Excellent article. I know ATF has plenty of people with extensive law enforcement, military, and international experience that can make significant cases like those described here with the proper support.

I'm not sure how many people are awarded the title "Honorary ATF Agent." Rep. Jim Lightfoot was, and he lists it as among his accomplishments.

Iceman tells it straight --- and I'll be a bit more specific, in one instance of which I have direct knowledge. The Congress was bent on withholding $10 million from ATF's budget. That might not sound like a lot of bucks in today's environment, but not getting it would have meant laying off ATF employees; a significant number of them.

Rep. Lightfoot stuck $10 million for ATF into an agricultural appropriations bill, and saved the jobs (if not careers) of however many ATF employees that $10 million would buy.

I believe Rep. Lightfoot wrote what he did about ATF out of concern for its survival, and because of his profound belief in the core ATF mission. As he points out, ATF has been without a permanent Director for some 6 years now. Not having a permanent Director is flat out irresponsible, especially for an agency with a mission like ATF's mission.

It is unclear whether the top executives at ATF, or their counterparts at the Department of Justice, realize the role Rep. Lightfoot played in supporting ATF and saving some untold numbers of jobs and careers. He was clearly moved by the instances of abuse at ATF that he cited; enough so to take the time to write the letter he wrote. His wise counsel is worth heeding.

Thanks goes out to Rep. Lightfoot for caring.

Had to add this. Just came off the presses with Jay talking to his alma mater before they play the #1 team in the country this week.

If you could stand in front of this year’s team and address them before the Oregon game, what advice would you give them regarding your experience against USC in 1981?
You have absolutely nothing to lose so just let it all out. Take risks. Be reckless. Play like wild men. You wanna be the champ? Then you gotta knock out the guy with the belt. So punch him in the head as hard as you can as many times as possible and live with what happens.

We are pulling for you. Especially hope you lay it on JT. Major malfunction there.

Go for the gusto. Good luck.

I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving and I have to tell you that CNBC just aired a show called Remington Under Fire. The show revealed that the Remington model 700 rifle has a long history of accidental discharges for two reasons: Depending on the year that the rifle was made, when you switch the safety off, the gun may fire and after a certain year, the "trigger connector" may cause an accidental discharge. Either way, it is important to protect your friends and family. As investigators, it is important to know in case someone is killed with one of the effected weapons because an innocent person may go to prison over a death they were not responsible for. Let your friends know of this possible hazard. Some of these weapons are used by SWAT snipers and military snipers. We all know the negative reprocussions that can result if someone is killed by a law enforcement official while on duty.

On 21 Nov 10, 60 mins did a story on how the DEA captured the Merchant of Death, the largest private arms dealer in the world. The DEA brought the Merchant of Death back to the US this week. Kudos to our DEA brothers and sisters for a well run investigation. I do not know if any other agency had any part of this investigation but it appears the DEA was the lead agency. I highly recommend the video which you should be able to find on line.

No, I got the point and appreciate aldegadoiss post and am in agreement with his position. I was striving for historical accuracy.

Thank you microscope. You got the point I was trying to make and I will go into the public access PACER account today and get the exact USC that he was charged with and the USC that he actually pled to so that no one else can change the focus or spirit of my post.

Today I went to see the new movie Fair Game. The movie is about the unlawful act of Scooter Libby who publicly exposed the true identity of a CIA Covert Operations Officer named Valerie Plame. Plame is married to former Ambassador Joe Wilson who in 2002 traveled to the country of Niger to determine the validity of intelligence that Iraq attempted to obtain an enriched Uranium derivative to make nuclear weapons. Wilson determined that this intelligence was not valid and reported his findings to the CIA. The Bush administration used inaccurate information about the Iraqi efforts to justify the war in Iraq and the rest is history. This movie perfectly demonstrates to the world how some people in the US government can use their position or access to government information to mislead our leaders and fellow Americans. As a result of this misinformation campaign, the American Government will waste billions of dollars on efforts that lead to unproductive ends. Many of us who have stepped forward to report wrong doing can empathize with Valerie Plame and Mr. Wilson. We know what it feels like to drum up the courage to come forward despite our co-workers telling us that they will deny ever making a statement because they do not want to be part of rocking the boat. We know the uneasy feeling of paying for attorneys and dealing with the stress that comes with telling the truth. We know the feeling of thinking I have no choice when we see things are being done wrong or illegally. We just keep the faith that true justice will prevail and that the dishonest perpetrators will eventually be held accountable for all of their improper acts. I recommend the movie if you think that the stories we put up on this web site are not the truth. It is not a funny movie nor is it an action packed movie. It is about bad people in our government who will try anything to discredit and ruin the lives of honest government employees. So if you think this web site is full of a bunch of whiners and disgruntled employees making comments, I suggest you see the movie and if you really want to test the waters, try reporting some misconduct and see how quickly your perspective will be changed.

