DEA Nails CBP Agents
By Tom Shoop | Thursday, May 29, 2008 | 10:18 AM
By Tom Shoop | Thursday, May 29, 2008 | 10:18 AM
The Drug Enforcement Administration has its hands full dealing with narcotraffickers in other countries and drug dealers at home. So it's really unfortunate when the agency also has to apprehend people who should be its allies -- agents in other federal agencies. DEA reported Wednesday that it had arrested Customs and Border Protection officers Walter Golembiowski and John Ajello on charges related to narcotics importation and bribery conspiracy.
The CBP officers are alleged to have assisted in clearing shipments of hashish, other controlled substances, and counterfeit goods through Customs operations at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
“Smuggling any kind of illegal commodity raises troubling issues at a time of deep concern over national security," said Michael J. Garcia, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. "The threat is heightened when a government official accepts bribes to help smugglers breach our borders. Thanks to the tireless work of our law enforcement partners, including internal investigators from DHS and ICE, these defendants will no longer be able to profit from their corruption of the public trust.”
Comments
First CBP officers go thru an extensive background investigation (BI) and repeat it every 5 years until they retire. Part of the BI is a full financial disclosure as well as credit history checks. I work closely with US Customs people and they are all shocked, disappointed and angry as we are. They feel personally insulted that those few dishonor their profession.
What motivates a person to do such a thing... who knows... there are plenty of reasons... yes money is one of them, but they are many others... (see below)
as this being a NY thing... sadly things like this are plaguing customs all over the country. The southern border being hardest hit... in fact do some searching you will see most of the corrupt officials are on the southern border... (So gap man your stereo-type does not fit)
It seems that the biggest reason for the corruption in the customs ranks has been the merge into DHS in 2003. CBP combined Customs, Immigration, Border Patrol, and Agriculture agencies into CBP. All the agencies were cross trained for the most extent and were forced to perform the other jobs. Since then most of the legacy agency personnel has left (retired or other agencies). Those who remain are dissatisfied at the job. (see OPM employee satisfaction surveys, DHS ranks the lowest and CBP the lowest DHS component) Most new CBP employees quickly leave the job for greener pastures.. I personally feel the lack of any real morale in CBP breeds this type of corruption. These individuals feel that the agency does not seriously care about the mission so why should they…. Is this a good reason, probably not for a sane individual, but I would venture to guess that is one of the factors that would justify one to do it.
Personally I feel that CBP should be disbanded and return to their prior agencies. One has to do little research to see this was an utter government failure and this rash of corruption only is icing on the cake.
+1+ on concerned US taxpayer's response. Poor BI's and returning these folks to their home city to work opens the doors to corruption.
This is not rocket science. Policies for other agencies have been in place for years. Management needs a shot in the arm and a kick in the ***.
What a bunch of Morons. I hope they go to Jail for a very long, long, long time.
Goon | Saturday, May 31, 2008 | 03:53 AMTed I agree as the bank robbers of old used to sat we rob the banks because that's where the money is. Just a few weeks ago a number of Customs agents were arrested on the Mexican border for taking bribes and allowing truckloads of illegals to come thru. Guess HSA is at fault here as well
dan ketter | Friday, May 30, 2008 | 07:41 PMDan I do not "blame the system" as you imply Ted is trying to do. But to be so nearsighted that you think stating simply "they are crooks" provides a complete answer is just as bad. It's as misguided to defend a system blindly as it is to let an individual off the hook for their decision because an environment provides the wrong incentives.
It's "just a storm" thinking led to the Katrina response.
Dave Sloan | Friday, May 30, 2008 | 02:08 PMTed the reason is they are crooks, nothing more or less. I'm sure the union will ask that they only get a 14 day suspension
dan ketter | Friday, May 30, 2008 | 11:17 AM
I guess I should not slam New Yorkers as being the only Fed workers practicing this kind of stuff. But it sure fits the stereo type: "You'se Guys"
Customs has long stressed integrity among its inspectors/officers. However, in any force of any size, there will be those who fall short. We should recognize that it is rarely a simple case of greedy officers turning bad. There are often personal issues that should have signaled that something was wrong before the officers became corrupt. And/or the agency has created a corrosive atmosphere that an employee on the edge can use as justification for his own misdeeds. I don't know anything about these two men, and do not for a moment excuse what they did, but there is more to the story than is reported here. Corruption is nearly always symptomatic of deeper problems.
Ted Bean | Thursday, May 29, 2008 | 08:32 PMProblem stems from hiring CBP officers on a rapid basis, ignoring elementary controls such as background investigation, financial status investigation (any human with financial problems or excessive debt is susceptible to bribery.
a concerned US taxpayer | Thursday, May 29, 2008 | 08:15 PMABOUT THIS BLOG
Government Executive Editor Tom Shoop takes a look at news and events affecting the federal bureaucracy, from the perspective of a longtime observer of government.
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