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http://insightmag.com/main.cfm/include/detail/storyid/163052.html > > DynCorp Disgrace > Posted Jan. 14, 2002 > By Kelly Patricia OMeara > > > > Americans were seen in Bosnia as defenders of the children, as shown here, > until U.S. contractors began buying children as personal sex slaves. > > > > Middle-aged men having sex with 12- to 15-year-olds was too much for Ben > Johnston, a hulking 6-foot-5-inch Texan, and more than a year ago he blew > the whistle on his employer, DynCorp, a U.S. contracting company doing > business in Bosnia. > > According to the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) > lawsuit filed in Texas on behalf of the former DynCorp aircraft mechanic, > "in the latter part of 1999 Johnston learned that employees and supervisors > from DynCorp were engaging in perverse, illegal and inhumane behavior [and] > were purchasing illegal weapons, women, forged passports and [participating > in] other immoral acts. Johnston witnessed coworkers and supervisors > literally buying and selling women for their own personal enjoyment, and > employees would brag about the various ages and talents of the individual > slaves they had purchased." > > Rather than acknowledge and reward Johnston's effort to get this behavior > stopped, DynCorp fired him, forcing him into protective custody by the U.S. > Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) until the investigators could get > him safely out of Kosovo and returned to the United States. That departure > from the war-torn country was a far cry from what Johnston imagined a year > earlier when he arrived in Bosnia to begin a three-year U.S. Air Force > contract with DynCorp as an aircraft-maintenance technician for Apache and > Blackhawk helicopters. > > For more than 50 years DynCorp, based in Reston, Va., has been a worldwide > force providing maintenance support to the U.S. military through contract > field teams (CFTs). As one of the federal government's top 25 contractors, > DynCorp has received nearly $1 billion since 1995 for these services and has > deployed 181 personnel to Bosnia during the last six years. Although DynCorp > long has been respected for such work, according to Johnston and internal > DynCorp communications it appears that extracurricular sexcapades on the > part of its employees were tolerated by some as part of its business in > Bosnia. > > But DynCorp was nervous. For instance, an internal e-mail from DynCorp > employee Darrin Mills, who apparently was sent to Bosnia to look into > reported problems, said, "I met with Col. Braun [a base supervisor] > yesterday. He is very concerned about the CID investigation; however, he > views it mostly as a DynCorp problem. What he wanted to talk about most was > how I am going to fix the maintenance problems here and how the > investigation is going to impact our ability to fix his airplanes." The > Mills e-mail continued: "The first thing he told me is that 'they are tired > of having smoke blown up their ass.' They don't want anymore empty > promises." > > An e-mail from Dyncorp's Bosnia site supervisor, John Hirtz (later fired for > alleged sexual indiscretions), explains DynCorp's position in Bosnia. "The > bottom line is that DynCorp has taken what used to be a real positive > program that has very high visibility with every Army unit in the world and > turned it into a bag of worms. Poor quality was the major issue." > > Johnston was on the ground and saw firsthand what the military was > complaining about. "My main problem," he explains, "was [sexual misbehavior] > with the kids, but I wasn't too happy with them ripping off the government, > either. DynCorp is just as immoral and elite as possible, and any rule they > can break they do. There was this one guy who would hide parts so we would > have to wait for parts and, when the military would question why it was > taking so long, he'd pull out the part and say 'Hey, you need to install > this.' They'd have us replace windows in helicopters that weren't bad just > to get paid. They had one kid, James Harlin, over there who was right out of > high school and he didn't even know the names and purposes of the basic > tools. Soldiers that are paid $18,000 a year know more than this kid, but > this is the way they [DynCorp] grease their pockets. What they say in Bosnia > is that DynCorp just needs a warm body that's the DynCorp slogan. Even if > you don't do an eight-hour day, they'll sign you in for it because that's > how they bill the government. It's a total fraud." > > Remember, Johnston was fired by this company. He laughs bitterly recalling > the work habits of a DynCorp employee in Bosnia who "weighed 400 pounds and > would stick cheeseburgers in his pockets and eat them while