I took Mr. Melson at his word when he said that people should use their real names and come forward with their grievences. I have used my real name on this web site since it's start. I have been open, honest, and professional. On 29 Jun 10 I went to a mediation with ATF. We talked for about 8 hours and they said we might have a deal but we must get the blessing from HQ. The ATF legal crew waited over 30 days to ask the powers that be if we have a deal. The powers that be allegedly said no deal- we will go to a hearing. ATF sent Chris Pellettiere to take part in my mediation. Pellettiere was one of the ASACs in the Miami Field Division (MFD)while I was experiencing retaliation. I have alleged that I was retaliated against by Pellettiere for reporting my supervisor and another group supervisor. I then sent a professional e-mail to SAC Julie Torres to help me with these issues and I did not get a response from her. I did get a Letter of Caution from Pellettiere for "your insubordinate and disrespectful conduct on September 2, 2005." Why doesn't ATF produce my controversial e-mail to SAC Torres for Mr. Melson to see? What in my memo was insubordinate or disrespectful? Why would ATF send one of the people that I have alleged to have retaliated against me to a mediation where he is basically defending his own actions, with ATF HQ, that contributed to what I have alleged was a failure of leadership? ATF wants me to stop writing on this web site yet they did not keep their word in providing me a professional environment to work. ATF has had three opportunities to make things right in mediation since 2006 and each time they shut the door on my face. This is also happening while a Chicago Police Officer was shot this morning. He is going to be ok but three other Chicago officers have died since May. I would think that ATF would do more to help the police and citizens of Chicago instead of prevent a hard working former Chicago Police Officer and ex ATF Agent from using his knowledge and experience to fight crime in the City of Chicago. I could have put a lot of bad guys in prison in Chicago over the last 4.5 years that I have been excluded from ATF. If ATF allows its supervisory employees to lie against their own employees or former employees, what is going on with the real criminals on the street?

Let's keep our brother in our prayers. And PLEASE take the time to write Eric Holder and the Senators. We have provided their Numbers and a cut and past message below. It could have been you.

Thanks for letting us know what is going on with him down in the VI.

[quote name='Mallard Duck' date='11 June 2010 - 09:58 AM' timestamp='1276271883' post='754']
I am fairly new to the agency, however I have been in the presence of Mr. Melson several times in the past year. I am impressed by his passion and what I believe to be sincerity in his desire to make ATF better. If you believe that as well, a thank you for his efforts is in order from time to time and not just continual smacking him with a stick. I understand words are not enough and action is the true indicator of change but at the same time the employee protection that is talked about so much here in the forum extends to bad eggs as well. ATF is also a large agency and change will take time so I want to give him the benefit of doubt and have some patience. It is likely that if a situation that has been brought to the agency’s attention and is dealt with, it certainly won’t be announced with a news release but will be quietly handled due to employee privacy requirements.

This forum is likely a major factor in the uptick in communication from the Deputy Director and I think that’s a good thing. The rocks that are being turned over here are most certainly being looked at by management and with the high visibility this forum brings, are not likely to be swept under the rug.

I do think the Deputy Director’s call for civility and professionalism in expressing dissent is warranted. A sharp spear can accomplish the task better than blunt force trauma. Posting that “SAC Smith seems to lack the will to take action” will carry more weight than “Gutless Smith lacks the ba##s to do anything”.

Again, I’m just rookie and don’t have the deep experience that most of you have. In summary I think this forum is very valuable and would just offer that options be expressed professionally. Also I am going to give Mr. Melson some time and see what changes occur in the next 12 months.

Nuff said… thanks for allowing me to express my thoughts.

