Who's Listening?

ATF's Murderous Gunrunning Scheme "Operation Fast and Furious" is Exposed

2011-07-26T11:56:00.000-07:00

Kevin O'Neill, Posted July 26, 2011

In the last four years along the Mexican-United States border more than 12,000 people have died as a result of drug-related violence. In 2008 the U.S. government sent millions of dollars to Mexico to partially fund roughly 10,000 soldiers to be deployed along the border in an effort to curb the violence from its most dangerous drug cartel. Simultaneously, and unbeknownst to the Mexican government and U.S. citizens of the Southwest, Phoenix-based Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents began facilitating the trafficking of guns across the U.S.- Mexican border into the hands of drug cartel enforcers for the drug war. ATF sanctioned the illegal sale of thousands of guns through its puppet gun dealers, knowing they would be used for murder, kidnapping, torture and/or violent assaults. The guns included .50 caliber sniper rifles, AK-47s and numerous other assault weapons. None of this apparently mattered to ATF management with its "good-ol'-boy network" and "ingrained us-versus-them mentality" (quoting former ATF Agent William Queen), until a federal border patrol agent was killed in a December 2009 shootout and two of the assault rifles involved in the ATF operation were found at the scene of the agent's death.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer recently released a statement saying that ATF put Arizona residents at risk and is "outraged by findings in a new Congressional report that alleges federal agents were instructed to stand aside and do nothing as up to 2,000 weapons were illegally purchased in Arizona...[and] undoubtedly found their way to Mexican drug cartels." Realizing the music has stopped in this bizarre counterintelligence scheme, agents that don't want to be left standing are running over each other to blow the whistle on their fellow comrades. ATF Agent John Dodson recently testified in front of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and proffered: "I cannot begin to think of how the risk of letting guns fall into the hands of known criminals could possibly advance any legitimate law interest." As the inquiry moves up the chain of ATF command I'm sure investigators will get a heavy dose of, "I can't recall," or "I don't know."

Of course, I've known for years (and for those of you that read this blog) that deadly counterintelligence tactics are nothing new for ATF & its sinister big brother, the FBI. Lawmakers, politicians and manipulated dummy news agencies are now in an uproar because a federal agent was killed as a result of ATF's disastrous operation, but have remain conspicuously silent over the years when ATF schemes result in the death of a member or associate of a one percent-labeled motorcycle club.

ATF's Rehabilitation: Motorcycle Clubs Beware

All is not lost for ATF though. It can always create the illusion of an ethical and effective branch of the Department of Justice (DOJ) by simply resorting to its bread-and-butter diversionary RICO prosecutions of motorcycle clubs. ATF can take Agent Jeffery Grabman (a/k/a, "Gringo") once again off the bench and recycle him into yet another motorcycle club, or possibly deploy a jackal similar to him. And then with a good dose of ATF's "stirring the pot" tactics, perjury, raping of federal laws, innovation & linguistic sorcery, ATF and self-promoting DOJ prosecutors can magically transform bar fights, motorcycling events, and petty Paris Hilton-like drug use into acts of federal racketeering.

Govt's Response to Freedom of Information Act Appeal - ATF Request No. PJC/11-50

2011-07-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

Freedom of Information Act Appeal - ATF Request No. PJC/11-50

2011-07-20T20:57:00.001-07:00

Kevin O'Neill, Posted July 20, 2011

ATF Wiretapping & Bugging Investigations: A Hotbed of Peeping Toms & Sexual Degenerates Eagerly Listening to Intimate Details Occurring In Our Homes

2010-09-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

The movie "Casino" starring Joe Pesci, Robert DeNiro, and Sharon Stone, depicts a scene where the characters are aware that their phones are being tapped by the FBI but think they have developed a method to manipulate it. Sharon Stone's character calls Joe Pesci's wife on the telephone and says, "Hey, I gotta do some shopping at 1 o'clock; you wanna go?" The feds listening in shut off the tap and then Robert DeNiro's character takes the phone from Sharon Stone and says, "You want me to meet you at Caesar's [Palace]?" Joe Pesci replies, "No, one hundred yards from there down the road; don't ask questions, just be there." DeNiro then hands the phone back to Sharon Stone and she continues the "innocent" conversation with Pesci's wife. In the midst of that, the narrator's voice is explaining to the viewing audience that if a phone is tapped the feds can't listen in on routine calls. If the call is routine, they have to switch off after a few minutes and can only listen in on conversations involving crimes. This, of course, is pure fiction so don't try this at home.

In the unfortunate event ATF obtains a court order authorizing the interception of wire and/or oral communications (room bugs) from your home, business, car, motel room, or possibly your favorite restaurant, monitoring agents are mandated by federal law to "minimize the interception of communications not otherwise subject to interception." Quoting Title 18, United States Code, Section 2518(5). This Section of the wiretapping and bugging law enacted by Congress, requires that the government adopt reasonable measures to reduce the interception of conversations unrelated to the criminal activity under investigation to a practical minimum. In other words, it is to protect non-criminal, innocent conversations and activities taking place within the presumed sanctity of our homes---from overzealous agents. However, this law is more rhetorical than real given the undisputed fact it is routinely violated by perverted & sexually degenerate monitoring agents knowing all too well there will be no penalties or consequences for their actions. In some cases, the agents are actually given awards for violating sections of the wiretapping law.

I had the rare opportunity to listen to thousands of phone and room-bug conversations recorded by the government from two private homes in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Overseeing the interceptions was Assistant United States Attorney Paul L. Kanter from Milwaukee, and ATF Special Agent Sandra M. DeValkenaere. They were both responsible for preparing minimization instructions for the monitoring agents. The minimization instructions set out general listening procedures and record-keeping requirements and procedures. The minimization instructions further contained a list of the named targets in the interception orders and the purpose of the phone taps and room bugs. The agents were sworn in acknowledging the rules and law governing the interception of private conversations especially from non-targets of the investigation, i.e., family members within the households, guests, innocent incoming-callers and so forth. Despite this, ATF voyeurs routinely recorded complete, private conversations of adolescent children, teens and non-target adults conversing with their family or friends. In many of these operations physical surveillance is employed. In this case, and on several occasions, peeping-tom agents were discovered peering through windows and God only knows what else they were doing while they lurked around the premises. These actions were not much different than the man recently sentenced to 30 months in prison for stalking ESPN reporter Erin Andrews by peering through peepholes in her hotel rooms.

