ATF Director Melson reassigned to DOJ amid “Fast & Furious” scandal

It is now being reported that the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Kenneth Melson, will leave his BATFE post and join the Department of Justice (DOJ) staff. The continuation of “business as usual” in Washington DC reaffirms accountability in federal agencies is hard to come by.

Both DOJ and BAFTE played major roles in the “gun walking” program that left at least one federal agent murdered and a number of other deaths south of the border in Mexico. The Brouhaha eventually led to the suspension of “Fast and Furious,” but after months of investigations, no one has been fired from either agency.

A July 4 meeting between ATF front-man Melson and Congressional investigators revealed the DOJ has actively engaged in a “cover-up” and “remain silent” campaign concerning the controversial firearm program that allowed U.S. weapons to cross into Mexico and in to the hands of criminals.
Advertisement
Click here to find out more!

The hush, hush meeting revealed a couple of things, first, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder knew a lot more about this operation than he has previously admitted and Melson will not be the Obama Administration fall guy.

This investigation began when senior Republican Congressional lawmakers embarked on a quest to find out why Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered in December of last year with a gun that traced back to an ATF program. However, Agent Terry’s family and lawmakers were met with roadblocks from ATF leaders.

That all changed with the Fourth of July meeting between lawmakers and investigators when Melson exposed that it was the Department of Justice (DOJ) who effectively silenced ATF leaders.

The secret meeting also produced admissions that ATF “made many mistakes” with the notorious gun walking program “Fast and Furious.” In fact, Melson's private attorney, Richard Cullen, a former federal prosecutor was present at the July 4 meeting with investigators to protect the acting director.

As Congressional investigators collect data and build a case, ATF decided to insulate key "Fast and Furious" players in their Washington DC headquarters. Melson’s move to DOJ completes the trifecta.

Earlier this month ATF announced three key players in the Arizona ill-fated “gun-walking” program would accept promotions and move to ATF's DC headquarters.

It’s especially ironic that William McMahon, who testified at a recent hearing that plenty of mistakes were made and failed to report those mistakes to his supervisors, will now be in charge of ATF’s ethics department. His official title, Deputy Assistant Director of ATF’s Office of Professional Responsibility and Security Operations will solidify his unaccountability.

William Newell will also make the trip to DC for his promotion to Special Assistant to the Assistant Director for ATF’s Office of Management. And finally, Arizona’s “Fast and Furious” ground supervisor, David Voth heads to Washington DC and will oversee ATF’s Tobacco Division as Branch Chief.

As the country approaches the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, America and her enemies now recognize that agencies like the DOJ, FBI, DEA and ATF are not sharing intelligence and continue to put intra-agency politics ahead of national security.

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/

© Copyright 2011 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.

Continue reading on Examiner.com ATF Director Melson reassigned to DOJ amid “Fast & Furious” scandal - National Homeland Security | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/atf-director-melson-reassigned-to-doj-amid-fast-furious-scandal-1#ixzz1WX0Q5mx5

California’s DREAM Act part 2- public assistance expected to clear Senate

Part two of California’s DREAM Act that seeks to provide financial aid for illegal aliens hits the Senate floor. The controversial DREAM Act legislation is expected to pass along party lines that heavily favor Democrats.

AB 131 is sponsored by Democratic Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) and proposes illegal alien students can compete for the $40 million in public financial aid like Cal Grants and other fee waivers.

Earlier this year, California Governor Jerry Brown signed part one of the (DREAM ACT) college package AB 130 into law. This law granted illegal alien students access to the state’s $88 million in private financial aid.

As uncertain economic conditions persist, illegal alien access to taxpayer money is sure to create much more opposition. “I struggle to stay in college and depend on financial-aid packages,” said Emily Sanchez, a California State student. “We should not be offering money to those in country illegally before every American student who wants to go to college- period.”

Continue reading on Examiner.com California’s DREAM Act part 2- public assistance expected to clear Senate - San Diego County Political Buzz | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/california-s-dream-act-part-2-public-assistance-expected-to-clear-senate#ixzz1WAjrZWRY

San Diego to get million dollar-solar energy project from the Obama Admin

Imperial County, just east of San Diego, has been approved to connect a 250-megawatt solar-power project to California’s energy grid something that will generate power for about 75,000 homes, according to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.

