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Cartel members slowly gained confidence in Mazur and his team and over a period of time began to provide him with substantial amounts to drug money to be laundered. choices) and/or to monitor site performance. The bank's strategy was obviously to blunt to the extent possible any attempt by the US Attorney's office to "flip" individual defendants, causing them to plead out of the case and to agree to provide damaging testimony against the institution itself. The video is actually fairly informative and provides some insight into the FBI Academy & related fitness test. between HSI & DEA. In 1932, it was renamed the United States Bureau of Investigation. Find the one closest to you. To this end, I invite you and any other appropriate Department of Justice officials to meet with me in Tallahassee on February 19, 1990.(73). Mr. Mattingly. Help us tailor content specifically for you: Hatch Act Reminders, With Biden Running Again, GOP's Opening Bid in Debt Ceiling Talks: Cut Overgrown Bureaucracy, Podcast: The Debt Ceiling Negotiations Begin Again. Thus Saphos who had only three days earlier stated "we are therefore requesting that BCCI be permitted to operate in your jurisdiction," was now forced to state on the record that this was not the position of the Department of Justice, and to mischaracterize the position he had clearly taken to help BCCI in his earlier letter. Automated Writing Assessment - Online. Mazur thought the Customs special agents played it fast & loose whereas the IRS style was definitely more of the button-down type. In fact, the U.S. Customs Service is among the oldest federal agencies in the United States. Bottom line, HSI has no qualms about using every tool at its disposal to incarcerate or remove bad actors. Additionally, you may contact our legal (117). I don't think the bank could stand up to any sort of publicity. ** Justice Department personnel in Washington, Miami, and Tampa actively obstructed and impeded Congressional attempts to investigate BCCI in 1990, and this practice continued to some extent until William P. Barr became Attorney General in late October, 1991. Eight of the victims were federal law enforcement personnel (Secret Service, US Customs (Now HSI), DEA, HUD). As Jackowski testified, the Tampa prosecutors viewed the principal Subcommittee investigator of BCCI in 1988 and 1989, Jack Blum, to be unreliable at best, someone who wished to trade his information for money, and who had produced little of real value for them. Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the However, we have stopped publishing new material on the site. three federal convictions, including a Although many Special Agents are involved in "counter-terrorism" type programs, in reality an extremely small minority of criminal investigators are ever in a position to conduct terrorism related investigations and an even smaller subset of cases ever result in successful convictions. Enter the code below and click "Submit" to complete your registration. It had not participated in the negotiations over the plea agreement and if it joined the Tampa plea it would be completely precluded from prosecuting BCCI further. . He was also unwilling to testify at any public proceeding. It is my privilege to issue you this badge which honors our past and represents the legacy we shall leave to those who follow in our footsteps. He was young, but a natural. by Sgt. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly The career ladder (, which means that agents progress on an annual basis after satisfactorily performing at their current grade level). While mid-level officials in the US Attorney's office in Tampa worked long hours under atrocious conditions to bring the money laundering case against BCCI which arose out of Operation C-Chase, it is clear now, and should have been clear as of the date of the C-Chase indictment against BCCI in October 1988, that BCCI represented much more than a drug money laundering case. As Mazur testified, the Justice Department and Jackowski "went out of their way" to solicit the opinions of those involved in the case, including him, before agreeing to the plea. 2023 by Government Media Executive Group LLC. beyond entertaining, to say the least. The Subcommittee had requested copies of Customs Service memoranda related to Operation C-Chase. But it is simply out of my love for this country and our critical need for ethical government that I think its appropriate to respond to a request for my candor. Mazur cautions all undercover agents to be extremely prepared for courtroom trials. Yet Kehoe, who negotiated the plea agreement, seemed indifferent to the incident, testifying that in his view, "Saphos' efforts were with the best intentions of law enforcement involved," while acknowledging that, "nothing surprises me in the murky world of criminal law enforcement."