Just when you think ATF's perversion cannot get any more despicable, in order to generate conversations within one household, Agent DeValkenaere would provide money to an ATF informant, Patricia Wolf, to purchase cocaine and then subsequently distribute it to the occupants of the bugged home causing them to converse about ATF-desired subjects under altered states. Afterwards, this paid ATF succubus would engage in aurally graphic sadomasochistic sex acts mere inches from her handlers' bug. Monitoring agents indulged themselves by listening and recording hours of animalistic groans and moans that would possibly make Larry Flynt cringe. During the (pre-determined and one-sided) litigation surrounding the legality of the tapes, AUSA Kanter reluctantly admitted that the agents he supervised "inexplicably monitored ... sexual encounters" and for appearances labeled the conduct "offensive," however, the supervising government officials chose to remain silent on why they allowed months of this smut-mongering to continue. These should-be registered sex offenders once again escaped without any sanctions. Ironically, and arguably to cover-up the lawlessness of the government's bugging operation in Wisconsin, born-again bible pounder and then-Attorney General, John Ashcroft, presented AUSA Kanter on November 6, 2002, in Washington, D.C., with the "Director's Award" in part for his "superior performance" in the "wiretaps."

30-Year Murderous FBI Conspiracy Costs Taxpayers Over One Hundred Million Dollars

2010-07-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

Posted July 10, 2010

Last summer the First Circuit Federal Court of Appeals in Boston Massachusetts dubbed the FBI's conduct "outrageous" and "a sad chapter in the annals of federal law enforcement," in upholding a lower court judgment of $101,750,000 against the federal government for its 30-year cover-up in helping a "Top Echelon" rat/informant secure convictions of four men for a murder they did not commit. See Limone v. United States, 579 F.3d 79 (1st Cir. 2009).

This diabolical conspiracy began in the 1960s with two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation/Instigation ("FBI"), Paul Rico ("Rico") and Dennis Condon ("Condon"), working out of the FBI Field Office in Boston assigned to investigate organized crime in New England. In the course of their work they developed and cultivated a number of relationships with confidential informants to include Vincent "Jimmy" Flemmi and later, Joseph Barboza, both with tight ties to so-called organized crime according to court records. Rico, Condon, other agents and their supervisors, including Special Agent in Charge James Handley, "failed to follow proper procedures and guidelines" in handling these informants. While working with the FBI, Flemmi and Barboza were "allowed" and even "encouraged" to continue their illegal activities, including "murder, conspiracy, perjury, and other crimes." As early as 1964, the FBI was informed that Flemmi boasted that "all [he] wants to do now is kill people" and furthermore desires to become the "number one hit man" in New England or possibly even in the country.

The FBI-Facilitated Killing of Edward Deegan

Through illegal bugs and its "Top Echelon Criminal Informant Program," the FBI received information during 1964 & 1965 unequivocally alerting them that Flemmi was planning on killing Edward "Teddy" Deegan. Moreover, Agent Rico documented in an October 19, 1964 memorandum that an informant reported that Flemmi wanted to kill Deegan and had asked the informant to go with him on the hit. On March 10, 1965, a memorandum from the Boston Office of the FBI went out to its cross-dressing Director, J. Edgar Hoover, which disclosed that conversations overheard on an illegal bug planted at the office of the reputed head of organized crime in New England revealed that Flemmi and Barboza obtained his sanction for the hit on Deegan. Armed with this information and much more, no representative from the FBI attempted to contact or warn Edward Deegan of the inevitability of his situation. Indeed, at this time the FBI had Flemmi in line to be a "Top Echelon" informant despite knowing he was involved in several murders and planning another.

Two days later on March 12, 1965, Edward Deegan was shot six times from three different guns. Local police immediately focused their suspicions upon a group of four men that included Barboza, Jimmy Flemmi, and three other men with so-called ties to organized crime. Unaware of the overwhelming evidence possessed and guarded by the sworn servants of the law, the FBI, local police were unable to gather sufficient evidence to charge anyone at that time.

The "Flipping" of Joseph Barboza

Two years later, FBI agents Rico and Condon started the counterintelligence process of "flipping" Barboza. Employing one of oldest investigative techniques in its arsenal of dirty tricks, agents Rico and Condon flipped Barboza by conveying false information through another informant that caused him to fear for his life. Barboza was also facing up to 89 years in prison on state charges. Barboza began to deal with the FBI but placed a firm stipulation on information he would provide—under no circumstances would he ever implicate his close associate, Flemmi, in any crimes. The agents agreed to the terms and then began the process of fabricating information most beneficial to the FBI and their prized rat, Barboza. When the Deegan murder was discussed, the agents and Barboza devised, developed, and doctored a fairy tale covering for Flemmi's role in the killing and implicated four completely innocent men (hereinafter referred to collectively as the "scapegoats"). The FBI agents subsequently notified local law enforcement vouching for this bogus story and the scapegoats were indicted, tried and convicted in 1968 for the murder of Edward "Teddy" Deegan on the strength of the Commonwealth's principle witness, Barboza. Three men were sentenced to death and one received a life sentence.

Nobody Does a Cover-up Better Than the FBI

After their convictions, the scapegoats filed a variety of post-conviction relief motions and years later petitions to commute their sentences. All of their efforts were blocked for the next 30 years by a team of FBI agents, government attorneys, other employees of the Department of Justice/Injustice ("DOJ") and local police, all of whom engaged in numerous acts to cover up and keep secret information and evidence that would exonerate the scapegoats. FBI agents John Morris and John Connolly, went so far as to cause state law enforcement officials to investigate members of the Advisory Boards of Pardons who had voted in favor of commutation of any of the scapegoats' sentences to determine if they were influenced by organized crime. This sordid saga is replete with more evidence illustrating the affirmative steps the FBI illegally took to undermine the scapegoats' challenges to the convictions. The list of official stonewalling is staggering and there are too many instances to go into all of them here. For more, see Limone v. United States, 271 F.Supp.2d 345, 352 (D.Mass. 2003).

