Mach
11-28-2014, 01:49 PM
They get so cocky that, they screw themselves........ nothing good can come from such a, do-whatever-we-damned-well-please mentality....
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20141124/17553429244/wtf-atf-atfs-fake-retail-stores-bad-behavior-why-it-only-came-out-because-they-failed-to-pay-rent.shtml
WTF ATF: The ATF's Fake Retail Stores, Bad Behavior... And Why It Only Came Out Because They Failed To Pay Rent
This past week, on This American Life, the first 20 minutes or so are the incredible story of just how screwed up the ATF continues to be (the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms). Much of this has been reported on over the past year and a half by reporters in Milwaukee (and investigated by Congress), but it's absolutely worth listening to the details -- which you can do over on the This American Life page (I'd post the embed here, but unfortunately This American Life does not yet appear to support HTTPS, so we can't). The story is all kinds of stunning, including the insane fact that most of the details came out, and the reporters only began their investigation, because some undercover ATF agents in Milwaukee had trashed the property they were renting, and refused to pay the rent or damages to the landlord -- even threatening the landlord, claiming he was harassing federal agents by asking for the rent:
John Diedrich: I get a call. And it was from a landlord, a guy named Dave Salkin. And Dave Salkin owns this place that he, unbeknownst to him, rented to the ATF. Didn't know who they were, they were undercover agents. And they had trashed his place, and they were behind on rent. They had threatened him. And I said, where are you, I'm coming right now.
Ira Glass: While they were undercover, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives basically ripped up his place. Salkin said at the time that they owed $15,000 in damages and back rent. Later he said it was more. When he tried to collect, they didn't pay up. In fact, an ATF lawyer warned him that if he kept asking for the money, it could be seen as harassing federal agents.
The other thing that becomes clear in all of this is that these "undercover" ATF agents aren't just sloppy and stupid, they seem to go out of their way to be ineffective and dangerous.
cont..... (https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20141124/17553429244/wtf-atf-atfs-fake-retail-stores-bad-behavior-why-it-only-came-out-because-they-failed-to-pay-rent.shtml)
----
Follow-up.....
http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/bill-eliminating-atf-introduced-in-wake-of-botched-operations-b99352690z1-275464651.html
Bill eliminating ATF introduced in wake of botched operations (Oh boy, is thisss great! :D)
A bill that would eliminate the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and fold its duties into the FBI and other agencies was introduced Wednesday in Congress.
The bill, by U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), would impose an immediate hiring freeze at the ATF and require that a plan be submitted within six months on how to move its activities to other agencies.
The bill calls for eliminating the agency a year after the bill's final passage, moving its functions into the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Treasury Department.
In a statement, Sensenbrenner called ATF "a duplicative, scandal-ridden agency that lacks a clear mission."
cont...
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20141124/17553429244/wtf-atf-atfs-fake-retail-stores-bad-behavior-why-it-only-came-out-because-they-failed-to-pay-rent.shtml
WTF ATF: The ATF's Fake Retail Stores, Bad Behavior... And Why It Only Came Out Because They Failed To Pay Rent
This past week, on This American Life, the first 20 minutes or so are the incredible story of just how screwed up the ATF continues to be (the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms). Much of this has been reported on over the past year and a half by reporters in Milwaukee (and investigated by Congress), but it's absolutely worth listening to the details -- which you can do over on the This American Life page (I'd post the embed here, but unfortunately This American Life does not yet appear to support HTTPS, so we can't). The story is all kinds of stunning, including the insane fact that most of the details came out, and the reporters only began their investigation, because some undercover ATF agents in Milwaukee had trashed the property they were renting, and refused to pay the rent or damages to the landlord -- even threatening the landlord, claiming he was harassing federal agents by asking for the rent:
John Diedrich: I get a call. And it was from a landlord, a guy named Dave Salkin. And Dave Salkin owns this place that he, unbeknownst to him, rented to the ATF. Didn't know who they were, they were undercover agents. And they had trashed his place, and they were behind on rent. They had threatened him. And I said, where are you, I'm coming right now.
Ira Glass: While they were undercover, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives basically ripped up his place. Salkin said at the time that they owed $15,000 in damages and back rent. Later he said it was more. When he tried to collect, they didn't pay up. In fact, an ATF lawyer warned him that if he kept asking for the money, it could be seen as harassing federal agents.
The other thing that becomes clear in all of this is that these "undercover" ATF agents aren't just sloppy and stupid, they seem to go out of their way to be ineffective and dangerous.
cont..... (https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20141124/17553429244/wtf-atf-atfs-fake-retail-stores-bad-behavior-why-it-only-came-out-because-they-failed-to-pay-rent.shtml)
----
Follow-up.....
http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/bill-eliminating-atf-introduced-in-wake-of-botched-operations-b99352690z1-275464651.html
Bill eliminating ATF introduced in wake of botched operations (Oh boy, is thisss great! :D)
A bill that would eliminate the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and fold its duties into the FBI and other agencies was introduced Wednesday in Congress.
The bill, by U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), would impose an immediate hiring freeze at the ATF and require that a plan be submitted within six months on how to move its activities to other agencies.
The bill calls for eliminating the agency a year after the bill's final passage, moving its functions into the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Treasury Department.
In a statement, Sensenbrenner called ATF "a duplicative, scandal-ridden agency that lacks a clear mission."
cont...