Investigations Division

Overview & Highlights

The Investigations Division investigates allegations of civil rights violations, bribery, fraud, abuse, and violations of other laws, rules, and procedures that govern Department of Justice employees, contractors, and grantees. The Division also develops cases for criminal prosecution, civil action, and administrative action. In some instances, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) refers allegations to components within the Department and requests notification of their findings and of any disciplinary action taken.

In addition to responding to misconduct allegations, the OIG believes additional benefits can result from proactive efforts to educate and deter employees from engaging in misconduct. To educate Department employees on ethics, agents conducted 70 integrity awareness briefings, reaching 1,944 Department employees.

During this reporting period, 71 arrests were made, including 18 Department employees, 46 civilians, and 7 Department contract personnel. Judicial action resulted in 68 individuals receiving sentences ranging from 2 months' to over
21 years' incarceration. Seizures totaled $1,249,776, the largest amount seized in a 6-month period since the OIG was established; fines, recoveries, and orders of restitution totaled $813,997. During this reporting period, 55 Department employees and 2 contractors received disciplinary action, ranging from oral reprimands to termination, as the result of OIG investigations.

Civil Rights

The OIG continues to play a key role in Department civil rights investigations involving Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) personnel. The OIG has three responsibilities regarding allegations of civil rights violations: receiving complaints, conducting criminal and noncriminal investigations of certain complaints, and tracking the disposition of all complaints among the various Department components that have responsibility for their outcome. The outcomes of OIG activities in these areas are discussed below and on the following pages.

Criminal Investigation of Civil Rights Allegations

The OIG is participating in a coordinated, multicomponent approach to civil rights enforcement along the Southwest Border. Currently, the OIG, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California, Civil Rights Division, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) use a team approach to civil rights enforcement in the San Diego border area of southern California. There, the OIG and FBI jointly investigate for criminal prosecution civil rights matters involving Department employees. The Investigations Division will follow a similar team approach elsewhere along the border involving its McAllen, El Paso, and Tucson Field Offices.

Civil Rights

Developments in civil rights matters during this reporting period include the following:

• Our prior Semiannual Report to Congress described a case in which a Federal jury found an INS detention enforcement officer guilty of violating an alien's civil rights. The investigation by the Los Angeles Field Office revealed that a detained alien was assaulted on two separate occasions. During this reporting period, the INS officer was sentenced to 21 months' incarceration and 3 years' probation.

• Allegations involving the sexual abuse of INS detainees were forwarded to the OIG by Casa Proyecto Libertad (an organization that assists detained aliens with their immigration cases). An investigation by the McAllen Field Office revealed that an INS recreation specialist sexually abused and assaulted young male detainees at an INS Service Processing Center. The specialist pled guilty and was sentenced to six months' incarceration, which was suspended, and to five years' supervised probation. He was prohibited from seeking employment in a custodial facility and was required to seek psychological counseling.

The following chart summarizes all new allegations, and their disposition, of civil rights abuse made against INS employees during the 6-month period ending September 30, 1996.

Tracking Civil Rights Allegations

The OIG compiles a monthly civil rights report that lists the credible, serious civil rights allegations made against INS employees and the actions taken by Department components in response to these allegations. The report is distributed to the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, INS, FBI, Civil Rights Division, and Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.

Investigations Division

Civil Rights

The chart below summarizes the total number of civil rights investigations and prosecutions of INS employees tracked and reported by the OIG during this reporting period. Some cases have been tracked for more than one reporting period.

Significant Investigations

Fraud

• The OIG learned that an INS officer-in-charge at a foreign post was providing fraudulent passports to Chinese alien smuggling groups in Hong Kong. This information was shared with the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption. The OIG and the Commission cooperated in pursuing leads in their respective countries. Investigative efforts by the San Francisco and El Paso Field Offices confirmed reports of the INS official's plans to travel to Hong Kong and deliver fraudulent passports.