This is addressed to anyone in a position of power who is willing to use their power to correct a lot of wrongs. I am, Adam Delgado, a former ATF Agent assigned to the San Juan Field Office. Over the last six years I have attempted to do the right thing and comply with ATF instructions. I have attempted mediation on two occasions and nothing fruitful was offered by Ms Loos.

A friend of mine was an 1811 with the Postal Inspectors and her boss gave her a hard time about doing her military reserve duty and she ended up resigning from her 1811 job. After 2-3 months, someone in the Postal Service noticed that there was something wrong with this situation and instead of ignoring the problem, that person wrote an official letter to my friend, apologizing for the error about military leave and offering my friend her job back with full compensation/reinstatement. I was floored with how easy that whole situation was resolved and I told my friend that she had better take that offer because she would never have any ground to stand on in any future litigation. I told her I wish I would have gotten a letter like that. Instead, I have spent over $100,000 in legal fees, court reporter costs, court fees, travel to/from Washington DC and Puerto Rico as well as my mortgage for my house in Puerto Rico that I have not been able to sell. ATF does not need a Federal Judge or an Administrative Judge to tell them to do the right thing. ATF only needs to take it upon themselves to stop compounding the damage. I worked hard in Puerto Rico. I did 3 years and six months in Puerto Rico, a hardship location. I had asked to be transferred to Chicago and it was refused. I asked for a hardship transfer to Chicago and my supervisor did not recommend approval. Chicago is now in dire need of more Agents to help stem the rash of violent crimes that are occurring in Chicago. As a former Chicago Police Officer with nine years of experience, I know the violent parts of Chicago and I can make a difference. Stop the attorneys from making this more complicated that what it needs to be please.

I was given an inaccurate Standard Form 50 upon my resignation. The SF 50 stated I had 14 years of education when actually I have 18 years of education. I asked ATF Counsel Valerie Bacon, via e-mail, to forward my request to the HR people to give me a corrected SF 50 and I have not received anything. For those former ATF employees, I suggest that you have another civilian personnel office look at your SF 50 to see if there is inaccurate or derogatory information on it as you may not be able to get another Federal job because of a bad SF 50. I left ATF because of the discrimination I was exposed to by ATF supervisors as well as Whistle Blower retaliation for my reporting illegal activities, possible criminal acts by Task Force Agents, abuse of power, and an Internal Affairs investigator told me that "If you are going to sling mud, you had better expect mud to be slung back at you." I asked him if I was under investigation and he said no but he did go up to the US Attorney's Office to speak to lawyers there about me. The IA guy tried to get dirt on me, the complainant. The IA guy did open a case on a fellow agent who spoke highly of me. This caused a lot of undue stress on the agent, who like me, only told the truth. I made a complaint against my former supervisor, a GS-14, who the IA guy claimed under oath is his friend. When asked under oath, my former supervisor, stated that he did not consider the IA guy as his friend. There were a lot of other conflicting statements during the depositions if someone with some integrity would care to review the transcripts. A probationary agent could find the inconsistencies in the testimony of some of the deponents. I reported all of this to the Department of Justice OIG and they too ignored it. Puerto Rico has the highest crime rate of any place that flys the American flag. Why did ATF Puerto Rico have such terrible numbers during 2003-2007? Why did an ASAC from the Miami Field Division come to Puerto Rico and tell a group of 1811's, "you guys need to stop stealing your pay checks." Why was an agent promoted to a GS-14 position right after he threaten his fellow agents with a baseball bat in an e-mail from his ATF account? There were serious problems in Puerto Rico and all I did was my job. This is an opportunity for the ATF leadership to make a move in the right direction. Show us all how serious you are about making things right. I would welcome the opportunity to speak with Mr. Melson as he said he was will to do during the CNN interview.

I stand corrected on one aspect of SF 50 comment. A friend notified me that the education level is a code and the code 14 is correct for my education level. I will go back to the civilian personnel specialist and let her know she gave me bad information.

Adam, I don't not want to sound like a defeatist but rather a realist. Do not expect the current management of ATF to do the right and proper thing. That just simply is not going to happen. It hasn't happened in a more than a decade and it is not going to happen now.

Good luck to you in whatever you are doing now. You may very well be better off no longer being subject to the tyranny to which many of the managers and legal beagles are subjecting good people in the organization. They are not all bad but, regretably, many are.

