Posted on 02/05/2011 11:53:28 PM PST by moonshinner_09
For nearly two decades, Lorne Leslie Jones worked among the smog-choked inspection lanes at the border crossings in San Ysidro and Otay Mesa, one of hundreds of uniformed customs officers tasked with guarding gateways into the U.S.
But something set Jones apart from his colleagues, federal prosecutors say — that for almost half the time he was a Customs and Border Protection officer, the ex-Marine known as “Hammer” accepted an estimated $500,000 in bribes to allow into the country an untold number of illegal immigrants and thousands of pounds of marijuana hidden in massive tractor trailers.
(Excerpt) Read more at signonsandiego.com ...
I like how they blame this guy’s crimes on the rapid hiring. He had been in for 2 decades, which meant he was up for 4 security reviews that are supposed to include a financial background. Somebody at OPM isn’t doing their job.
At least the writer got one part right: this moron, just like the late, lamented John Murtha, is an EX-marine. And you gotta go some to do THAT!! General Amos was pretty clear: once you earn that title, it’s yours for eternity, unless you do something like these guys did to lose it .
Uh, no one working for the federal government ever does their job 100%. They do the very minimum required.
He’s probably done the four security reviews but a guy can hide $500k over ten years if he took a few simple precautions. I’m guessing he took case bribes, and never put more than $5k a month into the bank. This would never have set off any markers for the security clearance guy. And as long as this guy lived in the same house for the whole time and drove regular cars (avoiding $75k luxury vehicles)....no one would have noted anything special about the guy.
I am absolootly 100% sure that this dastardly reprobate is the ONLY Border Patrolman to ever have been involved in something as shady and disreputable as this! Fine body of men. Federal officers, you know.
Drugs, you say?! Mexican Border? Preposterous, I say. Racist, too. These are wonderful folks. José, my gardener and his wife María, who is our cook, and Manuel our driver, and Josefina our nanny, and Carmen our laundress and upstairs maid, are just the finest people, and keep our old San Diego ranchito spic ansd span ... why these lovable little brown characters are just like family to us!
Money Laundering? funny you should mention, but I have always wondered why Swiss, Austrian, and Isle of Jersey and Man banks have branches in Tijuana. I thought it was to cash travelers cheques for the many international travelers who come to see the quaint and colorful sites oin this marvelous and friendly little town. Guess this bad guy could have hidden the swag there, huh, huh?
I doubt seriously that this guy let in every illegal, and that they only brought marijuana in when he was on duty.
They need to look around.
I am not accusing the whole bunch, but there are probab;ly 50 guys just like this one passing illegals and drugs through.
Can we deport him to Mexico, where his loyalties lie? If his loyalties lie anywhere beyond himself.
From Douglas, through Naco, from Nogales to Yuma, Arizona’s border people know: The Border Patrol is loaded with corrupt individuals.
“The Border Patrol (Arizona) is loaded with corrupt individuals.”
The same can be said of south Texas. I have it from a reliable source that there is a high rate of turnover within one of the region’s international airport’s operations function AND that it seems to be a concerted effort.
Could this turnover of personnel be because of corruption at the highest levels? I think it’s very possible that it is, if not absolutely probable.
Many of the corrupt agents have families on both sides of the border which makes them very approachable by criminal groups with the offer of money. In recent years there has been an even more disturbing trend of cartels finding people with clean records to join BP and OFO specifically to help them get loads across.
No surprise. That's what you get when you want to hire a large number of people and the most important quality is the color of their skin.
It is treason HANG him.
You have nailed the problem. Every barber in a bordertown in Arizona can tell you who is on the take. If you can speak Spanish, and have some guts, a visit to your friendly tavern and $500 will put you in contact with a coyote on the other side willing to do business.
Anything goes and anything goes through 24/7. Americans are well advised to steer clear of the border area within Mexico. As others have accurately pointed out, Border Patrol personnel are heavily Mexican, most are anchor babies, and have deep connections across what used to be the border.
They and their relatives are particularly susceptible and vulnerable to the standard "Plata o Plomo" narco-offer, which means take our money or take a bullet. The bribes are in cash, and as I pointed out, Mexican banks or European bank branches in Mexico can easily hide the swag.
IMHO, the Border Patrol is completely compromised, from top to bottom. An honest Patrolman is risking his life, with the danger coming from both the Mexican and American sides.
Its Feb 2012 and this case has dragged on in the courts with no end. The prosecution has retired without resolving this case and we call this justice? Where is the evidence? Where are the bribes they claim were taken? Why hasn’t the judge dismissed this case with prejudice yet? Has an innocent border guard been unfairly discarded and wrongfully incarcerated? Charges do not mean any crime was actually committed. Is this a travesty?
Tell Agent Terry that.
“The Border Patrol is loaded with corrupt individuals.”
Best to make a distinction between the green uniforms (Border Patrol Agents) and the blue shirts (CBP).
CBP workes the POE’s where they have the highest rate of corruption.
All government agencies have some corruption, but the guys in green, the guys on the line working between the POEs, they have among the lowest corruption rates.
These guys work deep in the desert, sometimes alone, most times with a single partner, taking down 100’s of illegals and drug smugglers at a time.
These guys are in very much danger at all times, from the terrain to the drug cartels, they get hurt at a much higher rate than the blue shirts, as blue shirts rarely ever physically take down anyone.
Ever watch Border Wars? Those lazy 300lbs blue shirts at the POE wouldn’t last an hour in the field. They are lazy and bored, and this makes a great breeding ground for corruption. Border Patrol Agents in that area are busy and constantly working so the “opportunity” to be bored and turn the other way is almost non-existent.
Green shirts rarely ever NOT use physical force to stop illegals and drug smugglers. They are busy, very busy.
Point being, they are not “loaded” with corrupt Agents.
Working alone in the desert, hours from backup or medical care, they have to trust the other green shirts. If there is any doubt as to a Border Patrol Agent’s honor, well, that Agent doesn’t last long on the line.
Border Patrol Agents trust their life to other Border Patrol Agents. The 300-lb out-of-shape bored blue shirt CBP POE-working person just doesn’t have to trust an other blue shirt.
Not only do the green shirts fight illegals and drug smugglers, they also back-up the local sheriff’s and law enforcement. The local guys would not be calling for back-up if they thought the Border Patrol was “loaded” with corrupt Agents.
“Border people know” they are not all angels, but border people know the green shirts are the one’s you can trust.
Not so much for the blue shirts.
“The same can be said of south Texas. I have it from a reliable source that there is a high rate of turnover within one of the region’s international airport’s operations function AND that it seems to be a concerted effort.”
NOT Border Patrol. CBP. Big difference.
“Border Patrol personnel are heavily Mexican, most are anchor babies”
The background investigation is done and being an “anchor baby” is an automatic disqualification. So is being a Mexican. US citizens only. No anchor babies because he would then have to arrest his mother and father, sisters, etc.
No appeal. No options.
I’ll be sure to pass to my son, a Border Patrol Agent that has been injured doing his job and shot a drug smuggler trying to kill him, that he is corrupt and/or compromised, and supposed conservatives consider him a criminal and not worthy of support.
+1
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