The Washington Post Saturday, August 17, 1996

Hong Kong Commercial Daily Wednesday, July 17, 1996

Upon arriving in Hong Kong, the INS official presented his U.S. diplomatic passport to seek entry. He was detained, his baggage was searched, and five fraudulent passports were found in his possession. The INS official, several Hong Kong residents, and the Honduran general consul to Hong Kong were taken into custody and charged by the Commission with trafficking in forged documents. The Honduran government dismissed the general consul from his post and revoked his diplomatic immunity. He is currently a fugitive from charges in Hong Kong and is thought to be in hiding in the Far East. The INS officer-in-charge pled guilty to possession of forged documents and was sentenced by Hong Kong authorities to 40 months' incarceration in a Hong Kong prison. The OIG investigation is continuing.

Investigations Division

Significant Investigations

• Our last Semiannual Report to Congress described a case in which a former deputy U.S. marshal was convicted in Federal court in the Southern District of Florida of defrauding the Government. He collected over $300,000 in benefits under the Federal Employee Compensation Act while operating a travel business. During this reporting period, he was sentenced to serve one year's incarceration and three years' supervised release and ordered to make $217,843 restitution to the U.S. Department of Labor.

• In the Western District of Texas, the former executive director and the program director of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center pled guilty to false statements and conspiracy to commit money laundering and agreed to pay a total of $209,000 in civil fines and penalties. The nonprofit drug and alcohol rehabilitation center received a $250,000 annual contract from the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide services for Federal inmates in a halfway house environment. An investigation by the El Paso Field Office, Internal Revenue Service, and Travis County, Texas, District Attorney's Office revealed that the directors falsely concealed the fact that the program director was a convicted felon and that they had created a phony corporation through which to launder and convert Federal and State funds to their personal use. Through this fraudulent scheme, the directors obtained excessive bonuses, expensive furniture, and financial loans. This investigation led to a statewide initiative by the Texas Rangers in which similar federally and state funded rehabilitation centers were investigated. After widespread abuses were uncovered, the Governor of Texas placed the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse under conservatorship.

• In the Northern District of Illinois, an INS special agent was convicted by a Federal jury of wire fraud, mail fraud, harboring an illegal alien, and transporting an illegal alien. A 2-year investigation by the Chicago Field Office revealed that the agent used his position and influence to provide fraudulent and unauthorized INS documents and benefits to illegal aliens in order to adopt the aliens' children. The allegation was brought to the attention of the OIG by a personnel officer for a local meat processing plant after the agent attempted to intimidate him into hiring a female alien without the proper documentation. Sentencing is scheduled for early fall.

Bribery

The following two investigations are updates of cases originally included in our March 1995 Semiannual Report to Congress.

• An investigation by the Los Angeles Field Office revealed that an INS supervisory mail clerk was involved in the fraudulent manipulation of the INS Central Index System (CIS)—INS' computerized alien records system—which holds over 30 million records. The clerk accepted thousands of dollars in return for entering fraudulent biographical information on over 300 aliens into CIS, some of whom were known Asian organized crime figures. During this reporting period, the clerk was sentenced to 2 months' incarceration, 5 years' probation, and

Investigations Division

Significant Investigations

2,000 hours of community service. A coconspirator was accepted into pretrial diversion for cooperating with the Government and agreed to five years' probation and a $100,000 fine.

• An investigation by the Tucson Field Office revealed that an INS immigration inspector had provided in excess of 50 Border Crosser Cards to undocumented aliens without conducting proper criminal records inquiries or obtaining authentic proof of identification. The inspector and a middleman pled guilty to charges of bribery. During this reporting period, the middleman was sentenced to two years' probation and fined $1,000. The inspector was sentenced to five years' probation and ordered to pay $2,244 in restitution.

The following investigations are being reported for the first time.

THE NEW YORK TIMES THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 1996

• In the District of New Jersey, an INS assistant district director for examinations was indicted on charges of bribery, conspiracy, alien smuggling, fraud and misuse of U.S. entry documents, aiding and abetting, and making false statements. A joint New York Field Office and FBI investigation disclosed that Lebanese nationals in the Boston area were able to obtain genuine INS advance parole documents through a middleman with an inside connection at an INS district office. The middleman was indicted on fraud charges in the District of Massachusetts, fled the United States, and was a fugitive for approximately one year. Upon his return, he cooperated with the Government, pled guilty, and identified the district director as his inside connection. Trial is scheduled for this fall.