Not surprisingly, while in the federal witness protection program under the name of Joseph Bentley, Barboza was charged with first-degree murder out in California. Upon the news, Barboza's fairy godmothers, agents Condon and Rico, traveled to California and maneuvered a deal where Barboza served less than three years.

The FBI's Dirty Little Secret Finally Gets Exposed

In December 2000, after two of the scapegoats had died in prison, the above-referenced FBI documents and other evidence proving their innocence were released in connection with another case involving the special relationships between the FBI and serial-killer informants. The remaining two scapegoats had their convictions vacated and after a thorough review of the facts, prosecutors conceded that given Barboza's lack of credibility they no longer "have a good faith basis—legally or ethically—to proceed with any further prosecution..." Quoting 271 F.Supp.2d at 353.

The two remaining scapegoats and the estates and members of the deceased scapegoats all filed lawsuits in federal court against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act. After years of litigation and utterly ridiculous and frivolous defenses by government attorneys, the court awarded the scapegoats and their families $101,750,000. In closing, a noticeably disgusted court of appeals held:

"We need go no further [sic]. This case exemplifies a situation in which the end did not justify the government's use of very unattractive means. In its zeal to accomplish a worthwhile objective (stamping out organized crime), the FBI stooped too low. Its misconduct was not only outrageous but also tortious.

That misconduct resulted in severe harm to the persons wrongfully convicted and to their families. Under these unfortunate circumstances, the large damage awards mark the last word in a sad chapter in the annals of federal law enforcement."

When this story broke there was very little press coverage because most news outlets are controlled, or at least heavily influenced by the federal government, i.e., they fear the almighty DOJ and are therefore reluctant to report its arrogance and air of unaccountability in cases such as this. The House Government Reform Committee held a hearing concerning the FBI's pattern and practice in covering up for several of their informants in this and many other cases in the Boston area. FBI Special Agent Paul Rico was asked by a committee member if he felt any remorse for his role in this DOJ debacle and he defiantly shouted: "What do you want, tears? It'll be probably a nice movie or something!" (For much more on DOJ corruption and abuse of its awesome power, former federal agent Rodney Stich has a stunning account in his book titled Drugging America (www.druggingamerica.com) (See Chapter 17, "DOJ Lawyers—Greatest Threat to All Americans").

Indicia Search Warrants: The Truth Behind This Perverse Abuse of Power

2010-01-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

Kevin O'Neill, Posted January 20, 2010

For decades law enforcement has abused indicia search warrants in every conceivable manner. If you are a member or associate of a collective membership, such as a motorcycle club, this article may give you the knowledge needed to protect yourself and your group from this bastardized law enforcement tool. What are indicia warrants? Indicia means evidence of distinctive marks, such as patches, vests, jackets, t-shirts, hats and other items bearing the names or logos of a collective membership used by its members to indicate membership in a union, an association, or other organization. Thus, indicia warrants authorize the search of a social club, clubhouse, business or home for 'evidence' of membership or association with a targeted group.

Down The Rabbit Hole

In Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ('RICO') investigations, the targeted group is referred to as an "enterprise." Under (federal law) Title 18, United States Code, Section 1962(c), Congress has made association with an enterprise one element of the RICO offense. Consequently, evidence of the associational element of RICO is often times obtained through an indicia search warrant of a suspect's property. It is important to note, though, that mere membership or association is not sufficient to prove a person conspired with other members to violate the RICO statute—the federal courts are unanimous on this issue. Continuing on, many states have additionally created laws enhancing sentences if a criminal defendant is a member of an "ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons ... having a common sign of symbol." (Quoting Cal.Penal Code Section 186.22). For example, you are a member of a motorcycle club and are employed as a bouncer at a local nightclub. One night a drunk bar patron attacks you during the course of your job and in self-defense you send the person to the hospital, or worse. As a result of your membership in a motorcycle club your name and other personal information already exists in law enforcement computers with its vast network of categorical alerts. You can next expect the local and federal "gang squads" assigned to "disrupt" and "neutralize" your particular club to be immediately notified. And given the fact you are part of an ongoing group of "three or more persons ... having a common ... symbol," the agents will seek the most serious offense(s) possible and additionally allege the incident was committed to "otherwise further the goals of the enterprise." (Quoting standard boilerplate rhetoric from a RICO indictment).

Pandora's Box Opens

Similar to magicians performing feats of misdirection and illusions in the fairy-tale casinos hotels of Las Vegas, cunning agents and obliging prosecutors begin crafting indicia warrants with a mixture of magic buzzwords and linguistic sorcery in an effort to justify the maximum amount of force and intrusion to obtain the so-called "evidence" of membership or association. The more violence, property damage and indicia seized, determines the success of the raid(s). Once a warrant is rubber—stamped by the court the agents prepare for a commando-type assault on often unoccupied clubhouses and/or homes. In pursuit of the innocuous items of "evidence," such as vests, patches, jackets, belts, hats, clocks, photos, calendars, correspondence and other things, agents in the raids have:

1) utilized armored vehicles to ram through fences and buildings;

2) discharged stun grenades, military tear gas, causing serious and permanent injury in some cases;

3) shot and killed people and family dogs;

4) pointed guns inches from the heads of terrified children while shouting obscenities;

5) maliciously destroyed and defaced property.

Keep in mind that these items are not illegal nor contraband and are eventually returned to the rightful owners, unless of course, the agents themselves steal indicia as trophies or for use in counterintelligence tactics.

The Hidden Agenda

A layperson to indicia warrants might wonder why there is so much force and destruction with a significant risk to human life over the seizure of noncontraband property. For those of you that have yet to figure it out, searching for "evidence" of membership or association is only a ruse to gain entry designed to give off the appearance of justice—cloaking a more sinister and illegal objective. An indicia warrant is one of the means and methods by which the cells and prosecutors "disrupt" and "neutralize" motorcycle clubs they deem nonconformists. The real purposes behind this investigative tool include but are not limited to:

A) causing economic hardship;

B) creating fear, confusion and dissension among the membership and their families;

C) disrupting and chilling the group's activities and freedom of association;

D) stigmatize the membership with its neighbors, employers, co-workers and families;

E) creating opportunities for new stratagems;

F) seizing as much lawful property as possible forcing on the group the added economic hardship of legal fees.

