🚀 go-pugleaf

(continued from message #1)

'representative' as permitted by the Department of State.  Co-worker went
back and told his direct boss and the Consul General that he thought she
had got the shaft and shortly after he was fired also.

We continued to gather information as she and her husband, my friend, talked
to other people within the Police Department trying to obtain more information
as to ex-cop.  The people they talked to reads like a who's who of high law
enforcement officials in that country.  Virtually everyone they talked to
couldn't believe that the U.S. Embassy could employ such a scoundrel as an
Anti-Fraud Investigator when he had such a long record of bad behavior as
a police officer.

I prepared extensive packets of information and sent them to Senator Dale
Bumpers and Senator David Pryor, the U.S. Senators from our state.

My friends and I were very concerned about the potentially damaging effect
that this might have in letting people into our country so we prepared a
summary report and insured that it got to the U.S. Ambassador and the head
of the Narcotics division within the Embassy. (We were hesitant to send it
to either SY or to the Consul General for we expected that there were real
problems in the Embassy in these areas.)  We expected to hear fireworks but
still nothing happened.

Because of our concern for what this could mean to the Embassy, we jointly
prepared a very extensive report (including translations of ex-cop's work
record at our expense by a top notch law firm in the country) and I presented
it to the FBI.  Unlike Cliff Stoll's experience, the FBI did show interest
in my report.  I know this because of few weeks later I found out via our
contacts within the police department (actually directly from the Interpol
Liaison for the country) that the FBI had made an appointment to have a
conference with the top police officials within the next month.

Meanwhile, as information was being sent back and forth between us, I had
mentioned some other names of people that were sympathetic with what was
happening and each time we would mention someone, that person would be
fired from the Embassy. (Boy I wished PGP had existed then...)

The FBI showed up (with my report in hand) and using my documentation
interrogated each and every person listed in my report.  Apparently the
FBI satisfied themselves that there was no security risk (assumption on
my part) and we heard nothing further from them.

The last I heard about the ex-cop was that he had gone from an old Toyota
to a new Mercedes.  In May of 1991, there was an article in one of the large
newspapers in the country which said that the reporter writing the article
had found out that the U.S. Embassy there was (to quote) "a den of thieves"
and that people were being shakened down for money (and even sexual favors) in
order that they could get an American visa.     This, in my mind, shows that
we were right all along with what we had found out from our 'private'
investigation of the matter.

Meanwhile, after I mentioned in the cover letter to the FBI report that my
friend's wife was thinking about bring legal action against the Department of
State for inappropriate dismissal, the Embassy yanked both my friend's and
his wife's visas which they had had for many years.  Additionally, we have
had other people come forward who have given us sworn statements about how
our wonderful Embassy's personnel have held back giving visas unless they
would 'cooperate' in saying that they had given my friend's wife money for
favors in obtaining previous visas.  One very successful businessman from
this country would not cooperate and hence did not get a visa to visit the
United States.  This we have detailed extensively.

Now, Doctor Denning, I have presented you with a situation which I know
personally is very true because I spent many months and have hundreds of
pages of documentation on it.  Even though I have contacted two U.S. Senators
and one U.S. Representative about this, they either couldn't or didn't
do anything.  I contacted the State Department and was told that I "should
not worry because when someone like that gets hired they usually don't work
out and are gone in a couple of years".  At least the FBI did it's job which
makes me feel much better that at least someone is seriously aware of the
situation (although how much good that will do I don't know).

Had PGP been available at that time I probably would have used it to gather
the information for the report I prepared for the FBI.  Doctor Denning,
would I have been correct in doing this and using encryption?   Here my
purpose was solely to obtain facts which, in my humble opinion, demonstate
beyond a shadow of a doubt that something very fishy was going on in our
Embassy in that foreign country.  I didn't want our government to know that
I was gathering information on something where I think they screwed up
royally.  My interest initially was to assist my friends but grew into a
3 person campaign to plug what all of us still believe to be a very bad
situation for the U.S. Embassy and all the people living in our country.

I guess my question really is whether, in your opinion, would it be
justifiable for me to use encryption to safeguard information from certain
branches of our government when I sincerely believe those branches of
government are covering up a potentially dangerous and scandalous situation?

>Our rights to electronic privacy have yet to be thoroughly sorted out
 like they have for other things.

I agree with you.  But please realize that there are some good guys too.
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 . SM 1.06 ----- . Email: john.eichler@grapevine.lrk.ar.us