[nfbmi-talk] not paranoid there is a plot against pwd

[joe harcz Comcast]

Not blindness related per se, but this is disability related and totally outragious behavior by any measure. 



Joe



National disability group The Arc rips ATF operation, demands reform

• ATF leaves behind a trashed 'Squid's Smoke Shop' in Portland

list end

Backfire

 

images/MJS_backfirelogo1

A Journal Sentinel investigation uncovered mistakes and failures in an undercover sting in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,

Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – stolen guns, sensitive documents lost, wrong people charged and a burglary of the sting storefront.

 

Go to section.

 

A

national disability rights group

on Friday ripped ATF operations that used mentally disabled people and then charged them, demanding that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder take immediate

action.

 

In a letter to Holder,

The Arc's chief executive officer, Peter V. Berns,

wrote he was "appalled" by a

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation

that revealed ATF agents "engaging in entrapment and exploitation designed to prey on the intellectual disability of individuals whom ATF agents sought

to engage in their stings."

 

Berns

called on Holder

to:

 

¦Launch an investigation into the practices.

 

¦Stop practices that "exploit people based on their intellectual and/or developmental disability."

 

¦Suspend ongoing investigations targeting such people.

 

¦Create a training program for ATF agents on how to identify people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and establish rules to ensure they

are not targeted or sought out as informants due to having a disability.

 

¦Encourage the Department of Justice inspector general to quickly investigate the practice.

 

¦Petition the courts to review the cases and punishment given to people with intellectual disabilities who are serving time for "crimes initiated or furthered

by the actions of ATF agents."

 

The

Journal Sentinel investigation

found that the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives used people with mental disabilities to promote its operations and turned around

and charged them. In Portland, Ore., an agent persuaded and paid a mentally disabled man to get a tattoo on his neck of the storefront's logo, a squid

smoking a joint.

 

In Milwaukee,

agents hired Chauncey Wright,

who has an IQ of 54, to promote their operation by riding his bike around handing out fliers. They pressed him for guns and drugs, paying him in cigarettes,

cash and merchandise, and then arrested him.

 

A Wichita, Kan., man with an IQ in the mid-50s was hired by agents to work at the storefront, promote the operation and get guns and drugs. He was paid

in cigarettes, cash and merchandise. Tony Bruner was eventually arrested on more than 100 criminal counts.

 

In Albuquerque, agents gave a brain-damaged drug addict a "tutorial" on machine guns and instructed him to go get them one. He returned with such a gun

and then was charged with selling it.

 

And in Pensacola, Fla., a mentally disabled man with no criminal record who was selling guns in a newspaper was ensnared by the ATF. Agents employed a felon

who bought the guns from Jeremy Norris. They paid so much that Norris and family members bought guns at stores and sold them directly to the ATF storefront.

 

"Without a firm repudiation of the reported behaviors by ATF agents, the public and the disability community, in particular, will lose faith in a department

which it trusts to protect its rights, not to entice vulnerable people into legal trouble," The Arc's Berns wrote.

 

A longtime ATF special agent said he believes most of his colleagues would not ensnare the mentally disabled in operations. He called the revelations "very

embarrassing."

 

"Taking advantage of mentally handicapped is pretty cheap, that's pretty low. You are really taking advantage of a child, if you will," said the agent,

who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the issue.

 

"That is not what we do. We take on the worst of the worst, not the mentally disadvantaged kid. That's no worst of the worst. ... That's poor judgment and

people should be held accountable."

 

The Journal Sentinel investigation also found that agents set up operations near schools and churches, allowing them to arrest people on more serious charges;

let felons armed with guns leave the sting storefronts; paid high prices that encouraged people to buy guns from stores and sell them to agents; bought

stolen goods, spurring burglaries in the area; and drew in juveniles by allowing them to play video games, smoke marijuana and drink alcohol.

 

A Justice Department spokeswoman said officials are reviewing the letter. An ATF spokeswoman did not respond.

 

Expanded inquiry sought

 

In the wake of the Journal Sentinel investigation, the

Department of Justice and ATF asked Inspector General Michael Horowitz to expand his ongoing investigation

into ATF storefront stings. Horowitz's investigation was launched earlier this year following Journal Sentinel reports into problems in an

ATF sting in Milwaukee.

 

A spokesman for the inspector general declined to comment Friday on whether the investigation will be expanded.