In reality, the cells of federal and state counterintelligence partisans assigned to investigate motorcycle clubs already retain the "evidence" of membership or association within their files. Indeed, thousands of photos and countless hours of video surveillance is taken by the cells of agents annually of the clubs and their respective members wearing the indicia at funerals, public motorcycling events, bars, restaurants, concerts, campgrounds, motels, parties and even at their private homes. Many members are accosted on public streets and are forced at gun point by police to submit to shirtless upper-body photos for "evidence" of club-related tattoos (this happened to me and many others on Main Street in Daytona Beach at the height of the annual Bike Week rally numerous times).

Countering the Counterintelligence Agents

A search warrant is supported by a sworn affidavit and submitted under the penalty of perjury. Knowingly omitting the fact the agents possess in their files the very "evidence" sought by the indicia warrant is a felony crime under 18 U.S.C. Section 1623, punishable by a fine "or imprisoned not more than five years or both." Id. Unfortunately, though, the prosecutors control the machinery of a Section 1623 prosecution for filing a materially false declaration and routinely ignore or even assist counterintelligence agents in serious criminal activities. Anyone who doubts this need only read the numerous civil suits flooding the federal District of Massachusetts this past decade of FBI-aided murders and cover-ups. Judges assigned to these law suits were stunned repeatedly by the Dick Nixon-like defenses asserted by the U.S. Department of Justice attorneys in the face of unrefutable evidence of the criminal activities by the FBI. One judge found that "[i]t is difficult to imagine conduct more outrageous, more removed from what this country stands for, than the conduct alleged here." Quoting Limone v. United States, 336 F.Supp.2d 18, 45 (D.Mass.2004); see also Bennett Ex Rel. Estate of Bennett v. FBI, 278 F.Supp.2d 104, 118 (D.Mass.2003) ("there remains another twist in the decades-long story of official cover-ups: [the court] find[s] that the FBI fraudulently concealed evidence of its own involvement in William Bennet's death when Bennett, Jr., began to make inquiries ...").

Most of you blindly trust what lawyers tell you. The fact is, there are very few attorneys that have the innovation or the courage to challenge the rampant expansion of power of those acting under the color of state or federal law. And then there are the people that are just plain afraid to do anything about these burglars with badges literally stealing truckloads of your club's regalia—knowing—they already possess the necessary "evidence." If you have had your club property seized and/or know your picture has been taken by law enforcement as a result of your membership or association in a particular club, there is something you can do within your ability. The law governing the return of property seized in a warranted search comes down to this:

"[R]easonableness under all of the circumstances must be the test when a person seeks to obtain the return of property. If the United States has a need for the property in an investigation or prosecution, its retention of the property generally is reasonable. But if the United States' legitimate interests can be satisfied even if the property is returned, continued retention of the property would be unreasonable."

Quoting Committee Note to 1989 Amendments to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41 (emphasis added). You can satisfy the government's legitimate interests by stipulating to membership by a declaration submitted under the penalty of perjury to the local office of the U.S. Attorney via Certified Mail. Thus, the government has the necessary "evidence" making the continued retention of your club property unreasonable." This idea came to me while litigating the return of truckloads of property seized from a clubhouse in Oklahoma City. Once the government realized I was attempting to expose its colossal abuse of indicia warrants they couldn't return the property fast enough to avoid a ruling on this point by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado. See United States v. Nelson, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 20549 (10th Cir., Aug. 8, 2006)(opinion by Circuit Judge Terrance L. O'Brien).

For those of you that have had just your picture taken wearing the "evidence" of membership, put the government on notice by submitting a declaration once again to the U.S. Attorney's office in your area. In the event the agencies they supervise apply for indicia warrants at a later date you now retain the "evidence" they committed perjury in the supporting affidavit. Of course, though, the facts and the circumstances vary when drafting a proper declaration. For those interested I will demonstrate in a future posting.

Cell Phone Users Beware

2010-01-13T16:53:00.000-08:00

Posted January 13, 2010

If you are a cell phone user be aware that "[l]aw-enforcement agencies have obtained 8 million GPS readings on the whereabouts of Sprint wireless customers over the past year. Sprint says 'thousands' of individual customers were targeted in those law-enforcement requests, which enable police to determine the location of a cell phone user at any given time."

(Quoting THE WEEK, page 18, December 18, 2009, citing TalkingPointsMemo.com).

Reply to 'Anonymous' Comment

2009-10-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

Kevin O'Neill, Posted October 28, 2009
A few months ago someone posted an anonymous comment asking for an explanation from "anyone ... why Gary Gauger spent three years in Statesville [prison], while 'Spike' and Schneider and Miller ran around playing Outlaws." As a preliminary matter, I generally do not respond to anonymous comments because they usually come from ignorant cowards with a miserable existence. And after reading this Goober-like comment it is easy to conclude that this person fits this profile. However, given the controversial subject matter of the comment/request I am willing to give 'Goober' a full and detailed answer complete with verified documentation under one simple condition.
Now pay attention Goober... You need to first write to ATF Special Agent DeValkenaere and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Kanter and inquire with them on why THEY let Gary Gauger sit for three years in Statesville prison without contacting his attorney with the exculpatory evidence they possessed since 1994. Because make no mistake about it, the Illinois Appellate Court freed Gauger in 1996 after finding his confession, that he killed his parents, was inadmissible because it was the fruit of an unlawful arrest—not from either the ATF nor the Office of the U.S. Attorney in Milwaukee as they would have one think (when it's convenient). See Gauger v. Hendle, 349 F.3d 354, 357 (7th Cir. 2003). And since Goober "[r]ead the real court record on this thing," (which is difficult to believe given there were over 2000 docket entries and more than 30,000 pages of documents), then he (or she) should know that this heinous act had absolutely nothing to do with me or the Outlaws Motorcycle Club—Dumb Ass!
Now take one night away from watching 'America's Most Wanted' or your end-stool at Billy Bob's Tavern in Jerktown USA, and get out your crayon and write to the real people with culpability in Gary Gauger's extended prison stay. Although, even you must know that the chances of either of them responding are slim to none, and slim left town...

