Vince Cefalu and the Road Dog Case

The last three defendents(victims)in the Road Dog Case were tried last month in Fresno. The Judge refused to let them each have their separate day in court. They were tried together in a three way circus of testimony and defense. Judge Wanger would admonished the jury to pay attention to only one defendent at a time during presentation of recordings,testimony and evidence. Wanger himself hindered defense efforts by refusing to allow Agent Cefalu to be called to testify about the vendetta task force members had against defendent Gary Ermoian. Wanger also impeded the defense by being highly critical of any defense statements that insinuated that LE acted improperly during the investigation. Yes...you heard right!!!! The Judge said if the defense goes there....he would allow all of the greater racketeering case to be brought in. Of course...prosecutor Montoya was allowed to state falsely that Bob Holloway was a Hells Angel who only associated with and did business with OMGs. Only one defendent received Justice. Two were found guilty. I hope appeals are made. None of these defendents should have been brought into this corrupt investigation. My best to former bailiff Dave Swanson on his acquittal. My prayers go to PI Gary Ermoian and dog handler Stephen Johnson who are to be sentenced on Nov.1st. These men went to trial to stand up against the corrupt investigation and lost. Bob Holloway, Brent Hollway and Tony Fantacone who accepted pleas are to be sentenced on Sept. 14th. All of the victims are in my prayers.

Agreed and agreed.

I want to add my thanks also!!!

Please give us updates when you can Agent Cefalu!!

Vince, you knew you were going to suffer personally and professionally when you went toe to toe with the big boys and you have. Thanks for taking a stand against the bullys for all of us "little guys". It may not count for much to you but the executives will think twice before they try to pull the b.s. on us that they did with you.

Agreed and agreed.

Thank you microscope for the support and encouraging words. Ray Charles can see what went on with regards to this debacle. It should be noted that this and the issues leading up to the CNN piece occurred prior to Mr. Melson joining the agency. Although it is true he ignored the abuses when he got here, it is equally clear that he has received horrible counsel and misleading information from his advisers. Yes he has an obligation to fix these issues and make the people who were impacted by years of reprisals whole. BUT, this wasnt broken in a day or a month and its not going to be fixed in a day or a month. It would appear that Mr. Melson is now recognizing the destruction he has inherited and is committed to making things right and getting back to the business of catching badguys. We will see!!!!! Prayers to Will Clark and his family. Write those congressional letters People.

Vince, you knew you were going to suffer personally and professionally when you went toe to toe with the big boys and you have. Thanks for taking a stand against the bullys for all of us "little guys". It may not count for much to you but the executives will think twice before they try to pull the b.s. on us that they did with you.

Thank you microscope for the support and encouraging words. Ray Charles can see what went on with regards to this debacle. It should be noted that this and the issues leading up to the CNN piece occurred prior to Mr. Melson joining the agency. Although it is true he ignored the abuses when he got here, it is equally clear that he has received horrible counsel and misleading information from his advisers. Yes he has an obligation to fix these issues and make the people who were impacted by years of reprisals whole. BUT, this wasnt broken in a day or a month and its not going to be fixed in a day or a month. It would appear that Mr. Melson is now recognizing the destruction he has inherited and is committed to making things right and getting back to the business of catching badguys. We will see!!!!! Prayers to Will Clark and his family. Write those congressional letters People.

Yesterday, on the verge of a Franks Hearing to determine the credibility of the wiretap that the Road Dog prosecution was based upon, the government offered a plea deal to the main defendant in the case, which was accepted. In 2005 ATF Special Agent Vince Cefalu was leading a team of undercover ATF agents intent on investigating and prosecuting the suspect/defendant. A splinter faction of that task force circumvented ATF's efforts because they were determined to use a wiretap, which Cefalu was resisting. Cefalu reported the illegal and premature methods that were used to sabotage and shutdown the ATF investigation by the overzealous task force agents. Cefalu's reward for speaking the truth and reporting illegal police activity was for a select few ATF agents with an axe to grind, an agenda to serve and failures to protect; to fabricate evidence, to destroy evidence, to fabricate lies against Cefalu, to transfer him multiple times, to propose his termination, to slander his name and reputation, to commit perjury against him, to unjustly label him as a malcontent and agency “hater”, and ultimately to idle him in a position with no duty or future. Who out there could withstand suffering under this treatment for 5 years? The truth of this matter and the saddest part for ATF is this all of this could have, and should have been avoided. ATF intentionally decided to make things worse rather than fix the problem. ATF executives expected Cefalu to break down and quit. He didn't. Instead of heeding Agent Cefalu’s warnings of the illegal activity, ATF executives scapegoated Cefalu simply because he blew the whistle. ATF executives sacrificed the career of a dedicated ATF agent to protect their failures. Agent Cefalu became an easy and convenient target for ATF to blame and then used all their power and might and attorneys to destroy Cefalu’s reputation, finances and career. The Office of Special Counsel had been poised to conduct an independent investigation into allegations of perjury by ATF agents stemming from the conflicting testimony of SAC Mike Gleysteen, GS Dennis Downs and SA Chris Bort. ATF attorneys asked the OSC to stand down on their corruption investigation pending the outcome of the federal Road Dog prosecution. With the plea deal that restriction has been lifted and OSC can go to work unimpeded by ATF. The executives of ATF are going to be held accountable for what they did and, in several instances and more importantly, what they did not do. I do believe that Mr. Melson wants to know the truth. He is now going to get it. To bad that the OSC is going to have be the ones to deliver that message instead of the confidants he trusts to brief him. To Mr. Melson’s endless denials; retribution, retaliation, reprisal and hostile work environments have been heaped on Agent Cefalu during our Acting Director/Deputy Director's time in charge. The truth always finds a way to surface if those that are pressing for it remain resilient. Mr. Melson you need to ask yourself a question. Was watching from the sidelines while a good agent and a good man was crushed on your watch worth it? You could have put an end to this but you sat back and watched.