Posted on 04/19/2004 12:19:22 AM PDT by KneelBeforeZod
The owner of a San Leandro warehouse complex searched by federal agents seeking rocket launchers scoffed Saturday at the notion that he has any links to terrorism or illegal military weapons.
"This is ridiculous -- I'm a junkyard owner, not a terrorist,'' said Harold Chapman, 75, owner of a 25-acre former Kellogg's corn flakes plant that has been converted into warehouse space. "I'm about as much threat to national security as a tired old dog.''
Federal investigators said Friday, as they searched the building, that they had no information linking the search to terrorism. The federal search warrant used to conduct the raid was sealed, but the U.S. magistrate who signed the warrant told The Chronicle the search was for "rockets that could be launched from military vehicles and (for) some M-16s."
Marti McKee, spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Saturday that she could not elaborate on the magistrate's comment but confirmed that her agency's agents were looking for "military weapons and explosives" and that none were found.
McKee had said the raid was the culmination of a six-month investigation.
"The investigation is ongoing, and the investigating agencies -- ATF, FBI, and the Alameda County Narcotics Task Force -- will continue the investigation," she said. "What has been concluded is the search of that premise."
Chapman said several hundred searchers caused some $1 million damage to his warehouse complex at 2040 Williams St., located in an industrial area between the San Leandro BART station and Oakland International Airport.
All they took with them was a few documents, he said, and a couple of miscellaneous machine parts.
**Snip**
"I'm mad because I offered them the keys to every door here, and they just wanted to be cowboys and crash their way in,'' said Chapman, who lives in a trailer at the rear of the site. "We offered to help them, and they just decided to do it their way. They're complete morons. They trashed the place for no reason.''
McKee and FBI spokesman Anthony Montero said the number of agents was necessitated by the size of the facility -- upwards of 100,000 square feet - - and the quantity of potentially dangerous material inside.
Montero said the search was "methodical," and denied that shotguns or explosives were used to open doors -- a technique he said would be unwise in any case given the nature of what investigators were seeking.
SNIP
"I told them we've never seen anything like that here,'' said Robb, an independent contractor who works with Chapman and was helping him assess the damage on Saturday. "They showed us pictures of rocket launchers with metal tubes. ... We offered to show them every tube of metal here to prove we have nothing like that. ''
"It was a big waste of their time,'' said Robb, who was detained most of Friday. "Now we're stuck picking up the pieces.''
Chapman runs a Web site -- www.lottastuff.com -- that specializes in re- selling junk, everything from heavy equipment to construction supplies. The site's slogan is: "You never know what you'll find!"
Chapman said he purchased most of his stuff from federal auctions of surplus machinery and supplies. Many of his items come from auctions of old machinery and equipment from the now-closed Alameda Naval Air Station, Oakland Naval Supply Center and other defunct military sites in Northern California.
"My biggest suppliers are the military and the Energy Department,'' Chapman said. "Some of the stuff they sold me is in sealed boxes that we still haven't had time to open. ... So if there's anything illegal in here, it's their own damn fault. They are their own bad guy here.''
He said he has never been able to learn the purpose of some of the odd pieces of custom-made machinery he has bought at federal auctions. His Web site even includes a photo with the caption: "Do you know what this is? We can't figure it out. Is it a secret energy weapon? Or a lawn ornament? Drop us an e-mail and let us know."
Chapman said that San Leandro police and Alameda County sheriff's deputies have used his complex to conduct training exercises.
"Their SWAT teams have been here several times to train,'' Chapman said. "They also come here to train their police dogs in doing searches.''
Chapman said that dogs trained to sniff explosives combed his entire property Friday.
Chapman said they believe that the investigation was initiated by a false tip from a man who had a personal beef with him. "He was jealous because we were both seeing the same woman,'' he said. "That's the only person I can think of who would do a thing like this."
Chapman said that his only previous legal trouble was several federal lawsuits he filed against the Environmental Protection Agency, to challenge rulings that he was illegally storing toxic waste on his site.
"I have lots of barrels of old paint and thinner and things like that here,'' Chapman said. "The issue was if I was storing it properly.''
"It's kind of a big jump from paint thinner to terrorism,'' Chapman said. "I guess the feds had to check out the tip in case it was real. But they could have been a lot more diplomatic about this. ... And if they don't pay for all the work I have to do to fix the mess they made, I'm damn well going to sue them for every penny.''
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Now we are getting somewhere. Did our favorite Uncle "lose" something?
Bingo! Some idiot bureaucrat screwed up and possibly sold something at auction that should not have been sold and this poor, law-abiding citizen gets screwed over.
Really we ALL get screwed. Most of the Fed stuff is obsolete but still useful to any resourceful and desperate adversary. Remember the targets were rockets. A while back and still in the news for Iraq contract scamming is SAIC (or subsidiary)who had gobbled up fed auction and hard drives still had crap on it or to that effect.
No, Harold, they trashed the place to show you who's boss. Its SOP.
Lawsuits/negotiation 101...You'll never get what you ask for, always ask for more than you need.
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