U.S. Department of Justice
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives
Special Agent DeValkenaere
30 East Seventh Street, Suite 1900
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101
651-726-0200 651-726-0201 (Fax)

Office of the U.S. Attorney
AUSA Paul Kanter
517 E. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

Part III in the “Stirring the Pot” Series (Use of Agent Provocateurs)

2009-10-26T16:55:00.000-07:00

Kevin O’Neill, Posted August 21, 2009

In addition to the functions set forth in the Federal Register (68 Fed. Reg. 4293 (2003)), some Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) agents along with other operatives from the MCIO¹ and MGIA² have adopted and initiated a variety of reprehensible investigative techniques/tactics. These include but are not limited to: dissemination of confidential information, disinformation, and the use of agent provocateurs all in an effort to promote violent conflicts between targeted motorcycle clubs.

What is an “agent provocateur?” The law dictionary defines this lowlife parasite as: “1. An undercover agent who instigates or participates in a crime, often by infiltrating a group suspected of illegal conduct.... 2. A person who entraps another, or entices another to break the law, and then informs against the other as a lawbreaker.” See Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004). In rare cases, operatives from the ATF have been able to infiltrate motorcycle clubs in varying degrees of infiltration. This has been accomplished by exploiting a common weakness among clubs engaged in a conflict with a so-called rival—that is—the overzealous need for allies and recruits. See JAY DOBYNS AND NILS JOHNSON-SHELTON, NO ANGEL pg. 75 (Rick Horgan, ed., Crown Publishers 2009).³In most cases, though, the would-be agent provocateur or confidential informant (CI) is a fable spinning deal-maker attempting to mitigate his or her own legal circumstances from a myriad of crimes.

There is also the tactic where the agent provocateur does not even need to infiltrate the targeted group to promote and incite violent confrontations. Back in the mid-1990s, ATF assembled a massive task force comprised of ATF personnel from several states, along with other federal, state, and local law enforcement to investigate members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. A small sect of these agents shared a unique investigative relationship being that they were inner-circle operatives of the MCIO. Capitalizing on already strained relations between the Outlaws and another group, the agents outfitted themselves with patches or other identifying markings masquerading as the other motorcycle club and then made appearances at a local bars talking trash and intimidating the bar patrons. Of course they wouldn’t stay long; just long enough for word to get back to the Outlaws hoping their scam would incite retaliation. These connoisseurs of mayhem are unapologetic for their calculating schemes as ATF Agent Jay Dobyns confessed in his recent book—having no qualms about “constantly trad[ing] his or her ethics for the greater good of a case.” See NO ANGEL at page 81.

Who are these insidious pot stirrers? One operative deployed against myself and the Outlaws was ATF Agent Darren Kozlowski, a/k/a, “Koz.” This narcissistic psycho unleashed by his masters to wreak havoc on the public is best described by his fellow operative—and Koz himself:

“Koz was a crazy, improvisational UC who always looked scary. He was famous for joking, ‘if I die on this job, I sure as fuck don’t want it to be in a traffic accident or because I had a heart attack at my desk. I don’t want to get hit by a bus on my motorcycle. I want to be duct-taped to a chair and shotgunned in the face. I want those motherfuckers to cut my head off. I want the boys to say, ‘did you hear? They cut Koz’s head off!’”4

MGIA operative Charles A. Berard, a/k/a, “CB,” has his own unique style of vigilantism, he professes to be a sympathizer of a particular group convincing them their lives are in danger from another motorcycle club by using a good dose of improvisation and theatre. This, of course, is another “stirring the pot” tactic in an effort to initiate reprisals. Another of his favorite schemes is to disseminate the addresses and other personal information of members of the Outlaws to so-called rivals in an effort to facilitate violent acts against its members and their families. When confronted in federal court with these calculated conspiracies he squirmed and had the look of Mike Tyson’s face at a grade school Spelling Bee and finally spouted the agent’s cure-all answer, “I don’t recall.” To this day, this epitome of hypocrisy maintains the e-mail address: outlawcb@aol.com.

I’ll have more on the use of agent provocateurs next week.

¹Midwest Cycle Intelligence Organization.

²Midwest Gang Investigators Association.

³This is the memoir of undercover ATF Agent, Jay Dobyns.

⁴See NO ANGEL at pg. 32.

Part II in the “Stirring the Pot” Series

2009-10-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

Kevin O’Neill, posted July 2, 2009

When the average American citizen picks up a newspaper or watches a news story on television, they assume the media is adhering to a high standard of journalistic integrity and what they are presenting is the absolute truth. However, when the ATF and covert counter-intelligence sects investigating motorcycle clubs, such as the Midwest Gang Investigators Association (MGIA) and Midwest Cycle Intelligence Organization (MCIO) disseminate a story to the media, and they run with it, all notions of responsible journalism can go out the window because this may be one of the stirring the pot techniques “to do something to make another course of action occur.” (Quoting MGIA member Charles Berard, a/k/a, “CB”).

When these covert investigators can’t find witnesses in long-running unsolved cases they effectively place want ads (under the guise of legitimate news stories) for seasoned snitches, or anyone looking to mitigate their own legal circumstances to come forward with the fabricated story needed. It is common knowledge law enforcement agents are not adverse to committing perjury to save a case, so this should be of no surprise these agents are willing to abandon fundamental notions of due process of law and deviate from acceptable standards of investigative conduct by placing the facts and theories needed into the minds of potential snitches by way of media. Government witnesses that testified against me and many other members of the Outlaw Motorcycle Club were able to develop their testimony by simply piecing together what was presented via the media and then testify they overheard one or more of the defendants discussing it. The agents openly and affectionately refer to this practice as “getting on the bus.” All one has to do is stay “consistent” with the deception and lies spoonfed to them and in exchange they are given a get out of jail card from any crime including murder. In contrast, though, if you are not on the bus, ATF counters with: “you will be pushing the bus.” (Quoting ATF Agent Sandra DeValkenaere from the Milwaukee Field Office, a surly, foul-mouthed operative spewing language at times that would even make Howard Stern blush).