(77). Alcaino owned and operated a high -end jewelry store in downtown LA, and colllected impressionist art. The 11 stars below the DHS seal represent both the 11th day of September and the 11 original U.S. Customs Districts as depicted on the legacy USCS shoulder patch. The majority of HR processing notifications are made via email. By the time C-Chase kicked into gear, Mazur recalls he had extensive experience running investigations, testifying effectively in court and managing informants, all critical skills for undercovers. Here are a few of the most common: The only automatic suitability disqualifier at CIA is any illegal drug use within the last 12 months. We also Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. Special agents bring their skills, compassion, and integrity to stay ahead of threats, uphold the law, defend civil rights, and protect innocent people. HSI prides itself as an aggressive criminal investigative services agency. Like most other "1811" academies, the FBI academy has stringent fitness and academic standards. Blum told the Subcommittee: I talked to Joe Maigre, who was then the deputy in Tampa, who told me there was an undercover operation underway. The report states: Former BCCI employee Aziz Rehman was interviewed by IRS special agents in IRS's Miami office in April 1984 shortly after he was fired by BCCI for refusing to transport large volumes of currency which he believed to be in violation of existing Federal laws. I have heard through the grapevine as we have been investigating this of an instance or instances in which the Justice Department has access to or custody of a witness with material information regarding this case, which your office would like to interview but they have refused to provide your office with access to such a witness. In a unique effort to appeal to female applicants, Only a few CT cases culminate with the filing of actual terrorism charges by the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). It will take at least 1-2 years from the date you apply to the day you enter the academy. He testified that the BCCI official "laid out in exquisite detail the false capitalization of the bank, the question of straw men holding stock, the use of the bank to purchase First American, National Bank of Georgia, Independence Federal in Encino, CA"(104) According to Blum, he then: "flew up to Tampa and met with a team that consisted of other Customs and IRS agents and two representatives of the U.S. attorney's office. On 12/21/20, DOJ announced charges against a 3rd co-conspirator, Abu Agila Muhammad Masud Kheir Al-Marimi. but his videos are accessible and accurate. Currently have a federally funded student loan in default. HSI's organizational structure within ICE has resulted numerous well documented challenges. Internally known as the Reservation Murders (RESMURS), details about the incident can be found at. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be Although Mazur was offered a favorable position in the private sector; he was committed to continuing his law enforcement career, which he did for another eight years at DEA. He subsequently led DSS and FBI Special Agents in a global manhunt, resulting in his capture in 1997. General Schedule (GS) "(97), Lehtinen became even more confused when one month later he was told by the Justice Department that he could not indict because of problems of double jeopardy arising out of the Tampa case. (23) Burris understood the meaning of Awan's statements, describing them in Paragraph 4 of his affidavit in the following terms: Awan said that BCCI has bought and controls First American Bank and National Bank of Georgia through private individuals. . The bulk of Vincent's advice concerns the application & academy experience; and he provides. The Tampa prosecutors accordingly on January 31, 1990, wrote state regulators to advise them that the Tampa U.S. Attorney's office had no position whatsoever as to whether BCCI should be closed down, or stay open. . What Genzman appears to be saying is that the Justice Department brought a narrow case and received an appropriate fine. Post 9/11 merger, the "(17), During the winter of 1988, a tentative date was established for the takedown of BCCI. 102-350 Pt. What Mattingly did not state in his public testimony is that over the past year, the Justice Department had actually been refusing to provide assistance to the Federal Reserve, and to some extent, had actually mislead the Federal Reserve about the existence of important information. Chuck Saphos, head of the narcotics section of the Criminal Division of Justice in Washington, D.C., agreed to write a letter to the state regulators urging them to keep BCCI open. At border offices (i.e., Del Rio, San Diego), special agents can expect a fast paced environment responding to drug seizures, contraband interdiction, and human smuggling cases. SA John Moloney HSI has repeatedly & successfully used RICO statutes to dismantle transnational gangs. HSI typically uses immigration authority in support of, ) is inextricably linked to illegal immigration; consequently immigration authority is vital to these types of cases. Mr. Mazur ran his undercover operation as well, if not better, than any CIA operation. Despite the problems with not having the subpoenas enforced, Lehtinen's office continued to pursue the investigation of BCCI for tax fraud. Unlike other 1811 agencies, HSI now has an exclusive partnership with Air & Marine for priority air services (both rotary & fixed wing). Yes, I want to receive occasional updates from partners. Best trial lawyer Ive ever seen in a courtroom. Accordingly, the attorneys asked the Tampa prosecutors to send a letter to the state regulators asking the regulators to keep the bank open. . Working for or on behalf of the United States Federal Government begins with a multi-step on-boarding process which will include a background investigation. FBI is the largest 1811 special agent agency in the United States and has authority in many investigative areas. September 1991., p.2. targeted recruiting effort. FBI led investigation. Finally, when all else fails and the U.S. government needs a tool to get rid of bad actors (. (8), Abdur Sakhia, the former regional manager for BCCI in the United States, testified before the Subcommittee on Narcotics, Terrorism and International Operations that he met with Justice Department officials in the autumn of 1984 in the office of former then-Senator Paula Hawkins to discuss allegations of BCCI's involvement in drug money laundering. your data under the CCPA. The US Attorney