Desdinova
Master Don Juan
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2004
- Messages
- 11,663
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Pretty sad that a woman can get away with this.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/21/fbi_says_3_in_boston_office_face_dismissal/
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Three FBI agents were finishing a meeting with a female federal prosecutor in the federal courthouse in Boston in 2006 when one of them came up behind her, wrapped his arm around her neck and gave her a Three Stooges-style noogie, according to several law enforcement officials.
Now, after a yearlong investigation by the Justice Department into whether the incident was foolish horseplay, bullying, or harassment, the FBI has concluded that all three of the male agents should be fired, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Investigators from the inspector general's office found that FBI Supervisory Agent Robert Callen, who was overseeing the Boston office's organized crime squad at the time of the incident, acted inappropriately when he put his hands on the prosecutor.
They also determined that Callen and the other agents, whose identities were not disclosed, were not truthful when questioned about what happened, according to officials.
Callen, who has been an agent for more than 20 years and is eligible to retire in June, and the two other agents may appeal the decision within the FBI, officials said. They have 60 days to file an appeal after being notified of their proposed termination, officials said.
"No one has been fired," said Gail Marcinkiewicz, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Boston office, when asked about the incident yesterday. "Because this is an administrative matter, we will not be able to discuss it any further."
Acting US Attorney Michael K. Loucks also declined to comment on the matter, citing privacy concerns. He asked the Globe to withhold the name of the prosecutor.
The case has inflamed tensions between the FBI's Boston office and the US attorney's office, law enforcement officials said.
When the incident occurred, the prosecutor was assigned to the Organized Crime Strike Force, the unit that spearheaded the prosecution of fugitive gangster James "Whitey" Bulger and exposed the depth of his corrupt relationship with the FBI.
The Bulger case has left a cloud over the FBI's Boston office and its organized crime squad in particular. Bulger, facing charges that he killed 19 people, remains elusive. His long-time handler, retired FBI agent John J. Connolly, Jr., is serving a 10-year sentence for his 2002 racketeering conviction.
Connolly is also slated to stand trial in Miami in September on charges of helping Bulger kill a Boston businessman in 1982.
Supporters of the agents threatened with termination say the punishment is unjustly harsh and was driven by other prosecutors, who pushed to have the incident investigated by the Justice Department.
"It was very innocent, and it got blown out of proportion," said one official, who asked not to be named.
But other officials say the agents were punished, not because of the incident itself, but because of their lack of candor about it.
The prosecutor who was grabbed now handles drug cases. She declined to talk about the incident when reached by telephone yesterday.
"I can't comment on this," she said. "I love my job."
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/21/fbi_says_3_in_boston_office_face_dismissal/
======================================
Three FBI agents were finishing a meeting with a female federal prosecutor in the federal courthouse in Boston in 2006 when one of them came up behind her, wrapped his arm around her neck and gave her a Three Stooges-style noogie, according to several law enforcement officials.
Now, after a yearlong investigation by the Justice Department into whether the incident was foolish horseplay, bullying, or harassment, the FBI has concluded that all three of the male agents should be fired, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Investigators from the inspector general's office found that FBI Supervisory Agent Robert Callen, who was overseeing the Boston office's organized crime squad at the time of the incident, acted inappropriately when he put his hands on the prosecutor.
They also determined that Callen and the other agents, whose identities were not disclosed, were not truthful when questioned about what happened, according to officials.
Callen, who has been an agent for more than 20 years and is eligible to retire in June, and the two other agents may appeal the decision within the FBI, officials said. They have 60 days to file an appeal after being notified of their proposed termination, officials said.
"No one has been fired," said Gail Marcinkiewicz, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Boston office, when asked about the incident yesterday. "Because this is an administrative matter, we will not be able to discuss it any further."
Acting US Attorney Michael K. Loucks also declined to comment on the matter, citing privacy concerns. He asked the Globe to withhold the name of the prosecutor.
The case has inflamed tensions between the FBI's Boston office and the US attorney's office, law enforcement officials said.
When the incident occurred, the prosecutor was assigned to the Organized Crime Strike Force, the unit that spearheaded the prosecution of fugitive gangster James "Whitey" Bulger and exposed the depth of his corrupt relationship with the FBI.
The Bulger case has left a cloud over the FBI's Boston office and its organized crime squad in particular. Bulger, facing charges that he killed 19 people, remains elusive. His long-time handler, retired FBI agent John J. Connolly, Jr., is serving a 10-year sentence for his 2002 racketeering conviction.
Connolly is also slated to stand trial in Miami in September on charges of helping Bulger kill a Boston businessman in 1982.
Supporters of the agents threatened with termination say the punishment is unjustly harsh and was driven by other prosecutors, who pushed to have the incident investigated by the Justice Department.
"It was very innocent, and it got blown out of proportion," said one official, who asked not to be named.
But other officials say the agents were punished, not because of the incident itself, but because of their lack of candor about it.
The prosecutor who was grabbed now handles drug cases. She declined to talk about the incident when reached by telephone yesterday.
"I can't comment on this," she said. "I love my job."