As Milwaukee Magazine once reported, some of the agents investigating the Outlaws have become “obsessed.” See Kurt Chandler, Justice Denied, MILWAUKEE MAGAZINE March 2001, at 44. One such obsessed and out of control agent is former ATF and MICO counter-intelligence operative Ronald Holmes from the Chicago and Indiana area. Agent Holmes with his ingrained us-versus-them mentality wasn’t really all that concerned about cultivating snitches as he was at, among other things, conspiring with his media puppets to print stories to facilitate violent acts and induce other motorcycle clubs to initiate reprisals against the Outlaws. One such example comes from a story published in The Times, a local paper covering Northwest Indiana and Northeast Illinois. In concert with his media stooge, Mark Kiesling, a so-called Times staff writer, Agent Holmes actually attempts through the article to convince members of the Outlaws to murder “the whole Janesville chapter and the Massachusetts chapter” to “appease” another motorcycle club. Moreover, after a member of the Outlaws was shot twice in the back while riding his motorcycle in Chicago, Agent Holmes further through his puppet-reporter in the same article falsely disseminates that “it’s possible [the Outlaw] was hit by his own people.” In an effort to insulate Holmes from this reckless conspiracy he is referred to in the article as “one biker watcher.” See Mark Kiesling, Biker Takeover Could Bring 'Shooting War,' THE TIMES, July 24, 1994, at A-1. In early 2000, Kiesling was served a federal court subpoena by defense attorneys to testify at the RICO trial of eight members of the Outlaws. Kiesling apparently sought the advice of his MCIO co-conspirators and the assistant U.S. attorneys prosecuting the case and initially indicated he would hide behind the Fifth Amendment−obviously realizing his published article was nothing more than a thinly-veiled conspiracy to facilitate violent acts to include murder. Defense attorneys unfortunately settled for a stipulation that was read to the jury merely admitting that Agent Holmes and other MCIO operatives supplied Kiesling with information for the story.

Agent Holmes, however, did appear only after being served a subpoena by the defense. Instead of invoking his right to stay silent, Holmes attempted to display his training as a skilled witness and failed miserably. His testimony was riddled with contradictions and outright perjury. Several times Holmes was confronted with documentation from ATF reports and other evidence demonstrating his testimony was false, and still would not admit it was false. As Holmes bumbled his way from lie to lie, he became so distraught it appeared he was close to weeping on the stand. The packed courtroom was openly in disbelief of Holmes’ absurd answers in this pathetic and embarrassing performance—which proved to be his last. Soon after sheepishly stepping down from the witness stand he packed out his desk and “retired” from the ATF with thirty years total in law enforcement. Whether or not ATF forced him into retirement after his woeful public exhibition in federal court that day remains a question only the ATF or Holmes can answer. Ironically, Holmes nowadays actually holds seminars for would-be “outlaw motorcycle gang investigators” calling part one of his spiel: “The Way We Were: The Good Ole Boys.” One thing is for sure, anyone foolish enough to let Holmes train and consult them won’t be viewing his testimony from United States v. O’Neill, et al., as a “how to testify” guide:¹

Q. Who is Mark Kiesling, K I E S L I N G?

A. Mark Kiesling is a reporter for the Hammond, Indiana Times newspaper.

Q. And he wrote an article about the Outlaws?

A. I’m sorry, I didn’t hear the question?

Q. He wrote an article about the Outlaws on 7-24-94; right?

A. I suppose so, yes, sir.

Q. And if you gave him—you fed him a whole bunch of quotes for that story; didn’t you?

A. I don’t remember.

Q. So it could be that you did it?

A. Yes, sir, it could be.

(Holmes' May 9, 2000 testimony at pages 4622-4623)

_______________

¹If interested in reviewing Holmes’ complete transcript of perjurious and disgraceful testimony, it can be obtained from the U.S. Court Reporter in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 517 East Wisconsin Avenue,Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202. Refer to United States v. O’Neill, et al., Case No. 97-CR-98, Docket # 1882 (May 9, 2000 testimony of Ronald Joseph Holmes;120 pages total).

Affidavit of G. Robert Blakey:

U.S. Department Of Justice Letter:

Investigation Report:

ATF Agents at Work

2009-10-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

The Warrantless Installation of Listening Devices in Our Private Homes is Now Legal in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana

2009-10-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

Currently there is a case before the United States Supreme Court challenging a controversial decision from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that law enforcement can now cause fully operational listening devices (or bugs) to be installed in our private homes—indefinitely—without a warrant. See O’Neill v. United States,
No.08-8960, filed 2/24/09.

Unbeknownst to the citizens living in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana (the jurisdiction of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals), six years ago the Court effectively announced that agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) can install and activate listening devices within a private home, business, hotel room, auto, public bathroom or anywhere a person had a constitutional right to privacy—without a warrant. According to the three-judge panel of Republican appointees, the unsuspecting victim of a warrantless bugging must now prove that the ATF is either recording or listening to specific conversations before statutory limits on eavesdropping are implicated. In other words, the privacy of our homes is now at the presumed restraint of the ATF or any other government agency, which in effect, now makes it legal to place an invisible policeman in the home that claims to keep his ears covered and eyes shut until the possibility someday a warrant is needed and obtained. See United States v. Warneke, 310 F.3d 542,545(7th Cir.2003), as amended.

In 1968, Congress enacted Title III (18 United States Code, Sections 2510, et seq.) to regulate all nonconsensual electronic surveillance. To amend Title III, Congress later enacted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to limit the President’s power in conducting warrantless electronic surveillance in domestic security cases. In that Act, it mandates that “the installation or use” of a listening device absent a warrant violates federal law which can result in fines and/or up to (5) years in prison. (See 50 United States Code, Sections 1801(f)(4) & 1809(c)). What Congress enacted as a felony crime decades ago, the panel decision from the 7th Circuit now holds is “good police work” in the warrantless placement and activation of a listening device within a private home. Warneke, 310 F. 3d at 545.

The Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) that approved and supervised this blatant felony bugging was never prosecuted. Instead, on November 6, 2002 in Washington DC, AUSA Paul Kanter was rewarded by then–United States Attorney General John Ashcroft with the “Director’s Award” in a apparent effort to further cover-up this overt criminal act. Further evidence which illustrates this AUSA’s disregard for the laws of our country, unless of course they fit his agenda, can be found in a published court decision. In a discussion with a grand jury panel about the law, AUSA Kanter “cavalier[ly]” expressed his views on the legislative body of the federal government: “…but you know lawyers; they have to come up with stupid words to make themselves look important. And since Congress, of course, is made of primarily lawyers, all our laws are written stupidly, and no one can understand them but lawyers, and that keeps lawyers employed.” Quoting, United States v. Van Engel, 809 F.Supp. 1360, 1365 (E.D.Wis.1992)(emphasis added).