in Tampa then made its second strategic mistake as it allowed the bank to plead out while prosecuting the individual bankers. If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have The most honorable man I had the pleasure to work for. On April 19, 1995, a domestic terrorist primarily targeting special agents of the ATF, FBI & DEA, detonated a truck bomb in front of the Federal Bldg., resulting in 168 deaths and approximately 680+ injuries. The C-Chase Team was vast, talented and worked tirelessly to contribute to the success of this history operation. Learn more about this investigation from former SA Bradley Garrett. department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a sale of The trial judge had indicated during a pre-trial conference that he was of the opinion that BCCI's participation in laundering drug money would be insufficient to prove to him that BCCI and its officers were also guilty of drug trafficking. The exact extent of this coverage would in any subsequent indictment of BCCI have been a matter for substantial legal argument. can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the Homeland Security Investigations. human smuggling Similarly, without the support of guys like Assistant Special Agent in Charge Paul O'Brien & Deputy Assistant Regional Commissioner Dennie Fagan; Mazur believes the case would never have been as successful as it was. George Godoy that we highly recommend. Despite the fact that hundreds of leads had not been followed up on in the C-Chase investigation, and that law enforcement officials in the filed recognized the importance of those leads, the Justice Department took which government agents later characterized as a "time-out". See e.g. Testimony of Deputy Assistant Attorney General Paul Maloney, S. Hrg. Through much of the Subcommittee's four year investigation into BCCI, the Justice Department treated the Subcommittee's investigation with visible disdain, at times bordering on contempt. When asked by Senator Kerry in a public hearing, Jackowski, under oath, stated that he did not come into contact with the CIA. What appears to have happened is that some members of the Operation C-Chase team were never able to move conceptually beyond the original goal of Operation C-Chase, namely, to target drug money laundering. now expected in early 2023. The FBI also has the reputation of being a "rigid" and "checklist" based organization that is centrally controlled from HQ; a natural outcome of its high profile investigative areas. ** Justice Department personnel in Washington, Miami and Tampa obstructed and impeded attempts by New York District Attorney Robert Morgenthau to obtain critical information concerning BCCI in 1989, 1990, and 1991, and in one case, a federal prosecutor lied to Morgenthau's office concerning the existence of such material. .And very little resources of those that were available could be used to deal with those matters because of the tremendous resources that were needed just to attend to pretrial motions and the upcoming trial in Tampa . Soufan subsequently leveraged the "FBI Brand" & his adventurous 7 years in law enforcement into a successful private sector career. In some instances the cooperation was non-existent, and in others, the Subcommittee has concluded that the Justice Department actually tried to frustrate or delay the provision of witnesses and documents to other law enforcement. Proper test preparation is among the *most* important steps that applicants need to take if they are seriously considering a career with the FBI. At this point, having delayed hearings concerning the Justice Department's handling of BCCI for months in 1991, and for more than a year since the Subcommittee's original request for its testimony in July, 1990, the Justice Department agreed to produce the witnesses in order to prevent the confrontation between the Senate and the Justice Department that would ensue should a subpoena be issued.(135). In an effort to develop subject matter experts, new special agents are now designated into one of five career paths: Intelligence, Counter-intelligence, Counterterrorism, Criminal, or Cyber. This article is intended as general information only and should not be construed as legal advice. Preferences menu of your browser. (110) Jackowski contended that he did not believe these claims, any more than he believed the other information Blum had provided him, characterizing Blum as a "wacko." When asked the same question by Subcommittee staff, Jackowski replied that "I read a lot of spy novels. We have given them everything we have on this matter. When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect The majority of HR processing notifications are made via email. & Hanssen sold Established in 2012, the Export Enforcement Coordination Center or E2C2, was established as an inter-agency deconfliction and information sharing center. The Subcommittee finds Jackowski's testimony not merely unconvincing, but given the severity of the charges, malicious. p. 23. was obviously unsuited for the job, he is a great communicator & made SA Mazur testified in criminal trials all over the world to ensure convictions. Staff advised the Justice Department that the deposition would be held Committee confidential, and was in any case constitutionally protected against disclosure. SA Soufan provided vital investigative assistance in the Jordan Millenium Plot, the USS Cole Bombing and several post 9/11 cases. What kind of cooperation are you receiving from them? cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. At the time of the plea agreement, BCCI's attorneys became aware of the possibility that BCCI's guilty plea on drug money laundering charges might well result in BCCI's closure by the various state banking regulatory agencies that had licensed it to do business in Florida, New York, and California. executives were shown to be involved in money laundering for drug cartels. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org and analytics partners. called ICE. They were not taken and we are just not able to say why.(87). The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly 2022 HSI FAQ to learn more. While the plea agreement did not technically bar any office of the Justice Department outside Tampa from prosecuting BCCI, the entrance of the plea by BCCI protected it on double jeopardy grounds from being prosecuted for any of the actions it took which arguably were included within the substance of the Tampa indictment. initial limited Additionally, The shooting resulted in the deaths of FBI SAs Jerry Dove & Ben Grogan and injured five others. was that there were a number of documents that were seized as a result of searches conducted in Miami and other places. Lehtinen and his assistants continued to urge the Department of Justice to assist in the enforcement of the other subpoenas. . The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an . Knew About BCCI," Washington Post September 9, 1991, "Greed, Influence and BCCI," The Washington Post, November 1, 1991; "Questions For Mr. Barr," Washington Post, November 12, 1991; "What Took So Long?," New York Times, August 3, 1991. While his Customs application processed, Mazur continued to engross himself as an undercover operative, eventually completing the IRS Undercover Course. Although the complexity of law enforcement undercover operations can vary; from a simply street-gun buy to a complex fraud type case; Mazur developed his undercover legends to stand up to the highest levels of scrutiny (which are usually reserved for intelligence type operations). The seal is symbolic of DHS's mission to prevent attacks and protect Americans. The federal law enforcement profession continues to be dominated by males. Following the meeting between Subcommittee staff and Saphos, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bruce Navarro advised Senator Kerry in a letter dated July 24, 1990: Your questions about the nature of BCCI's cooperation under the plea, BCCI's potential involvement in the handling of assets of Antonio Noriega and the possibility of further investigative efforts by the United States concern matters upon which the Department can not comment without jeopardizing any future prosecutions that might be undertaken. Marshal and ultimately ended up in a siege managed by the FBI. I think that's they're doing a very stupid thing. During the entire post indictment investigation, Mazur and the entire investigative team were strapped for resources. Mazur is particularly indebted to his undercover partner, Emir Abreu (whose son is currently an HSI special agent) and the two maintain contact to this day. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) FY 2021 Budget Request At A Glance agents) Current Services Adjustments: -$351.9 million Program Changes: +$199.7 million agents) Change From FY 2020 Enacted: -$152.2 million (-1.5%) (+308 positions; +127 agents) Mission: The mission of the FBI is to protect the American people The FBI has a wide jurisdiction and special agents can investigate crimes involving terrorism, financial fraud, counterintelligence, cyber crime, public corruption, civil rights, organized crime, white-collar crime, and violent crime. Upon acclimating to his environment in sunny Florida, Mazur got thrown into Operation Greenback, a joint inter-agency IRS and U.S. Customs (now HSI) operation that targeted money laundering connected to drug trafficking. Only after regulatory agencies around the world seized the bank on July 5, 1991, did the Justice Department begin to give the BCCI investigation an unprecedented urgency and importance. Mazur's proposal was accepted and the Customs Agency notified the Justice Department which provided strategic and tactical assistance. Blum's next contact with the Department of Justice occurred in March 1989. started as an undercover FBI investigation involving biker gangs, violence and drugs; eventually led to a "dictator with a machete." (11) Mazur testified that he had not been "armed with any particular information that BCCI was involved in that type of activity."(12). Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. (49), Various officials at the Justice Department provided different explanations as to why the information was not followed-up on. . In 1996, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Counterintelligence Officer/Special Agent Scott Carmichael became increasingly suspicious when DIA Analyst Ana Montes (, ) left her post early during an international incident. I would also like to acknowledge The Infiltrator as a must read for ANY future undercover operative and am eagerly awaiting The Betrayal for its release. of Justice, U.S. Government. That was what was on our plate. to learn more. The culmination of C-Chase later included indictments against a dozen BCCI executives, including a board member, and resulted in the termination of its operations (Yes, Mazur took down a bank.)! What is surprising is that a violation of these criteria can sometimes be mitigated at least in theory. Because October 1988 was a Presidential election year. In testimony before the Subcommittee, Assistant Attorney General Mueller struggled to explain the circumstances surrounding the Saphos letters, admitting, "that first letter is ambiguous at best," and "I do not know what initiated it "(75), Greg Kehoe, US Attorney Genzman's First Assistant testified that when he first learned about Saphos' letter to the state regulators, he was upset.