he worked. The > problem was he would literally fall asleep every five minutes. One time he > fell asleep with a torch in his hand and burned a hole through the plastic > on an aircraft." This same man, according to Johnston, "owned a girl who > couldn't have been more than 14 years old. It's a sick sight anyway to see > any grown man [having sex] with a child, but to see some 45-year-old man who > weighs 400 pounds with a little girl, it just makes you sick." It is > precisely these allegations that Johnston believes got him fired. > > Johnston reports that he had been in Bosnia only a few days when he became > aware of misbehavior in which many of his DynCorp colleagues were involved. > He tells INSIGHT, "I noticed there were problems as soon as I got there, and > I tried to be covert because I knew it was a rougher crowd than I'd ever > dealt with. It's not like I don't drink or anything, but DynCorp employees > would come to work drunk. A DynCorp van would pick us up every morning and > you could smell the alcohol on them. There were big-time drinking issues. I > always told these guys what I thought of what they were doing, and I guess > they just thought I was a self-righteous fool or something, but I didn't > care what they thought." > > The mix of drunkenness and working on multimillion-dollar aircraft upon > which the lives of U.S. military personnel depended was a serious enough > issue, but Johnston drew the line when it came to buying young girls and > women as sex slaves. "I heard talk about the prostitution right away, but it > took some time before I understood that they were buying these girls. I'd > tell them that it was wrong and that it was no different than slavery that > you can't buy women. But they'd buy the women's passports and they [then] > owned them and would sell them to each other." > > "At first," explains Johnston, "I just told the guys it was wrong. Then I > went to my supervisors, including John Hirtz, although at the time I didn't > realize how deep into it he was. Later I learned that he had videotaped > himself having sex with two girls and CID has that video as evidence. Hirtz > is the guy who would take new employees to the brothels and set them up so > he got his women free. The Serbian mafia would give Hirtz the women free > and, when one of the guys was leaving the country, Hirtz would go to the > mafia and make sure that the guys didn't owe them any money." > > "None of the girls," continues Johnston, "were from Bosnia. They were from > Russia, Romania and other places, and they were imported in by DynCorp and > the Serbian mafia. These guys would say 'I gotta go to Serbia this weekend > to pick up three girls.' They talk about it and brag about how much they pay > for them usually between $600 and $800. In fact, there was this one guy > who had to be 60 years old who had a girl who couldn't have been 14. DynCorp > leadership was 100 percent in bed with the mafia over there. I didn't get > any results from talking to DynCorp officials, so I went to Army CID and I > drove around with them, pointing out everyone's houses who owned women and > weapons." > > That's when Johnston's life took a dramatic turn. > > On June 2, 2000, members of the 48th Military Police Detachment conducted a > sting on the DynCorp hangar at Comanche Base Camp, one of two U.S. bases in > Bosnia, and all DynCorp personnel were detained for questioning. CID spent > several weeks working the investigation and the results appear to support > Johnston's allegations. For example, according to DynCorp employee Kevin > Werner's sworn statement to CID, "during my last six months I have come to > know a man we call 'Debeli,' which is Bosnian for fat boy. He is the > operator of a nightclub by the name of Harley's that offers prostitution. > Women are sold hourly, nightly or permanently." > > Werner admitted to having purchased a woman to get her out of prostitution > and named other DynCorp employees who also had paid to own women. He further > admitted to having purchased weapons (against the law in Bosnia) and it was > Werner who turned over to CID the videotape made by Hirtz. Werner apparently > intended to use the video as leverage in the event that Hirtz decided to > fire him. Werner tells CID, "I told him [Hirtz] I had a copy and that all I > wanted was to be treated fairly. If I was going to be fired or laid off, I > wanted it to be because of my work performance and not because he was not > happy with me." > > According to Hirtz's own sworn statement to CID, there appears to be little > doubt that he did indeed rape one of the girls with whom he is shown having > sexual intercourse in his homemade video. > > CID: Did you have sexual intercourse with the second woman on the tape? > > Hirtz: Yes > > CID: Did you have