The solar project is expected to create more than 250 jobs during construction and add approximately $5 million in sales tax to the job-starved state.

“Through smart site(ing) of projects, early environmental review and a coordinated approval process, Interior is helping to stand up a renewable energy economy, spurring innovation, job-creation, and investment in the private sector,” Secretary Salazar said about the CSOLAR Development project. “When constructed, this solar project will add to a growing, sustainable energy strategy that will power our local communities and economies.”

This new energy plant represents the Obama Administration’s commitment to solar, wind, geothermal and transmission projects.
Advertisement
Click here to find out more!

“The solar project itself will be constructed on private, fallowed farm lands near El Centro,” said Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey. “This transmission line will be placed in an area already designated as a transmission corridor. The entire project is sited in a perfect spot for renewable energy development in the California desert.”

The Interior Department’s continued commitment to responsible development of renewable energy was able to move this project forward after conducting an extensive environmental review with the Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessments (EIR/EA).

The EIR/EA worked jointly with the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, Department of Energy and County of Imperial, to meet the ecological requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/kimberly-dvorak

© Copyright 2011 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.

Continue reading on Examiner.com San Diego to get million dollar-solar energy project from the Obama Admin - San Diego County Political Buzz | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/san-diego-to-get-million-dollar-solar-energy-project-from-the-obama-admin#ixzz1W45apMMe

A 5K walk slated for August to raise awareness for human trafficking

“California Against Slavery” will hold its second annual 5K fundraising event on August 28 at Harbor Island Park in San Diego. The event will highlight the need to end human trafficking and funds raised will assist the organization inact measures to curtail modern-day slavery.

All proceeds from the event will go toward a "Move to Stop Modern Day Slavery" a 2012 ballot initiative that will strengthen human trafficking laws and increase victims' rights.

The nonprofit organization contends that human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery and abusers profit from enslaving people for sexual servitude and forced labor.

“Human trafficking is a criminal business that profits from enslaving people for sexual servitude and forced labor. It is a modern-day form of slavery,” said Kristine Kil. “Our mission is to defend the freedom of every child, woman and man by empowering the people of California to fulfill our obligation to stop human trafficking.”
Advertisement
Click here to find out more!

A 5K competitive timed race and a 5K walk are set to kick off on August 28. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. The competitive race will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m., and the walk starts at 8:45 a.m. A post-event party will include more information about the effects of human trafficking as well as snacks and awards.

For more information regarding the event; http://californiaagainstslavery.org/get-involved/walk/

Or http://www.CaliforniaAgainstSlavery.org

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/kimberly-dvorak

© Copyright 2011 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.

Border Patrol makes huge crystal meth drug bust in San Diego

Border Patrol agents at freeway checkpoints thwarted two major drug smuggling attempts and netted a combined seizure of $1.1 million of crystal methamphetamine.

BP agents came across two 19-year-old male United States citizens as they arrived at a San Diego freeway checkpoint. The pair was driving a 2003 Toyota Corolla when agents noticed inconsistent answers to general Border Patrol questions. That behavior landed the men in the secondary inspection center.

“A Border Patrol K-9 team performed a cursory inspection of the vehicle resulting in a positive alert to the driver’s side doors,” said a CBP Press Officer. “Agents searched the vehicle and discovered a hidden compartment inside a speaker box located in the trunk. Inside the compartment, agents found 24 bundles of methamphetamine with a total weight of 30.98 pounds and an estimated street value of $619,600.”

A second freeway checkpoint bust saw Border Patrol agents seize another load of meth worth approximately $470,000 just east San Diego. “Agents discovered 30 bundles totaling 23.5 pounds of the illicit narcotic in a non-factory compartment inside a vehicle’s rear bumper. In total, the two meth seizures are worth nearly $1.1 million on the street,” CBP said.
Advertisement
Click here to find out more!

The suspected smugglers and drugs were detained and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The vehicles were seized by the U.S. Border Patrol.

Between October 1, 2010, and July 31, 2011, San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents have seized more than 66,350 pounds of marijuana, 1,729 pounds of cocaine, and 393 pounds of methamphetamine.

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/

© Copyright 2011 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.