This startling and flagrantly unconstitutional decision has prompted the very person who drafted the law for our country on wiretapping and bugging, Professor G. Robert Blakey, Notre Dame Law School, to submit an affidavit and amicus curiae brief strongly urging the Supreme Court to overrule the 7th Circuit’s holding (See Attachment). Moreover, the U.S. Constitution requires a judge to pass on the desires of the police BEFORE they violate the privacy of a home.

If you do not want the determination to place and activate listening devices in our homes left to the sole discretion of federal agents, you should contact your local congressman, senator and/or Department of Justice. As Thomas Jefferson warned during the constitutional debates, those who trade a little liberty for safety will find they have neither.

Editorial by:
Kevin O’Neill
Federal Register No. 00322-748
U.S. Penitentiary – Hazelton
Post Office Box 2000
Bruceton Mills, West Virginia 26525

The Truth About the Federal Government’s Investigative Technique Known As "Stirring The Pot"

2009-10-26T16:49:00.000-07:00

Kevin O’Neill, Posted June 2, 2009

The U.S Department of Justice (“DOJ”) is the most powerful law-enforcement institution in the world. No federal entity wields more power that can more directly touch an American life. Despite its wide array of crime-fighting weaponry, agencies of the DOJ for decades have violated the U.S. Constitution, various federal laws and regulations, including the civil rights statute, all in furtherance of a particular objective.

When a DEA, FBI, or ATF investigation is lacking in crime these agencies in some important cases have reached into their bag of dirty tricks and deployed an investigative tactic called “stirring the pot.” The battle cry of this three-headed monster is when the supply is lacking, create it---and create it they do with this underhanded method of generating and gathering evidence. Particularly designed for large groups or organizations in the crosshairs of the federal government, stirring the pot means for the agents “to do something to make another course of action happen or occur.” (Quoting Midwest Gang Investigators Association member, Charles Berard, a/k/a, “CB,” May 10, 2000). One such example, if you are the target of a federal investigation and your home is bugged and/or phones(s) are tapped, but you are not conspiring to commit or committing crimes, the agents will jump-start their operation by deploying prearranged investigative scenarios designed to elicit statements or actions one normally would not utter or do. Of course, juries are never allowed to hear how these perverse behind-the-scenes tactics induced the victim into saying or doing things they otherwise would not. Moreover, tapes that result in evidence favorable for a defendant are considered “bad tapes” and often disappear before they are logged and inventoried into evidence.

It has been said there is a fine line between love and hate. This adage is especially applicable to the ATF when it targets someone they deem a potential cooperator with its stirring the pot techniques. Back in the mid-1990s the ATF had an operation titled: “Wolf, David B., et.al,” investigation number 33431-940048-R (“Operation Wolf”). Unbeknownst to David Wolf (now a federally protected witness/perjurer), his wife, Patricia Wolf, a/k/a, “New York”, was a paid ATF informant (hereinafter “CI-PW”). The lead case agent in this operation was ATF Special Agent Sandra DeValkenaere (“S/A DeValkenaere”) and the supervising government attorney was Assistant United States Attorney Paul Kanter (“AUSA Kanter”) from Milwaukee.

On or about March 15, 1995, in concert with and at the direction of S/A DeValkenaere and AUSA Kanter, CI-PW combined and conspired with these two government operatives at S/A DeValkenaere’s home by beginning a series of controlled (tape recorded) calls with the intention of facilitating a violent confrontation and/or murder. The ATF’s conspiracy was to make the target think CI-PW’s husband was now a liability—hoping in turn—he would be then killed along with his new girlfriend. Not all unlike a buzzard salivating on a fence post waiting for its prey to die, Big Brother instead, swoops in past the dead body and arrests whoever is left standing to further the investigation. In this instance though, David Wolf was not killed, but was convinced by ATF and AUSA Kanter that there were tapes depicting a plot to kill him. Of course there were no such tapes—because this was Plan B—that is, get Wolf in fear for his life so he will testify to the story the government needed, regardless of the truth. Unbeknownst to the ATF at the time, their informant, CI-PW, was secretly keeping a journal which would be released 5 years later further illustrating the underhandedness and true intention of the controlled calls.

When ATF agents are questioned at subsequent trials about the deployment of these illegal and devious tactics, they either speak in an almost impenetrable jargon or simply do what is second nature to them—commit perjury. Indeed, one ATF’s most prolific undercover operatives confessed in his recent memoir: “[w]e were, after all, professional liars who constantly misrepresented ourselves.” JAY DOBYNS & NILS JOHNSON-SHELTON, NO ANGEL pg. 71 (Rick Horgan, ed., Crown Publishers 2009). Agents that testified in Operation Wolf prefaced answers to simple and direct questions with “to my knowledge.” They could not describe a conversation by saying “he said” and “I said;” they speak in conclusions. Sometimes it took the combined efforts of counsel and the judge to get them to state who said what. Under cross-examination, they seem unable to give a direct answer to a question; they either spout conclusions or do not understand. This often gives the prosecutor, under the guise of an objection, an opportunity to suggest an answer, which is then obligingly given. Of course though, every trial involving these agents gets a heavy dose of the cure-all magic words—“I can’t recall.”

Coming soon, are more examples of this despicable investigative technique so stayed tuned-in.

The Documentary Series for the History Channel called “Gangland” Exemplifies Partisan Journalism and is a Fraud on the American Public

2009-10-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

Gangland Production, LLC, produces a documentary series for the History Channel called“Gangland”. During the development of an upcoming episode focusing on the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, Gangland requested an interview with me. By facsimile dated January 28, 2008, the show’s Story Development Coordinator requested an on-camera interview and pitched among other things: “We would appreciate [Mr. O’Neill] sharing his thoughts on being in the Outlaws, and any perspective he might have gained in prison.” (See 01/28/08 fax, Attachment A). As you’ll see, this assertion was more rhetorical than real, especially when presented with documentation showing how the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent utilized in its presentation is effectively a co-conspirator in the killing of LaMonte Mathias on June 28, 1994 in Rockford, Illinois. (See ATF Reports authored by Special Agent Christopher Bayless, released to the public on July 20, 2005, Attachments B thru E).