• In the Southern District of California, a document vendor and 13 others were arrested on bribery charges. An undercover investigation by the San Diego Field Office began when an INS inspector notified the OIG that he was offered bribes in exchange for INS documents and removing criminal or immigration records from INS data bases. A Mexican national served as the middleman and document vendor and introduced 13 clients (including two criminal aliens and two prior deportees) to the inspector over a 2-month period. The inspector was paid $17,300 in bribes for documents and data base record removals. Five defendants pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing. The other defendants received a pretrial continuance until November 1996.

• A commercial fishing executive from China and his office manager were arrested on charges of conspiracy and bribery. The office manager had offered an INS special agent a bribe in exchange for lawful Permanent Resident Alien status in the United States for her boss. The agent reported the bribe offer and cooperated in an investigation by the San Diego Field Office and FBI. The agent was paid $30,000 in bribes in return for Permanent Resident Alien status for the executive. Both defendants pled guilty and await sentencing.

Investigations Division

Significant Investigations

• An investigation by the McAllen Field Office disclosed that a Mexican national attempted to cross the border at a Texas port of entry using a fraudulent Border Crosser Card. When denied entry, she offered an INS immigration inspector a $5,000 bribe for a Resident Alien Card (green card). The alien was allowed to return to Mexico to obtain the money. When she returned to the port of entry, she was videotaped making the bribe payment and arrested by OIG agents. The defendant pled guilty and was sentenced to time served.

• In the Western District of Oklahoma, a Korean national was arrested on charges of bribery. An INS adjudications officer notified authorities that the Korean, a lawful permanent resident, had offered him a bribe in exchange for a passing grade on the English proficiency test required to become a U.S. citizen.
An investigation by the El Paso Field Office and FBI revealed that the Korean had twice failed the required test. The Korean was accepted for Pre-Trial Diversion and agreed to 18 months' probation—6 months' supervised and 12 months' suspended.

Drugs

• Our last Semiannual Report to Congress described the OIG's investigation of three related drug trafficking organizations attempting to identify a corrupt U.S. immigration official to provide them with immigration documents and to facilitate the entry of hundred-kilo loads of cocaine into the United States. After the OIG informed the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), these investigations became Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) cases in the Southern and Central Districts of California. During this reporting period, the five defendants pled guilty and were sentenced. Sentences ranged from 1 month's incarceration and 12 months' probation to 13 months' incarceration and 36 months' probation. One defendant was ordered to be returned to Texas to serve a remaining sentence on a manslaughter conviction. The remaining four were ordered deported as aggravated felons once they have served their sentences.

SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE THURSDAY JUNE 27, 1996

• Operation PORT SWEEPER, an investigation by the San Diego Field Office, FBI, and U.S. Customs Service focused on allegations that corrupt INS and U.S. Customs Service inspectors facilitated the smuggling of drugs between Mexicali, Mexico, and the United States. The reputed ring leader, a former INS inspector, was arrested as were four coconspirators on various cocaine smuggling charges. Two pled guilty, and a Federal jury convicted the remaining three. Search warrants resulted in the seizure and forfeiture to the Government of $1,222,345 in drug profits.

• In the District of Colorado, a BOP recreation specialist was arrested on charges of attempting to bring contraband into a prison facility. An investigation by the Colorado Springs Area Office and FBI revealed that the recreation specialist was paid over $700 by relatives of inmates to smuggle marijuana into the facility. The specialist was intercepted by agents while attempting to smuggle into the prison a quarter pound of the drug concealed in laundry detergent boxes.

Investigations Division

Significant Investigations

• An investigation by the McAllen Field Office and an INS Anti-smuggling Unit revealed that a Mexican national conspired to distribute over 50 kilograms of marijuana and attempted to sell a counterfeit Border Crosser Card for $2,000. The Mexican was arrested on drug trafficking charges and a coconspirator was arrested for drug trafficking, visa fraud, and conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

Theft

• Our last Semiannual Report to Congress described two cases in which deputy U.S. marshals assigned as Witness Security Program inspectors were charged with embezzlement. One investigation by the San Diego Field Office resulted in the deputy marshal being sentenced to two years' incarceration and three years' supervised probation and ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution. The other investigation by the El Paso Field Office resulted in a deputy marshal being sentenced to five months' incarceration, three years' probation, and five months' home confinement and ordered to pay $28,800 in restitution.

