[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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