR ENCOURAGING OPSRO to tamp down these egregious acts by MANAGERS SPECIFICALLY.

Word on the street is Sen. Grassleys office and members of Congress are looking into ATF funded junkets to ILEA Bangkok, BY SENIOR MANAGERS on a consistent basis which consisted of ten day trips to teach a 4 hour block of instruction. Word is, the affected managers were not subject matter experts, nor did they solicit the experts Bureau wide, and the kicker............................encouraged each other to participate primarily (bragged about), the loose sex trade rules while in Bangkok. Agents are being hammered for an off color email or slight of policy, but these guys are road trippin international?

HERE WE GO AGAIN. Another office mired in controversy, and the SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE AND ASSISTANT SPECIAL AGENTS IN CHARGE, are attempting to spin and conceal HUGE issues from HQ and have minimized the violations to internal affairs DAD King OBVIOUSLY WITH AD GLEYSTEENS APPROVAL. The violations are blatant, unethical and WILL result in significant investigation and disciplinary actions. As usual, the attempt by Field Division senior managers to conceal and cover-up the allegations will result in disaster. The affected SAC has a proven record of failure(documented), but Mr. Jones apparently thought it a good idea to promote him anyway.

The field division in question is conducting their own internal investigation trying to tamp down the NOW documented abuses and allegations INCLUDING INTEGRITY VIOLATIONS from HQ oversight. It would appear IA is complicit designating the violations as management issues........THEY ARE NOT. Secret meetings with employees, interviewing entire offices conducted by an ASAC and a (Yes man RAC),   DETAILS TO FOLLOW.

CAN ANYONE PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW SUCH ACTIONS ADVANCE OUR MISSION READINESS?

Bad cases make bad case law. With thugs and gangsters running around shooting up our communities, ATFs leadership somehow thought this case would enhance public safety? This case cleared 3 levels of review inside ATF AND then again by the U.S. Attys Office. SHORT VERSION: RETIRED COP BUYS A GUN AT A BETTER PRICE FOR HIS UNCLE, AND UNCLE REPAYS HIM. VIOLATION? PERHAPS. FEDERAL CRIMINAL INTEREST? YOU DECIDE. I'M REASONABLY CERTAIN A STERN WARNING FROM ATF WOULD HAVE ENDED THE WHOLE MATTER.
http://bearingarms.c...kground-checks/

How disturbing is this? How disturbing is it that ATF leadership denies there is a problem? Mr. Jones, Brandon and Turk are thumbing their noses at the dedicated employees of ATF as evidenced by their refusal to reign in out of control Chief counsels office as evidenced by Mr. Brandon completely ignoring the FAAP recommendations. Does this in fact VALIDATE those Congressional members who resisted Mr. Jones confirmation based upon allegations of reprisals and abuse? YOU BE THE JUDGE. Mr. Jones has been in charge either acting or confirmed for over 2 years. compare the 2010 stats and the steady increase. Sadly, these numbers were taken directly from the Official U.S. DOJ website TODAY..........................

Total number of employees        FBI 35,000+      

Total number of pending EEOC complaints reported end of yr 2012     312    Less than 1%

Total number of employees       DEA  10,000+

Total number of pending EEOC complaints reported end of yr 2012      53      Less than 1%

Total number of employees       ATF    4770

Total number of pending EEOC complaints reported end of yr 2012      1362  More than 25%

SERIOUSLY?????????

Where there is smoke there is fire America.

http://www.justice.g...eeos/nofear.htm

Joey's goodbye email confirmed the rumors of his departure from the NYFD ending a 2 year long tragic comedy. According to his farewell email, we have accomplished a tremendous amount under his direction. Just to be clear, here is what he has accomplished in the NY Field Division - NOTHING!!! except a complete breakdown of trust and communication. In short, his leadership if we can even call it that has been an epic failure, full of spite and self indulgence. Word is SAC Joey had his staff scramble to set up executive indoor air cooled range dates exclusively for him because he refuses to qualify with his agents and supervisors. Way to lead by example!! And who can forget his famous "I have a good idea" tour when he first got here. What a success that was. Was the last time anyone upstate saw him in person. An apology email for the past 2 years would have been more appropriate than one bragging of false victory. He undoubtedly FAILED here but certainly took care of himself. Hopefully they offer leadership training in DC. The initial assessment of this guy by Sleepless has proven more than accurate. Good riddance from the the silent majority in NYFD...... and don't forget the coffee and tartlets for the Director.

