DEA Found Guilty of Retaliating Against Whistleblower
The DEA has been found guilty of retaliating against an agent who exposed misconduct. Basically they committed a crime in order to send a message to their employees about not exposing their other crimes.
From MiamiHerald.com:
But wait…that name sounds familiar. Isn't Sandalio Gonzalez the same DEA agent who was forced into early retirement after exposing DOJ culpability in the "House of Death" murders in Mexico? Apparently yes.
So as I understand it, Gonzalez first blew the whistle in Miami when his colleagues stole 10 kilos of cocaine and tried to cover it up. He was then involuntarily transferred to Texas, where he blew the whistle when his colleagues allowed a government informant to commit multiple gruesome murders in Mexico. Having had about enough of him, the DEA again retaliated, forcing Gonzalez into early retirement.
So either Sandalio Gonzalez just loves whistle-blowing, or he was the only person at DEA who much cares when government officials steal drugs and sanction murders on foreign soil. His treatment sends a message to current DEA staffers that exposing gratuitous misconduct will not be appreciated. Especially if you do it twice.
In our opinion, the DEA's activities range from foolish to immoral even when conducted in good faith. So when you mix in gross misconduct and retaliation against whistleblowers, you know you've got a mess on your hands. It's a shame that the mainstream media isn't more interested in this, because the novelty has worn off for us. We already know DEA is a rogue agency.
It's Congress that should be talking about this, not us. They're the ones who should be upset that DEA management tacitly endorses misconduct by discouraging its exposure. They're the ones who are charged with ensuring that tax-payer funded programs aren't wasteful and incompetent. If Congress believes in what DEA is supposed to be doing, it's time to demand accountability. If not, it's time to admit we've created a monster…and stop feeding it.
From MiamiHerald.com:
A federal jury in Miami found the Drug Enforcement Administration discriminated against Sandalio Gonzalez, the former second-in-command of the DEA's South Florida field office, by retaliating against him with a transfer to another job in Texas in 2001.
…
For Gonzalez -- who stirred controversy in 2000 when he blew the whistle on a Miami drug bust in which 10 kilos of cocaine went missing -- the court triumph was sweet vindication. He had stood up for not only himself, but also other Hispanic and black DEA agents in the Miami field office over issues of discrimination, his lawyers said.
But wait…that name sounds familiar. Isn't Sandalio Gonzalez the same DEA agent who was forced into early retirement after exposing DOJ culpability in the "House of Death" murders in Mexico? Apparently yes.
So as I understand it, Gonzalez first blew the whistle in Miami when his colleagues stole 10 kilos of cocaine and tried to cover it up. He was then involuntarily transferred to Texas, where he blew the whistle when his colleagues allowed a government informant to commit multiple gruesome murders in Mexico. Having had about enough of him, the DEA again retaliated, forcing Gonzalez into early retirement.
So either Sandalio Gonzalez just loves whistle-blowing, or he was the only person at DEA who much cares when government officials steal drugs and sanction murders on foreign soil. His treatment sends a message to current DEA staffers that exposing gratuitous misconduct will not be appreciated. Especially if you do it twice.
In our opinion, the DEA's activities range from foolish to immoral even when conducted in good faith. So when you mix in gross misconduct and retaliation against whistleblowers, you know you've got a mess on your hands. It's a shame that the mainstream media isn't more interested in this, because the novelty has worn off for us. We already know DEA is a rogue agency.
It's Congress that should be talking about this, not us. They're the ones who should be upset that DEA management tacitly endorses misconduct by discouraging its exposure. They're the ones who are charged with ensuring that tax-payer funded programs aren't wasteful and incompetent. If Congress believes in what DEA is supposed to be doing, it's time to demand accountability. If not, it's time to admit we've created a monster…and stop feeding it.
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Gonzalez should jump over to LEAP
Sandalio Gonzalez -- If he isn't a member of LEAP now... they should give him a call with both CeCe Castillo AND Gonzalez working to expose the DEA's "House of Death" like activity... maybe... just maybe LEAP will be the well oiled machine that brings prohibition down
IF the democrats get behind LEAP / Judges Against the Drug War they may have a chance to ATLEAST get some debate going on in congress while they have control
Not surprising
My father was a pilot for the DEA in Panama in 1984-1985. After refusing to fly a dangerous and illegal flight for them as part of a bust, he was grounded. Seems as if the DEA doesn't care who gets hurt or killed in the process of catching drug lords. Part of me thinks they're trying to set Guinness Book records for "most concurrent counts" and "most years given in a sentence", rather than perhaps simply dealing with the people who actually do control armed, drug-funded militias by shutting them down quickly and efficiently. Instead, we're spraying crops to no good effect and incarcerating the disposable footsoldiers of some of the truly dangerous cartels, while empowering the cartels to maintain armed strangleholds on black market sectors.
Thank you Scott Morgan for posting Sandy Gonzalez's story
Thanks Scott for saving the Miami Herald's story about retired DEA SAC Sandalio Gonzalez. He is a personal friend and supporter. I am also a retired and former federal supervisor in charge of a Customs' Office of Internal Affairs. I am happy that Sandy was able to prove his case of retaliation by DEA. I filed a class action complaint of discrimination against the Legacy U.S. Customs Service in 1995. In the same year I got promoted to Resident Agent in Charge, Internal Affairs but it was an up hill battle fighting trumpeted allegations of agency's policy violations. When Customs called the watchdog Treasury's Office of Inspector General, every denial from my part was a trip to the U.S. Attorney's office asking that I be indicted for lying, a violation of 18 USC 1001. I also reported gross criminal misconduct by Customs mid-top level management officials but nothing happened to them. I finally gave up in 10-2006. I settled an MSPB case and retired at age 51. Once again, thank you!
Miguel A. Contreras, PhD
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