ATF promotes 3 ‘fast and furious’ leaders just another ‘screw-up and move-up’

Instead of firing ATF supervisors for an ill-fated gun program, ATF brass promotes three key players in the “fast and furious” debacle. The “screw-up, move-up” position is nothing new for the federal government.



The controversial Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearm and Explosives' (ATF) “gun walking” program set out to nab cartel gun buyers (straw purchasers), gain media notoriety and add a notch to the agent's belt. However, the failed “fast and furious” program allowed known-criminals to purchase firearms without any beacon-type device to follow the weapons as they made their way to cartel henchmen.



According to ATF agents, there are more than 4,000 open investigations operating under “project gunrunner.”



While Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) focus on Arizona’s “fast and furious,” the country should be demanding all “project gunrunner” investigations be scrutinized. ATF sources contend a number of these investigations continue to operate under questionable rules and will allow "walked guns" to show up at crime scenes for years to come.
Advertisement
Click here to find out more!



As Congressional investigators collect data and build a case, ATF decided to insulate key "fast and furious" players in their Washington DC headquarters.



It’s especially ironic that William McMahon, who testified at a recent hearing that plenty of mistakes were made, failed to report those mistakes to his supervisors, will now be in charge of ATF’s ethics department. His official title, Deputy Assistant Director of ATF’s Office of Professional Responsibility and Security Operations will solidify his unaccountability.



The Special Agent in Charge of Arizona and directly involved with “fast and furious,” William Newell will also make the trip to DC for his promotion to Special Assistant to the Assistant Director for ATF’s Office of Management.



And finally, Arizona’s “fast and furious” ground supervisor, David Voth heads to Washington DC and will oversee ATF’s Tobacco Division as Branch Chief.



The ill-fated “fast and furious” program resulted in dozens of Mexican federal officer deaths as well as ATF firearms being recovered at the crime scene where Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry lost his life last December. (Only one man remains in custody. Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, a Mexican national, is charged with second-degree murder).



Of course, the quandary left for the fallen officers’ family is responsibility. ATF Agent Newell displayed arrogance for his role in the gun-walking program when he testified at the Congressional hearings. He could have shut down the investigation at any time. Instead, Newell knew the agency would hand-out promotions in order to cover-up mismanagement.



The following are two stories that highlight the federal government’s practice of rewarding failure.



Screw up; move up in play again in Customs and Border Protection

In another clear screw up move up policy set to purge the Legacy Customs representatives from the agency in order to foster a new ‘Global Patrol’ –CBP moves to appoint a well known insider with liberal leanings regarding amnesty to the top post of Acting Deputy Commissioner of CBP.

David V. Aguilar hails from U.S. Border Patrol where he served under Congressmen Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) and has followed the coattails of ‘friends in high places’ all the way to the CBP Acting Deputy Commissioner slot.

“As Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, David has successfully provided leadership and guidance through a period of unprecedented growth and tremendous change while at the same time strengthened control of our nation’s borders,” says Jayson Ahern outgoing CBP Commissioner. “As Acting Deputy Commissioner, he will bring to the position more than 30 years of border security experience, management, and leadership. He is a tested and proven leader and I have the utmost confidence in his abilities to take on this new role.”

No Confidence

In a memo from Ahern, Aguilar receives high praises for his career in law enforcement. However, Aguilar’s record is rife with controversy, power consolidation, and failures.

First, in February 2007, delegates to the National Border Patrol Council’s biennial convention unanimously endorsed a vote of “No Confidence” in Chief Aguilar.

“The vote was the result of increasing frustration by front line Border Patrol Agents in the decisions of their senior leadership,” T.J. Bonner, NBPC National President, said in a statement. “This lack of leadership has caused morale to plummet, which in turn has accelerated the attrition rate among experienced agents. Unless drastic changes are made soon, the goal of securing our borders will remain as elusive as ever.”

Aguilar again received a “No Confidence” vote from his rank and file agents on February 25, 2009.

According to the representatives of the National Border Patrol Council they unanimously supported a vote of "No Confidence" for Chief Aguilar due to his lack of leadership abilities. Hardly the glowing recommendation Ahern described and another example of the ‘screw up and move up’ policies plaguing the CBP and Department of Homeland Security; Keep reading.

