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.

With all the unprecedented shootings in Chicago over the fourth, Why doesn't Mr. Jones and Brandon deploy their supercop Frontline surge program there? A surge by ATF is just the thing to end the gun violence. NOT

Wow. SAC Riehl, ASACs Delvecchio and Coffey are not satisfied running off 30 year veteran and along with 30 years of institutional knowledge. But now have threatened to "holdup" the Agents pension if the Agent does not submit to an exit interview. #1 thats illegal. #2 Its extortion and abusive and the very reason senior Agents are leaving in droves. And FINALLY, I would be careful trying to bully an Agent on their way out the door when they hold the very information that will surely have these 3 immediately relieved of duty. Just sayin fellas. Read your own policies. This Agent does not HAVE TO submit to your stupid exit interview.

Word is Coffey is retiring. That was a short stay in SF. Is this Turks answer to Riehl, and Coffeys coverup and internal non investigation of highly disturbing allegations forwarded directly to HQ and the OIG? The allegations include mishandling of AC funds, and compromising UC operations. Emails will be attached shortly where Turk states "I had no idea".

Has anyone seen ATFs response to Congress that were due yeaterday?

B. Todd and Brandon,

 

Your responses to the questions Congress asked on May 16 are due on Monday.  It will be most interesting to see how you choose to answer regarding the Internal Affairs Division, the Professional Review Board and the Bureau Deciding Official inquiries.

 

"We understand that ATF's Internal Affairs Division typically reviews all complaints and allegations involving ATF personnel and generates a report for ATF's Professional Review Board.  The Professional Review Board then assesses each finding of misconduct and determines whether to propose discipline or adverse action to ATF's deciding official."

 

     -Actual Excerpt from letter:

Congressional Letter Excerpt 05.16.14.jpg

 

congressional-letter-to-atf-5-16-14-2013.pdf

 

I know that you know that I know your dirty little secret.  I am not being coy.  I am not legally allowed to discuss this yet.  Numerous people with insider information and amidst your inner circle know as well.  Can you get all of them on board and organized to cover it up or blame me for it by Monday?  This is a very slippery slope. 

 

You guys have a nice weekend now.

 

J

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS

 

Can anyone make sense of the spinning promotion/demotion of the SAC who was removed from the Ohio field division. If we are tracking this, Oversight or Sen. Sensenbrenner should expand their inquiry. Congress is closely tracking CLEANUPATF. It has been said, "the media and CLEANUPATF are the only way they know whats going on inside ATF". Scary huh? If we are tracking correctly, this SAC was pulled unceremoniously due to a near mutiny. She was then sent to be SAC in Newark BUT NEVER TOOK THE REIGNS. Where was she and what was she doing? SIDENOTE, she would not have been removed without the efforts of the then Ombudsman. This angered MANY SACs who thought the Ombudsmans office had to much power.

 

After a period as a no show SAC in Newark, she was made an Assistant Director of HR. The after Cleanupatf OUTTED Mr. Jones for even CONSIDERING keep her as a manager, shes now going BACK to a SAC job in Newark. Is this correct? Is there soemthing thats been left out? You cant make this S@#$ up.

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?

Happy Memorial day. BE SAFE

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. ????????????????????????????????????????

 

Are you saying she never reported to Newark the whole time? Where was she?

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.

Can anyone shed light on why the Baltimore SAC and ASAC were so hastily removed? And why acting SAC and ASAC were put in place? The rumor mill is frought with peril. Sounds extremely serious.

http://m.jsonline.com/259595911.htm


And yet another letter challenging exactly what we have all been asking about musical SACs and DADs. Except this time they are asking Mr. JONES DIRECTLY why he misled Congress.

Can anyone shed light on why the Baltimore SAC and ASAC were so hastily removed? And why acting SAC and ASAC were put in place? The rumor mill is frought with peril. Sounds extremely serious.

It is sad to hear people, (ATF AGENT) Resenting that our Agency may truly be on its last leg. I pray that the collective wisdom of our leadership trumps the growing opinions of the field, Congress and the American public. Keep fighting. Too much has been sacrificed by to many to create one of the most effective and storied Law Enforcement agencies in the history of American Law Enforcement. Do not let Bureaucratic paralysis of our leadership destroy what OUR blood, sweat and tears have created.

If you have evidence re theft of Gov. Funds, you did what you are supposed to. You reported it to Internal Affairs. That being said, it sounds like your boy (s) got convicted. Doesn't pass the smell test. But be clear, if you have evidence it'll be handled. BUT one has nothing to do with the other. If it did, the public defender would have used it. We dont abide thieves at ATF. But forgive us if we dont believe OR trust public defenders either.

I am a CJA (federally appointed)  investigator. I investigated a case that involved a storefront operations that ATF ran. After I finished the case, I came across evidence that the lead ATF investigator stole funds from the storefront operation. I have made a report to ATF IA and it has been almost one year now and this guy is still working. Is this common? He has multiple working IA cases against him.