"Leadership is action, not position." ~Donald H. McGannon

Would you please post the exit email? If for nothing else, a lil entertainment. The problem is clear to everyone. Mr. Jones et al. are not engaging the field, and are being directed by lawyers instead of leaders. This incessant idea that we can move forward without addressing the damages of the recent past is absurd. Secondly, for all Mr. Jones touting of his formative USMC career, he learned NOTHING about taking care of your troops. The divide between his HQ and the field is a cavern and he apparently believes that ignoring the abuses and shuffling the deck chairs is whats needed to fix it. IF, and I say IF the SAC Joey storys are true, why didnt Mr. Jones and Brandon address his failed leadership skills. Hate to be the cliche' guy, BUT..........DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AND EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS......................................

Best produced piece on my fight to date.  If you are interested please watch.  Holder, Jones, Brandon - you knew.  How many people you think are going to see this on the NRA site?  I am going to expose you.  I have only just started.

 

Of course they knew. Mr. Jones as the confirmed Director had COMPLETE authority to make this right. He knows and knew. He condones this conduct by omission. By failing to assert his authority to do the right thing, his moral authority is diminishing DAILY.

Did Director Jones really just say UNDER OATH, that he is concerned about law enforcement sensitive information? Really? Does a Prime time showboating expose' on 20/20 suggest he really cares ANYTHING about operational security? YOU GAVE THE BADGUYS OUR PLAYBOOK.

HOPEFULLY OVERSIGHT WILL GRILL MR. JONES ON WHY SO MANY ARE LEAVING THE AGENCY, FILING COMPLAINTS AND ALLEGATIONS, AS WELL AS THE LACK OF LEADERSHIP BEING DISPLAYED.

Undercover Storefront Operations: Continued Oversight of ATF’s Reckless Investigative Techniques

Failure to know rules & regulations is dereliction of duty. A marine would know this. Notwithstanding the ATF orders and other governing laws that can be read and referenced - they can be read, n.b. "can" be read but that doesn't mean that dopey and often vindictive managers will abide by them or even comprehend them. The agency has no one to blame but themselves for their slow demise. They let mcmahon "get away" with admittedly not reading opsec plans, case reports and e-mails before. As some cnn commentors on their web site, following this story, have said in substance - how did they get to be "top managers" without knowing the rules or what to do?
Answers abound but consulting fees should apply.

My former RAC and ASAC [both fat ba$tards] gigged me [a lowly GS-13 Plain Old Agent] for three days [the equivalent of a "drum-head courtmartial"] for a pure chicken$hit issue -- I kept on the wall in my office an email I got from a retired ATF RAC [he retired with his dignity and integrity] which cast a light on the bumblings of other bosses, like the one who needed three hours to watch 60 Minutes.  Meanwhile, the same Division had no problems with a punk agent mocking my line of duty injuries.

 

And so the list begins!

Clearly Brandon and Torres should be demoted from any managerial positions in this Bureau.

My former RAC and ASAC [both fat ba$tards] gigged me [a lowly GS-13 Plain Old Agent] for three days [the equivalent of a "drum-head courtmartial"] for a pure chicken$hit issue -- I kept on the wall in my office an email I got from a retired ATF RAC [he retired with his dignity and integrity] which cast a light on the bumblings of other bosses, like the one who needed three hours to watch 60 Minutes. Meanwhile, the same Division had no problems with a punk agent mocking my line of duty injuries.

And so the list begins!