intercourse with the second woman after she said "no" to > you? > > Hirtz: I don't recall her saying that. I don't think it was her saying "no." > > CID: Who do you think said "no"? > > Hirtz: I don't know. > > CID: According to what you witnessed on the videotape played for you in > which you were having sexual intercourse with the second woman, did you have > sexual intercourse with the second woman after she said "no" to you? > > Hirtz: Yes. > > CID: Did you know you were being videotaped? > > Hirtz: Yes. I set it up. > > CID: Did you know it is wrong to force yourself upon someone without their > consent? > > Hirtz: Yes. > > The CID agents did not ask any of the men involved what the ages of the > "women" were who had been purchased or used for prostitution. According to > CID, which sought guidance from the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate in > Bosnia, "under the Dayton Peace Accord, the contractors were protected from > Bosnian law which did not apply to them. They knew of no [U.S.] federal laws > that would apply to these individuals at this time." > > However, CID took another look and, according to the investigation report, > under Paragraph 5 of the NATO Agreement Between the Republic of > Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia regarding the status of NATO and its > personnel, contractors "were not immune from local prosecution if the acts > were committed outside the scope of their official duties." > > Incredibly, the CID case was closed in June 2000 and turned over to the > Bosnian authorities. DynCorp says it conducted its own investigation, and > Hirtz and Werner were fired by DynCorp and returned to the United States but > were not prosecuted. Experts in slave trafficking aren't buying the CID's > interpretation of the law. > > Widney Brown, an advocate for Human Rights Watch, tells INSIGHT "our > government has an obligation to tell these companies that this behavior is > wrong and they will be held accountable. They should be sending a clear > message that it won't be tolerated. One would hope that these people > wouldn't need to be told that they can't buy women, but you have to start > off by laying the ground rules. Rape is a crime in any jurisdiction and > there should not be impunity for anyone. Firing someone is not sufficient > punishment. This is a very distressing story especially when you think > that these people and organizations are going into these countries to try > and make it better, to restore a rule of law and some civility." > > Christine Dolan, founder of the International Humanitarian Campaign Against > the Exploitation of Children, a Washington-based nonprofit organization, > tells Insight: "What is surprising to me is that Dyncorp has kept this > contract. The U.S. says it wants to eradicate trafficking of people, has > established an office in the State Department for this purpose, and yet > neither State nor the government-contracting authorities have stepped in and > done an investigation of this matter." > > Dolan says, "It's not just Americans who are participating in these illegal > acts. But what makes this more egregious for the U.S. is that our purpose in > those regions is to restore some sense of civility. Now you've got employees > of U.S. contractors in bed with the local mafia and buying kids for sex! > That these guys have some kind of immunity from prosecution is morally > outrageous. How can men be allowed to get away with rape simply because of > location? Rape is a crime no matter where it occurs and it's important to > remember that even prostitution is against the law in Bosnia. The message > we're sending to kids is that it's okay for America's representatives to > rape children. We talk about the future of the children, helping to build > economies, democracy, the rule of law, and at the same time we fail to > prosecute cases like this. That is immoral and hypocritical, and if DynCorp > is involved in this in any way it should forfeit its contract and pay > restitution in the form of training about trafficking." > > Charlene Wheeless, a spokeswoman for DynCorp, vehemently denies any > culpability on the part of the company, According to Wheeless, "The notion > that a company such as DynCorp would turn a blind eye to illegal behavior by > our employees is incomprehensible. DynCorp adheres to a core set of values > that has served as the backbone of our corporation for the last 55 years, > helping us become one of the largest and most respected > professional-services and outsourcing companies in the world. We can't > stress strongly enough that, as an employee-owned corporation, we take > ethics very seriously. DynCorp stands by its decision to terminate > [whistle-blower] Ben Johnston, who was terminated for cause." > > What was