CJA? Educate us please. If internal affairs is not acting timely, you should notify DOJ/IG. A year is more than enough time to either CLEAR the Agent, or forward the allegations to ATFs PRB. There are several possibilities as to why this Agent is still on the job. First, he could have been cleared of any wrongdoing. Second, he/she is a boss or favored by bosses at HQ which suggests they tamped down the allegations. They could also be wanting to sweep it under the carpet since we have been getting so much bad press for the way our leadership conducts its internal reviews. If this is significant and symptomatic of the corruption lingering in our upper echelon, might I suggest that the media be engaged. OUR leadership thrives in the darkness and ONLY responds when light is shed on their misdeeds.

The quotes were taken directly from the Judge's ruling on a Motion to Suppress the Evidence - which has been published on Leagle.com.

WHO ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT? Whats your question?

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

WHERE WAS THIS TAKEN FROM? Context?

Initial thoughts.............if he/she is a boss, they'll be promoted.

"outstanding"?  "ethical"?   Really?  In a recent ruling by Federal Judge, James A. Parker:

 

"SA Ortiz's testimony ....... was inconsistent."

 

".....given SA Ortiz's extensive experience as an ATF agent in the criminal enforcement division, the Court cannot help but find that the misrepresentation was reckless."

 

"SA Ortiz had an obligation to refrain from making reckless, inaccurate statements....."

 

"......the Court finds......that this statement was reckless."

 

"After carefully reviewing the record, the Court concludes that SA Ortiz acted recklessly...."

 

"......the Court cannot help but find that the misrepresentation was reckless."

 

"The ATF agents involved in this case have repeatedly overlooked details that affect the accuracy of their statements."

 

"SA Ortiz's insouciant attitude is troubling to the Court. It demonstrates a disregard for his duty to accurately present the facts to the magistrate judge."

WHERE WAS THIS TAKEN FROM? Context?

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.

Hilltopper,

That is insane. How is such an environment allowed to thrive in a federal law enforcement agency? It is truly embarrassing. It does go to what we have been chatting about here over the past few days. Not only does the current system allow for Princes of the City at the GS 14 level, but it allows for impenetratable cliques. If the agents who refuse to get along faced being moved to seperate corners of the US at some point in their career, then they would care more about learning how to get along with others. With each passing day, I believe it more and more.

I also would love to see some of the failures in this agency demoted or publicly criticized for bad acts. Instead they are brought into HQ, sometimes with a more impressive title. Then they later reemerge emboldened by their promotion believing that they never screwed up at all. At all pay grades from GS5 to DD, punishment should be swift, fair and equal. It's leadership 101 taught at any NCO school.

And the hits just keep on coming. So Mr. Jones got embarrassed by Chairman Issa about transferring Zapor to Phoenix after failing miserably as SAC Minn. and DAD. So after only 9 months, they are demoting Attaberry and transferring him BACK to Phx. Lets do the math.........3 x $150000 per move for 9 months of performance. And we wonder WHY there is no continuity of leadership. Cudos to Mr. Jones for reversing a bad decision, but the musical bosses has to stop. NO ACCOUNTABILITY because none of these guys stay in one place.

 

Now add in the Chris Shaffer transfer back to HQ after 9 months in Atl. Same with Sweetow, you have to ask, "IS ANYONE THINKING THESE TRANSFERS THROUGH?" Remember, for all those being transferred with barely a year in place, someone needs to be transferred to back-fill their slots @$150000 per move.

 

Cleary they eased SAC Torres outta Tampa because Brandon(rumor has it) is leaving the DD slot to retire in Tampa. No demotion below SES, no loss of salary.

 

This ties in directly to what Heisenberg and Hilltopper are saying.Brandon clearly violated ALL of our standards and his conduct clearly contributed to EVERYONE losing their outside Bureau employment approval by letting Mc Mahon DBL dip. Yet NO PRB for him OR Torres. They allowed them to stay until they were forced to act because of the OIG report and Congressional oversight, and then??????????? They lose NOT ONE STEP. Does beg to question why Brandon would stick around after stepping down 3 levels. Doesn't that necessarily IMPACT his credibility and ability to lead? Guess not.

 

Mr. Jones thru Mr. Brandons memo suggests they get it. They want to hear from you. These posts should be compiled and sent directly to Director Jones. Unless of course everyone is afraid of reprisals as has been the case for his entire 2 yrs. Its time to clean up this mess Mr. Jones, but obviously listening to your executive staff isn't working or you wouldn't need to keep shuffling these guys. The field will KNOW when you are genuine when you quit protecting incompetents, and demand leadership. Until then, it appears to just be more smoke and mirrors.

 

Maybe trying to resolve some of these disputes in good faith, slowing the multiple transfers and demanding that your staff does their jobs, will enlist the 5000 field employees support.

Goodworker, If true, that's sad to hear. My experience with those guys was always pleasant, but to be honest I've never judged an agent or boss's character by their paperwork. To me, if they made cases, and put guys in jail as agents, and support their guys who are making cases as bosses, then I'm good with that. Too many of our leaders would not know a case if it fell in their lap. The closest thing they had to a CI was a Fax Machine.

Mr. Jones bragged to Congress that he replaced most of the leadership. NO he didn't. He shifted them. Musical chairs was all. Not one demotion beyond Bill Newell, and he got a sweet deal. The Director protected and is still protecting bad actors. This hurts the good managers and empowers the bad ones.