• In the Western District of Wisconsin, a BOP contract X-ray technician assigned to a correctional institution pled guilty to charges of theft of Government monies. A preliminary review of BOP records revealed that the contractor was not signing in on a daily basis. Instead, he entered his hours worked at the end of the month and submitted them for payment. An investigation by the Chicago Field Office, assisted by the Chicago Regional Audit Office, disclosed that the contractor overbilled BOP by $21,279. The contractor was sentenced to six months' incarceration and three years' supervised release and ordered to pay restitution.

• A former chief of police in Texas was arrested on State charges of theft and abuse of office. A McAllen Field Office and Texas Rangers investigation, assisted by the Dallas Regional Audit Office, revealed that the former chief had misappropriated approximately $19,000 in Federal Drug Asset Forfeiture/Equitable Revenue Sharing funds that the city had received. Trial is scheduled for this fall.

• In the District of Columbia, a Department contract mail clerk was arrested on charges of mail theft. An investigation by the Washington Field Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service revealed that the mail clerk was involved in an extensive mail theft scheme, targeting bank checks specifically. The clerk, who processed and delivered incoming mail throughout the Department, stole boxes of checks and turned them over to civilian coconspirators in exchange for television sets and video equipment. The clerk pled guilty and will be sentenced in January.

• A BOP correctional officer was arrested on State theft charges in Oregon. Management officials at a Federal Correctional Institution became suspicious that the correctional officer, who was serving as a union official, may have embezzled money from the union. An investigation by the Seattle Area Office and the Yamhill County Sheriff's Office revealed that the officer had taken $1,685 from a union account for his personal use and falsified his reason for doing so. The correctional officer pled guilty to theft in an Oregon Circuit Court and was sentenced to two years' probation and ordered to pay restitution to the union.

Investigations Division

Significant Investigations

Malfeasance

• In the Western District of Texas, an inmate escaped from a BOP prison camp and established telephone contact with a correctional officer assigned to the facility. The officer failed to report the inmate's calls in a timely manner. An investigation by the El Paso Field Office and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) revealed additional misconduct by the correctional officer, and BOP's Office of Internal Affairs joined the investigation. Although the investigation did not implicate the correctional officer in the escape, it found that the officer had an inappropriate relationship with another inmate, had failed to honor just debts, and was absent without leave. The correctional officer was fired for misconduct. The inmate was eventually apprehended, pled guilty to escape, and was sentenced to 20 months' additional confinement and 3 years' probation.

• In the Southern District of Texas, a former BOP commissary and warehouse supervisor assigned to a Federal Prison Camp pled guilty to sexual contact with a ward. This McAllen Field Office investigation revealed that the supervisor had sexual relations with two inmates. Sentencing is scheduled for December 1996.

• An investigation by the OIG revealed that a U.S. Marshal had violated Department regulations by engaging in the unauthorized use of a Government vehicle. During an interview with OIG agents, the marshal admitted to the allegation and received a 30-day suspension from USMS.

Investigations Statistics

The number of complaints received by the OIG continues to rise. During
Fiscal Year 1996, complaints increased by 8 percent over last year's total. This is the highest amount ever reported for a single fiscal year by the OIG.

Investigations Division

Investigations Statistics

The total number of convictions and pleas made in Fiscal Year 1996 increased by 30 percent over last Fiscal Year's total. Likewise, the total number of indictments and informations reported this Fiscal Year is the highest ever reported by the OIG and increased by 21 percent over the Fiscal Year 1995 total.

The following chart reflects allegations received during the 6-month reporting period ending September 30, 1996.

Investigations Division

Investigations Statistics

The charts on pages 16-17 reflect activities initiated during this reporting period as well as ongoing activities initiated during previous reporting periods.

Investigations Division

Investigations Statistics