the "cause" for which Johnston was fired? He received his only > reprimand from DynCorp one day prior to the sting on the DynCorp hangar when > Johnston was working with CID. A week later he received a letter of > discharge for bringing "discredit to the company and the U.S. Army while > working in Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina." The discharge notice did not say how > Johnston "brought discredit to the company." > > It soon developed conveniently, according to Johnston's attorneys, that he > was implicated by a DynCorp employee for illegal activity in Bosnia. Harlin, > the young high-school graduate Johnston complained had no experience in > aircraft maintenance and didn't even know the purposes of the basic tools, > provided a sworn statement to CID about Johnston. Asked if anyone ever had > offered to sell him a weapon, Harlin fingered Johnston and DynCorp employee > Tom Oliver, who also had disapproved of the behavior of DynCorp employees. > > Harlin even alleged that Johnston was "hanging out with Kevin Werner." > Although Werner had no problem revealing the names and illegal activities of > other DynCorp employees, Werner did not mention Johnston's name in his sworn > statement. > > Kevin Glasheen, Johnston's attorney, says flatly of this: "It's DynCorp's > effort to undermine Ben's credibility. But I think once the jury hears this > case, that accusation is only going to make them more angry at DynCorp. In > order to make our claim, we have to show that DynCorp was retaliating > against Ben, and that fits under racketeering. There is a lot of evidence > that shows this was what they were doing and that it went all the way up the > management chain." > > According to Glasheen, "DynCorp says that whatever these guys were doing > isn't corporate activity and they're not responsible for it. But this > problem permeated their business and management and they made business > decisions to further the scheme and to cover it up. We have to show that > there was a causal connection between Ben's whistle-blowing about the sex > trade and his being fired. We can do that. We're here to prove a retaliation > case, not convict DynCorp of participating in the sex-slave trade. > > "What you have here is a Lord of the Flies mentality. Basically you've got a > bunch of strong men who are raping and manipulating young girls who have > been kidnapped from their homes. Who's the bad guy? Is it the guy who buys > the girl to give her freedom, the one who kidnaps her and sells her or the > one who liberates her and ends up having sex with her? And what does it mean > when the U.S. steps up and says, 'We don't have any jurisdiction'? That's > absurd." > > The outraged attorney pauses for breath. "This is more than one twisted > mind. There was a real corporate culture with a deep commitment to a > cover-up. And it's outrageous that DynCorp still is being paid by the > government on this contract. The worst thing I've seen is a DynCorp e-mail > after this first came up where they're saying how they have turned this > thing into a marketing success, that they have convinced the government that > they could handle something like this." > > Johnston is not the only DynCorp employee to blow the whistle and sue the > billion-dollar government contractor. Kathryn Bolkovac, a U.N. International > Police Force monitor hired by the U.S. company on another U.N.-related > contract, has filed a lawsuit in Great Britain against DynCorp for wrongful > termination. DynCorp had a $15 million contract to hire and train police > officers for duty in Bosnia at the time she reported such officers were > paying for prostitutes and participating in sex-trafficking. Many of these > were forced to resign under suspicion of illegal activity, but none have > been prosecuted, as they also enjoy immunity from prosecution in Bosnia. > > DynCorp has admitted it fired five employees for similar illegal activities > prior to Johnston's charges. > > But Johnston worries about what this company's culture does to the > reputation of the United States. "The Bosnians think we're all trash. It's a > shame. When I was there as a soldier they loved us, but DynCorp employees > have changed how they think about us. I tried to tell them that this is not > how all Americans act, but it's hard to convince them when you see what > they're seeing. The fact is, DynCorp is the worst diplomat you could > possibly have over there." > > Johnston's attorney looks to the outcome. "How this all ends," says > Glasheen, "will say a lot about what we stand for and what we won't stand > for." > > Kelly Patricia O'Meara is an investigative reporter for Insight. > http://insightmag.com/main.cfm/include/detail/storyid/163052.html --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