Tne organization needs a true leader to reign in these managers and lawyers who break the law. ATF has had some excellent past Directors but it has not had one with guts and spine since the mid-1990s. That's a large part of the reason I left when I did.

I agree that not all supervisors are bad. I had a great supervisor while deployed to Mississippi for Hurricane Katrina. He did more for me in 4 weeks then my regular supervisor did for me in 2.5 years. This is just my effort to demonstrate to the judge that I tried to be reasonable along with all of my other efforts since 2003. I have made a pattern of doing what is best for my country instead of what is best for me. I have 26 years of honorable military service and I am highly decorated. I will be sure to demonstrate everything I have done for my country in my military career. There is an old quote that states in gist, there is a price to pay for changing things and there is a price to pay for leaving things the same. IF I did nothing, I would still be in Puerto Rico doing everything under sun without my bosses support and I would be watching the fleecing of America while innocent Puerto Rican citizens were being slaughtered on the streets of Bayamon, Toa Baja, and San Juan. By doing something, I will eventually prove everything that I have alleged. I hope my old supervisors did not go into the management logs and delete all of entries I made about how dangerous certain subjects were. I know some of my entries were deleted while I was there. I believe that is a crime, someone might want to take a look at that. I am glad you are enjoying your retirement but some of us young bloods, I am 45, still have some work to do.

This is addressed to anyone in a position of power who is willing to use their power to correct a lot of wrongs. I am, Adam Delgado, a former ATF Agent assigned to the San Juan Field Office. Over the last six years I have attempted to do the right thing and comply with ATF instructions. I have attempted mediation on two occasions and nothing fruitful was offered by Ms Loos. A friend of mine was an 1811 with the Postal Inspectors and her boss gave her a hard time about doing her military reserve duty and she ended up resigning from her 1811 job. After 2-3 months, someone in the Postal Service noticed that there was something wrong with this situation and instead of ignoring the problem, that person wrote an official letter to my friend, apologizing for the error about military leave and offering my friend her job back with full compensation/reinstatement. I was floored with how easy that whole situation was resolved and I told my friend that she had better take that offer because she would never have any ground to stand on in any future litigation. I told her I wish I would have gotten a letter like that. Instead, I have spent over $100,000 in legal fees, court reporter costs, court fees, travel to/from Washington DC and Puerto Rico as well as my mortgage for my house in Puerto Rico that I have not been able to sell. ATF does not need a Federal Judge or an Administrative Judge to tell them to do the right thing. ATF only needs to take it upon themselves to stop compounding the damage. I worked hard in Puerto Rico. I did 3 years and six months in Puerto Rico, a hardship location. I had asked to be transferred to Chicago and it was refused. I asked for a hardship transfer to Chicago and my supervisor did not recommend approval. Chicago is now in dire need of more Agents to help stem the rash of violent crimes that are occurring in Chicago. As a former Chicago Police Officer with nine years of experience, I know the violent parts of Chicago and I can make a difference. Stop the attorneys from making this more complicated that what it needs to be please. I was given an inaccurate Standard Form 50 upon my resignation. The SF 50 stated I had 14 years of education when actually I have 18 years of education. I asked ATF Counsel Valerie Bacon, via e-mail, to forward my request to the HR people to give me a corrected SF 50 and I have not received anything. For those former ATF employees, I suggest that you have another civilian personnel office look at your SF 50 to see if there is inaccurate or derogatory information on it as you may not be able to get another Federal job because of a bad SF 50. I left ATF because of the discrimination I was exposed to by ATF supervisors as well as Whistle Blower retaliation for my reporting illegal activities, possible criminal acts by Task Force Agents, abuse of power, and an Internal Affairs investigator told me that "If you are going to sling mud, you had better expect mud to be slung back at you." I asked him if I was under investigation and he said no but he did go up to the US Attorney's Office to speak to lawyers there about me. The IA guy tried to get dirt on me, the complainant. The IA guy did open a case on a fellow agent who spoke highly of me. This caused a lot of undue stress on the agent, who like me, only told the truth. I made a complaint against my former supervisor, a GS-14, who the IA guy claimed under oath is his friend. When asked under oath, my former supervisor, stated that he did not consider the IA guy as his friend. There were a lot of other conflicting statements during the depositions if someone with some integrity would care to review the transcripts. A probationary agent could find the inconsistencies in the testimony of some of the deponents. I reported all of this to the Department of Justice OIG and they too ignored it. Puerto Rico has the highest crime rate of any place that flys the American flag. Why did ATF Puerto Rico have such terrible numbers during 2003-2007? Why did an ASAC from the Miami Field Division come to Puerto Rico and tell a group of 1811's, "you guys need to stop stealing your pay checks." Why was an agent promoted to a GS-14 position right after he threaten his fellow agents with a baseball bat in an e-mail from his ATF account? There were serious problems in Puerto Rico and all I did was my job. This is an opportunity for the ATF leadership to make a move in the right direction. Show us all how serious you are about making things right. I would welcome the opportunity to speak with Mr. Melson as he said he was will to do during the CNN interview.