 

Members of both parties in Congress are demanding answers.

 

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.)

sent a letter this week

saying the findings were "deeply troubling" and called for an investigation into the ATF's tactics.

 

"The methods and tactics used to get illegal firearms off the street raise a number of questions that need to be answered,"

Baldwin wrote in the letter

to Holder, Horowitz and ATF Director B. Todd Jones.

 

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee)

issued a statement

saying ATF must be careful "not exacerbate our current problems" as agents fight crime. Earlier, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) issued a statement calling

for an investigation.

 

It is the latest uproar from congressional members, who first called for an investigation after the Journal Sentinel revealed the foul-ups and failures

of the Milwaukee operation, which included Agent Michael Aalto having his guns — including a machine gun — stolen. The machine gun has not been recovered.

 

In a briefing, ATF officials assured congressional staffers that failures in the Milwaukee sting were isolated, caused by poor oversight and planning. However,

they admitted the operation was reviewed at ATF headquarters in Washington nine times.

 

The Journal Sentinel's latest investigation reveals the problem goes much deeper than one operation.

 

In response to the Journal Sentinel's latest findings, ATF spokeswoman Ginger Colbrun disclosed this week that

the agency issued a "best practices and guidance handbook" in July

on how to conduct storefront stings. She also said the agency has created a spreadsheet of storefront operations nationwide and has implemented monthly

updates of the operations.

 

Also Friday, new photos surfaced that provide a look at the damage ATF agents did to a building they rented for the sting in Portland.

According to a report by Portland television station KATU,

the photos were provided by the leasing agent.

 

The Portland building's landlord, Jan Gilbertson, earlier told the Journal Sentinel the ATF agents cut holes in the wall, left trash and tore out a large

spotlight and in the process punctured a new $30,000 roof that then leaked and had to be repaired. The ATF never paid for the damage, she said.

 

The U.S. attorney's office in Portland issued a statement praising that operation while also welcoming an investigation into the sting.

 

"Undercover operations are critical and effective law enforcement tools, necessary to investigate and prosecute worthy cases," the statement said. "Our

goal remains to ensure that such operations are conducted in a manner that embodies and reflects our commitment to justice."

 

Source:

http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/national-disability-group-the-arc-rips-atf-operation-demands-reform-b99163143z1-235763721.html




National disability group The Arc rips ATF operation, demands reform

• ATF leaves behind a trashed 'Squid's Smoke Shop' in Portland

list end

Backfire

 

images/MJS_backfirelogo1

A Journal Sentinel investigation uncovered mistakes and failures in an undercover sting in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,

Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – stolen guns, sensitive documents lost, wrong people charged and a burglary of the sting storefront.

 

Go to section.

 

A

national disability rights group

on Friday ripped ATF operations that used mentally disabled people and then charged them, demanding that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder take immediate

action.

 

In a letter to Holder,

The Arc's chief executive officer, Peter V. Berns,

wrote he was "appalled" by a

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation

that revealed ATF agents "engaging in entrapment and exploitation designed to prey on the intellectual disability of individuals whom ATF agents sought

to engage in their stings."

 

Berns

called on Holder

to:

 

¦Launch an investigation into the practices.

 

¦Stop practices that "exploit people based on their intellectual and/or developmental disability."

 

¦Suspend ongoing investigations targeting such people.

 

¦Create a training program for ATF agents on how to identify people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and establish rules to ensure they

are not targeted or sought out as informants due to having a disability.

 

¦Encourage the Department of Justice inspector general to quickly investigate the practice.

 

¦Petition the courts to review the cases and punishment given to people with intellectual disabilities who are serving time for "crimes initiated or furthered

by the actions of ATF agents."

 

The

Journal Sentinel investigation

found that the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives used people with mental disabilities to promote its operations and turned around

and charged them. In Portland, Ore., an agent persuaded and paid a mentally disabled man to get a tattoo on his neck of the storefront's logo, a squid

smoking a joint.

 

In Milwaukee,

agents hired Chauncey Wright,

who has an IQ of 54, to promote their operation by riding his bike around handing out fliers. They pressed him for guns and drugs, paying him in cigarettes,

cash and merchandise, and then arrested him.

 

A Wichita, Kan., man with an IQ in the mid-50s was hired by agents to work at the storefront, promote the operation and get guns and drugs. He was paid

in cigarettes, cash and merchandise. Tony Bruner was eventually arrested on more than 100 criminal counts.

