Feminists and the Law

FBI agents in Boston remain on the job (or retired without
penalty) after published allegations regarding their involvement in
the 20-years of informant abuses that allegedly permitted 19 homicides
by James Bulger. But after an agent "wrapped his arm around [a federal
prosecutor's] neck and gave her a Three Stooges-style noogie," the
omniscient Department of Justice recommends firing three agents.
(Shelley Murphy, "FBI says 3 in Boston office face dismissal," Boston
Globe, March 21, 2008)
Have feminists taken charge of the FBI and the US Attorney's
Office in Boston? How are horse play and/or sexual harassment a higher
priority than homicides of civilians by informants with the knowledge
of the supervising agents? These are the priorities of the Cambridge
police who enforce discrimination against illegal aliens and women
which are civil offenses. When minor crimes have a higher priority
than capital crimes it suggests that criminals may have taken charge
of the law enforcement mechanism using it for political, personal and
economic purposes.
When will a reputable investigator scrutinize law enforcement in
Massachusetts?

Roy Bercaw - Editor ENOUGH ROOM

FBI says 3 in Boston office face dismissal
Behavior with federal prosecutor is probed
By Shelley Murphy
Boston Globe Staff
March 21, 2008

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.
more stories like this

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."
(c) Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.