By letter dated February 4, 2008, I responded to Gangland via certified mail and offered the following:

Gangland Production, LLC
Story Development Coordinator
118 N. Clinton
Chicago, Illinois 60661

RE: January 28, 2008 Request for Interview

Dear Jill:

Today I received a copy of your facsimile to Warden Joe D. Driver expressing your request to conduct an on-camera interview with me. I am familiar with your documentary series for the History Channel and may be interested in contributing if indeed you are truly “committed to accuracy in [your] reporting” as your fax touted. I also must mention, though, that I find the timing of this request somewhat suspect in view of the fact my appeal was just submitted to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago two weeks ago.

I am enclosing a copy of the appeal that presents a very controversial issue, which the government and the district court have remained completely silent on. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), in concert with the supervising Assistant U.S. Attorney from the Eastern District of Wisconsin, did in fact install and activate a fully operational bug within my home for nearly a month without a shred of court authorization. The ATF’s bug seized every spoken word/activity and broadcasted them by way of radio transmission; effectively converting my residence into a live radio broadcast, which was a felony crime. (See Professor Blakey’s Affidavit, Attachment F).

Additionally, I have spent the last seven years filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with several components of the U.S. Department of Justice – no government agency is more misnamed. As a result of my FOIA requests and multiple lawsuits, records have been released that unequivocally demonstrate investigative techniques by the FBI and ATF strikingly similar to the FBI’s infamous counter-intelligence program called “COINTELPRO”. A program characterized by Congress as a “sophisticated vigilante operation”. If this is of interest to your program, please feel free to contact me directly and I will supply you with a detailed chronology (with documentation) showing how an ATF agent from the Chicago [Field] Division was effectively a co-conspirator in the killing of the president of the Hell’s Henchmen Motorcycle Club, LaMonte Mathias, in Rockford, Illinois (June 28, 1994).

In closing, up until my arrest on June 10, 1997, I was the de facto liaison for the Outlaws Motorcycle Club with the media and, on some occasions, law enforcement in Wisconsin. However, I have been incarcerated for nearly 11 years and cannot speak for the Outlaws on any current policies. I can tell you, though, that the core or foundation for the club is motorcycling and brotherhood. I’m sure that the ATF (which talk a lot for these stories almost always on the condition of anonymity), will have its own spin on things, which I would welcome the opportunity to rebut.

Once again, please feel free to contact me with any inquiries you may have.
Sincerely,
[Signed]
Kevin O’Neill

On March 27, 2008, Gangland aired its documentary on the Outlaws and conspicuously remained silent with the compelling evidence I provided illustrating the felony crimes and gross misconduct by government agents and prosecutors. By letter dated April 2, 2008, I again contacted Gangland with the following:

Gangland Production, LLC
Story Development Coordinator
549 West Randolph Street
Chicago, Illinois 60661

Re: Gangland’s March 27, 2008 Presentation on the Outlaws MC

Dear Gangland Staff:

By letter dated February 4, 2008, I sent your staff a request for an opportunity to “rebut” any and all statements made by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) before your presentation on myself and the Outlaws Motorcycle Club aired on the History Channel March 27, 2008.

Evidently your show is not interested nor concerned with fair and balanced reporting given the fact I sent you highly credible documentation that the ATF, in concert with the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, committed a federal felony by installing and activating a listening device within my home for nearly a month without a warrant. Instead of G. Robert Blakey’s opinion on how the bug entered my home, the person who drafted the law for this country on wiretapping and bugging (once again, see Professor Blakey’s Affidavit attached), your show relied on the opinion of a person completely ignorant of the facts and the law, James R. Peterson, Senior Staff writer for Playboy Magazine. Mr. Peterson’s view that I bugged my own house is fraudulent and makes a mockery of the Constitution and federal law.

As I predicted in my 02/04/08 letter, the ATF’s representative for your show spoke under the condition of anonymity with his face concealed and voice disguised. This was Special Agent Christopher Bayless from the Chicago [Field] Division. What Bayless failed to tell your viewing audience is that he is also part of a sophisticated vigilante program called the Midwest Cycle Intelligence Organization (MCIO). The MCIO is a covert counter-intelligence program designed to facilitate violent acts between targeted motorcycle clubs. For example, as your show reported, Agent Bayless was able to infiltrate the (then) Hell’s Henchmen Motorcycle Club in Rockford, Illinois. In fact, Bayless was so convincing in his role that he became the bodyguard for the group’s leader, Monty Mathias. What your show and Bayless conspicuously failed to tell your viewers, relative to the killing of Mr. Mathias, is that on June 27, 1994, Bayless was given advanced notice of the plan to kill Mathias by a fellow ATF/MCIO agent, Ron Holmes. Agents Holmes and Bayless knew, however, that if they arrested David Wolf [now a federally protected witness] before, during, or after his plan to kill Mathias, that they would lose their only source of information within the Outlaws. That is, David Wolf regaling his wife Patricia (the ATF informant) with his exploits. As the attached ATF reports [Attachments B thru E] conclusively demonstrate, Bayless was in a prime position to prevent the killing of Mr. Mathias but instead chose to further the goals of the MCIO. You will also see that the attached ATF records were not released until July 29, 2005. And only then as a result of my civil suits against the ATF were they disclosed.

In closing, someone once said that there are two kinds of light – the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures. The glare emanating from your show exemplified partisan journalism by ignoring documentation offered in my previous letter.
Sincerely
[Signed]
Kevin “Spike” O’Neill

Gangland’s “promise” that it is “committed to accuracy in its reporting,” and that “stories will be presented respectfully and competently,” (see fax, Attachment A), is merely boilerplate rhetoric to conceal Gangland Production’s true objective. By ignoring damning facts and unquestionable documentation replete with actions by the ATF synonymous with unaccountability and invincibility, readily apparent is that Gangland is merely a manipulated dummy in a ventriloquicial machination. The only question that remains: who is the ventriloquist?