 

In Albuquerque, agents gave a brain-damaged drug addict a "tutorial" on machine guns and instructed him to go get them one. He returned with such a gun

and then was charged with selling it.

 

And in Pensacola, Fla., a mentally disabled man with no criminal record who was selling guns in a newspaper was ensnared by the ATF. Agents employed a felon

who bought the guns from Jeremy Norris. They paid so much that Norris and family members bought guns at stores and sold them directly to the ATF storefront.

 

"Without a firm repudiation of the reported behaviors by ATF agents, the public and the disability community, in particular, will lose faith in a department

which it trusts to protect its rights, not to entice vulnerable people into legal trouble," The Arc's Berns wrote.

 

A longtime ATF special agent said he believes most of his colleagues would not ensnare the mentally disabled in operations. He called the revelations "very

embarrassing."

 

"Taking advantage of mentally handicapped is pretty cheap, that's pretty low. You are really taking advantage of a child, if you will," said the agent,

who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the issue.

 

"That is not what we do. We take on the worst of the worst, not the mentally disadvantaged kid. That's no worst of the worst. ... That's poor judgment and

people should be held accountable."

 

The Journal Sentinel investigation also found that agents set up operations near schools and churches, allowing them to arrest people on more serious charges;

let felons armed with guns leave the sting storefronts; paid high prices that encouraged people to buy guns from stores and sell them to agents; bought

stolen goods, spurring burglaries in the area; and drew in juveniles by allowing them to play video games, smoke marijuana and drink alcohol.

 

A Justice Department spokeswoman said officials are reviewing the letter. An ATF spokeswoman did not respond.

 

Expanded inquiry sought

 

In the wake of the Journal Sentinel investigation, the

Department of Justice and ATF asked Inspector General Michael Horowitz to expand his ongoing investigation

into ATF storefront stings. Horowitz's investigation was launched earlier this year following Journal Sentinel reports into problems in an

ATF sting in Milwaukee.

 

A spokesman for the inspector general declined to comment Friday on whether the investigation will be expanded.

 

Members of both parties in Congress are demanding answers.

 

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.)

sent a letter this week

saying the findings were "deeply troubling" and called for an investigation into the ATF's tactics.

 

"The methods and tactics used to get illegal firearms off the street raise a number of questions that need to be answered,"

Baldwin wrote in the letter

to Holder, Horowitz and ATF Director B. Todd Jones.

 

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee)

issued a statement

saying ATF must be careful "not exacerbate our current problems" as agents fight crime. Earlier, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) issued a statement calling

for an investigation.

 

It is the latest uproar from congressional members, who first called for an investigation after the Journal Sentinel revealed the foul-ups and failures

of the Milwaukee operation, which included Agent Michael Aalto having his guns — including a machine gun — stolen. The machine gun has not been recovered.

 

In a briefing, ATF officials assured congressional staffers that failures in the Milwaukee sting were isolated, caused by poor oversight and planning. However,

they admitted the operation was reviewed at ATF headquarters in Washington nine times.

 

The Journal Sentinel's latest investigation reveals the problem goes much deeper than one operation.

 

In response to the Journal Sentinel's latest findings, ATF spokeswoman Ginger Colbrun disclosed this week that

the agency issued a "best practices and guidance handbook" in July

on how to conduct storefront stings. She also said the agency has created a spreadsheet of storefront operations nationwide and has implemented monthly

updates of the operations.

 

Also Friday, new photos surfaced that provide a look at the damage ATF agents did to a building they rented for the sting in Portland.

According to a report by Portland television station KATU,

the photos were provided by the leasing agent.

 

The Portland building's landlord, Jan Gilbertson, earlier told the Journal Sentinel the ATF agents cut holes in the wall, left trash and tore out a large

spotlight and in the process punctured a new $30,000 roof that then leaked and had to be repaired. The ATF never paid for the damage, she said.

 

The U.S. attorney's office in Portland issued a statement praising that operation while also welcoming an investigation into the sting.

 

"Undercover operations are critical and effective law enforcement tools, necessary to investigate and prosecute worthy cases," the statement said. "Our

goal remains to ensure that such operations are conducted in a manner that embodies and reflects our commitment to justice."

 

Source:

http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/national-disability-group-the-arc-rips-atf-operation-demands-reform-b99163143z1-235763721.html