San Diego the latest destination for a screw-up move-up border tour

Chris Maston began his colorful career more than twenty years ago in El Paso, Texas as a Border Patrol agent. In true ‘good ole boy’ fashion Maston moved up the ranks and with each questionable indiscretion, his infamous Customs and Border Protection’s career followed the tried and true rule of “screw up and move up.” This dark path to the top has led to Maston’s new post as Port Director of the Customs and Border Patrol’s busiest port of entry in the country, San Ysidro, located in San Diego.

A press release from CBP stated, “Maston brings to the key San Diego position in-depth experience in overseeing large scale passenger and cargo processing programs. He most recently served more than two years as port director at the Miami International Airport, managing more than 1,300 employees at the largest international operation in the U.S. for air cargo and the second largest for international traveler processing.”

“Maston’s recent responsibilities overseeing international traveler inspections, trade enforcement and tactical enforcement operations will provide the tools he needs to manage the busy 24-lane port of San Ysidro and nearby 13-lane Otay Mesa border station where, on average, 63,000 vehicles and 134,000 travelers enter the U.S. each day, CBP DFO Morris said. Maston served from 2004 to 2006 as the assistant director of border security at CBP’s Miami Field Office. In this position, he oversaw border security operations for the Miami, Port Everglades, Key West and West Palm Beach ports of entry.”

Repeated attempts (phone, email and finally showing up at CBP port offices) to interview Maston about his new post in San Diego were all declined. Even when presented with questions regarding new port duties, what challenges he could face and the implementing of his cargo inspection program Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the new director chose to hide in his office. This begs the question what is he trying to hide?

While mindful of the agency’s important border security mission, Maston said in a press release he will continue to support operations that have proved successful for the field office while striking a working balance between facilitation of legitimate travelers and the need for strong enforcement.

Does this mean Maston will continue his behavior that landed him on the “dontdatehimgirl.com” tell-all web site? The website geared to serial cheaters depicts Maston as a player with multiple work-related affairs. The posting (click here http://www.friendsoftheborderpatrol.com/thereport/CMaston-DontDateHimGirl-Post.pdf) contains a number of postings regarding his time as a top official in Miami.

Can Maston maintain a San Diego CBP Field Office that manages more than 1,800 front-line federal officers at border stations in San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate, Calexico, and Andrade as well as the San Diego seaport and international airports? These ports completed approximately 66 million inspections of people, seized more than 145 tons of illegal narcotics and apprehended more than 42,000 immigration violators during the last fiscal year. One assumes this is a fulltime job requiring an enormous amount of time and concentration.

President Ronald Reagan summed it up as, “Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession, I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.” Keep reading here.

DEA Agents bust Iraqi-Sinaloa cartel drug smuggling/explosive ring in San Diego

Federal agents in San Diego broke up a drug trafficking ring involving Iraqi immigrants who worked with one of Mexico’s biggest drug cartel.

Approximately 60 Iraqi immigrants were rounded up and arrested just east of San Diego after the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) completed a six-month investigation. The DEA Agents also collected drugs, grenades, assault weapons and homemade explosives.

Many of the (Christian) Iraqi’s arrested fled the Middle East to avoid threats from al-Qaida during the continuing wars. Authorities say the immigrants worked in concert with the Sinaloa cartel to transport weapons and drugs to Detroit, Michigan.

The DEA seized crystal meth (18 pounds), marijuana (3,500 pounds), cocaine and other narcotics. The agents also recovered four IEDs, 30 firearms and $630,000 in cash.

William Sherman, DEA special agent in charge of San Diego told the Associated Press, “the ring was going to sell a portion of the 3,500 pounds of marijuana, believed to belong to the Sinaloa cartel led by Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, who has become one of the world's richest and most-wanted men since he escaped from a Mexican prison 10 years ago.”
Advertisement
Click here to find out more!

The recovery of explosives by DEA is particularly alarming as security across the country is heightened in preparation for the 10-year anniversary of 9/11.

One of the Iraqi’s immigrants told an undercover DEA agent that they were able to obtain more grenades from the Mexican Military personnel.

The arrested drug smugglers face a combination of state and/or federal charges of narcotics, weapon and explosive trafficking. The DEA also reported some of the organized crime arrestees were illegally in the country and will most likely be deported.

Nofel Noel Suleyman was charged with operating a continuing criminal enterprise a charge that carries a mandatory sentence of 20 years in prison.

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/

© Copyright 2011 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.