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

Christine Boone christineboone2 at gmail.com
Tue Dec 17 22:40:58 UTC 2013


This is really awful!  
On Dec 15, 2013, at 9:36 AM, joe harcz Comcast <joeharcz at comcast.net> wrote:

> 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
> 
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