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#2526 ATF's Proposed Termination of Special Agent & Whistleblower Vincent A...

Posted by 1V01ce0fR3as0n on 24 June 2011 - 06:15 PM in Cefalu, Vincent A. - Special Agent

ATF handed Vince Cefalu a letter yesterday telling him that he was to be fired for what ATF determined to be dastardly and infamous deeds. After decades of dedicated duty to country and mission, he, ATF deemed, was beyond rehabilitation and merited an unceremonious and ignominious shuffling out of those hallowed ATF portals. They took his badge and gun, and he walked out without so much as a look back at the ATF logo bearing the unwritten, “Arbeit macht Frei.” This action begs one, single, over-arching question above all others: What the hell were they thinking? Let us, for argument's sake, assume that the allegations against Vince are true and do not even include all of his transgressions. Stop to look at the timing of his termination notice. Only one week ago, Rep. Darell Issa expressly and unequivocally ordered ATF not to try to retaliate against agents involved in the current investigations of the debacle that was the Fast & Furious operation. Sen. Charles Grassley likewise gave ATF and DOJ similar marching orders on multiple occasions. The timing of Vince's termination proposal smacks of vengeful retaliation. ATF's and DOJ's clear joint response to their no-retaliation directives was to piss on the legs of Rep. Issa and Sen. Grassley. Somewhere tonight, Darell and Chuck are shaking off their pants legs incredulous at the unmistakable throwing down of the gauntlet by ATF and DOJ. Vince, while not directly a witness to the antics of F&F, nor a participant in the mayhem that it wrought, has been a vocal critic of the documented foolishness that led to the tragic deaths of at least two US law enforcement officers and an unknown number of Mexican nationals. He coordinated the efforts of whistle-blowers and tried to ensure that they would receive some protection from the retaliation that ATF managers would certainly mete if allowed. He has been vocal on this blog and everywhere people would listen about ATF abuses not only related to F&F, but all over the agency and the country. He has complained about ATF management's abdications of the agency mission and of their abuses of employees, and by extension of our communities. He was interviewed by CNN after having spent over two years with no assigned duties as a Special Agent. And after having filed complaint after complaint against the agency, uninvestigated and unaddressed all, ATF now renders a second Proposal of Termination, the first having been withdrawn years ago after it also was shown to be pretextual and retaliatory. The buyers of Cadillacs, discriminators, perjurers, filers of false police reports and smugglers of firearms into Mexico still clip-clop their Italian-leathered soles around ATF Headquarters with impunity, but Vince had to be drummed out immediately lest he taint the crisp, cool linens that drape the incestuous four-poster that comprises ATF's top management and Counsels Office. So what brain-trust broke out the 5th Floor's Magic 8-Ball that said this was a good time to whack the hornet's nest again? Did ATF's hockey-helmeted management cadre orchestrate this alone, or did DOJ also jump into the mire, rubber booted and yellow-slickered, to lend their able talents? What discussions led them to decide that when you have an agency lambasted by criticisms across the board, internally and externally, that is a good time to throw a telegraphed hay-maker in front of the crowd just hoping for another agency foul? When in open Congressional hearings last week, witnesses testified that ATF is rife with examples of retaliation against employees, what untarnished genius concluded that the following week was the perfect time to launch a full frontal attack on one of the most vocal critics of ATF management decisions, to include the collusion of the ATF Counsels Office, and the abuses and retaliation carried out by both? And pray tell me the bonus that Public Affairs leadership will get for the epiphany to serve Vince the proposal on a Thursday, so he would have time to arrange media interviews that could run all weekend, the very weekend that Rep. Issa, et al, are in Mexico continuing their investigation of F&F? This was an act to show that ATF will show no more respect or consideration for its own than it did for the people of Mexico. And the question's icing, as it is with F&F, who knew what and when? Did Ken Melson know that this was coming in the middle of the current maelstrom, or did this catch him by surprise after the fact? Mr. Melson's background in law and science does not likely lend itself to impulsive acts. Either he knew and took careful consideration before either he rendered active approval or passive acquiescence, or he did not know and now finds himself in another morass spawned of those around him interested only in their own power and positions? If the former, then he is no better than those around him and merits no better end. If the latter, he needs to break ranks and show the leadership this agency needs right now. If he is interested in testifying before Congress about F&F and other issues at ATF, then he can include in his testimony unambiguous condemnation of what are clear examples of incompetence, abuse, and retaliation within ATF.