Ken Melson you just looked America in the eye and lied to them. There has been retaliation on your watch! It exists and continues. You know it and we know it. You have been decieved by your advisors. Pull your head out and take a look around. You are in denial!

I went to the CNN web site right after the show and expressed that it is terrible about the oil spill and it's impact on the ocean, the plant life, wildlife, and of course the people. I diplomatically stated that CNN should have run the whole 55 minutes as these brave Americans put themselves out there for the rest of us. They deserve a full oppportunity to tell their stories as this alleged misconduct and mismanagement is a fleecing of America and it is making American's vulnerable to more violent crime. CNN did not post my comment. I hope they give this story more air time tonight.

Tonight on national and international television, the internet and on sites across the world wide web the vindication of ATF Special Agent Vince Cefalu will continue and take a giant step forward.

It doesn't matter if you like him. It doesn't matter if you agree with his methods. Nothing he has ever done or said warrants what ATF has done to him.

He stepped up when executives in the agency were engaging in and permitting corrupt investigative practices and his reward was whistleblower retaliation and the ATF led destruction of his career, reputation, finances, mental and physical health and most importantly - a huge damage to his wife and children. All so some corrupt executives could cover their tracks.

Watch tonight and find out a side of the story that the ATF wrongdoers have lied about for the past 3 years and have spun to the world as that of a disgruntled agent.

You be the judge.

I appreciate the courage and professionalism that SA Cefalu has demonstrated on taking a stand to do the right thing. As a fellow ATF whistle blower, I understand the stress and frustration that he and his family have experienced with ATF's legal counsel and leadership. Thank you Vince!

How is it that Ms Loos can sit through depositions of an ATF GS-14 who admitted under oath to making the comment, “You will be dead if you call Internal Affairs” and “your career will be dead” and think there is nothing wrong with this? In what corporation could a supervisor just get a verbal admonishment for this yet they took the gun from another agent who only made the comment, “if you want to make this personal, we can make it personal.” How can ATF protect supervisors who abused their authority and their lack of leadership resulted in embarrassing low numbers of guns recovered from proactive cases in a 12 month period in Puerto Rico where crime is the highest in the US and its territories? How can GS-14s perjure themselves in depositions and no one does anything about it? How can an honest employee who complies with ATF directives instructing him to report illegal and improper conduct be forced out of service from ATF? Why are GS-14s allowed to operate with impunity while destroying morale and damaging the reputation of ATF? Why did ATF send an Internal Affairs investigator, who is good friends with the GS-14 who is accused of wrong doing, to look into the allegation of wrong doing? Why was the IA agent allowed to go after me, the complainant, and another agent who spoke favorably of my investigative skills, work ethic, and professionalism?

Hiram, Thank you for having the courage to come forward. I am a ATF-San Juan Alum and I have heard your name before. I do not think that any of us are asking for too much when we ask to go to work and do our 10 hours in a professional environment. All we want to do are our jobs and go home to enjoy our families. I felt safer on the streets of San Juan (highest crime rate in the US) than I did in my office with the unprofessional and illegal conduct that was going on in the office. I hope that someone with some authority will see this reappearing pattern of the same abuse of authority, lying, and fraud waste and abuse allegations. We need more people to come forward and tell the truth otherwise the bad employees will win. There is a quote that goes something along the lines of, there is a cost to make change and there is just as much of a cost to leave things the same. You get the gist of the quote. If we are going to live with stress, lets have the stress serve a positive purpose-CHANGE. Then and only then will ATF actually be one of the top 10 places to work in the Federal government. Regards Adam