Border Patrol union decries 'witch hunt'
In a sharply worded attack, the union for 10,000 U.S. Border Patrol employees accused the federal government of conducting a "witch hunt" in an investigation that implicated dozens of Border Patrol agents in a kickback scheme. The agents, said T. J. Bonner, the president of the National Border Patrol Council, were "victimized by a mindless bureaucracy."
The federal investigation uncovered a widespread kickback scheme involving agents temporarily assigned to the Douglas, Ariz., Border Patrol station several years ago. A Justice Department report disclosed that agents had accepted cash kickbacks from supervisors who rented rooms to them, and cash and other inducements from hotels that sought their business. In some cases, agents filed false expense accounts with the government.
The investigation was prompted by allegations made by agents Larry Davenport and Willie Forester. In a story in its June 6 edition, U.S. News reports that the whistle-blowers' charges led to the disciplining of 23 agents and three low-level supervisors. Border Patrol records show that at least 19 other agents were involved in the scheme but were not disciplined. Two agents, indicted in the case, are awaiting trial in Arizona. Davenport and Forester left the Border Patrol in 2002.
In a statement, the National Border Patrol Council assailed the Department of Homeland Security, which also conducted an investigation, and the Office of Special Counsel, the agency in Washington that protects whistle-blowers. In a report sent to President Bush in late May, Special Counsel Scott Bloch sharply criticized the Border Patrol and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security. He said Homeland Security "failed to thoroughly investigate the whistle-blowers' allegations" against senior patrol management. He also suggested that senior managers knew about the scheme but failed to act.
Bonner, the union president, accused Bloch's office of suggesting scandal when, he said, none exists. He said agents had accepted free meals, coupons, and small amounts of cash from innkeepers who were competing for their business. He said the special counsel's office, the DHS, and Rep. Jim Kolbe, an Arizona Republican who pressed for the original Justice Department investigation, had engaged in a smear campaign against "dedicated men and women." He decried what he called a "witch hunt and miscarriage of justice." In an interview, Bonner said that 17 agents suspended as a result of their actions are now contesting the punishment before a labor arbitrator. Bonner also acknowledged that in some instances, the allegations were "serious," such as cases when agents were said to have filed false expense reports with the government.
In a statement, Bloch said the union's "dismissive tone" was surprising, given the serious nature of the charges. "Lengthy investigations revealed widespread fraud and potential criminal misconduct," Bloch said. "I am particularly puzzled by the [union's] defense in this case of these law enforcement agents taking cash kickbacks, sometimes in the hundreds of dollars."
Most of the agents implicated in the scheme were detailed to the Arizona-Mexico border, beginning in 1999, as part of a campaign to crack down on illegal immigration. The whistle-blowers, Davenport and Forester, alleged that David Aguilar, now the head of the Border Patrol in Washington, knew of the scheme but did nothing to stop it. They complained to the Justice Department in February 2001. At the time, Aguilar was the chief patrol agent in Tucson, which includes the Douglas station and covers a 260-mile stretch along the U.S.-Mexico border. Through a spokesman, Aguilar strongly denied the whistle-blowers' allegations.