-Caveat Lector-
FBI Probe: Problems in Okla. Office
John Soloman
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two internal reviews documented ''serious
deficiencies'' and ''systemic problems'' with evidence handling inside
the FBI's Oklahoma City office at the height of the Timothy McVeigh
bombing investigation.
The problems surfaced in an unrelated prison death case in the summer of
1995, four months into the bombing investigation. The internal reports
did not cite any problems with the McVeigh case evidence.
But the documents, many of which remain under court seal, broadly
criticize the Oklahoma FBI's day-to-day handling of evidence and cite
some of the same FBI personnel who were involved in the bombing case.
Excerpts from the sealed reports were obtained by The Associated Press.
For instance, an agent who was awarded the FBI's highest award for
bravery in the bombing case made false statements, some under oath,
about evidence in the August 1995 death of prisoner Kenneth Michael
Trentadue, the Justice Department inspector general concluded.
FBI officials acknowledge the Oklahoma City office had problems but say
they have been fixed. And they say the personnel cited in the internal
reports played only minor roles in the bombing case because a team of
national experts arranged a separate facility to gather evidence about
the bombing.
''We have absolute confidence in the investigative efforts of the
Oklahoma City bombing task force with regards to the entire
investigation,'' said Bill Carter, FBI spokesman in Washington.
Special Agent in Charge Richard Marquise, who took over the Oklahoma
City office in 1999, said the problems have been rectified. ''Things
have changed,'' he said. ''Obviously the problems were there. We
recognize we had a problem.''
The FBI's conduct is receiving renewed scrutiny after revelations it
discovered thousands of pages of witness interviews and other evidence
in the McVeigh case just days before the convicted Oklahoma City bomber
was to be executed. The FBI has blamed a computer glitch, and personnel
who incorrectly thought documents weren't relative.
The internal reviews identified a myriad of problems in the Oklahoma
City bureau, including that evidence was inventoried belatedly, lost or
destroyed. In one case, photographs were misplaced; in another a bloody
sheet was improperly stored, and became contaminated, court records
show.
In 1999, a team from the Justice Department's inspector general's office
reported ''systemic problems with the FBI OKC evidence program.''
Separately, an internal FBI review concluded a ''very serious problem
had arisen in the FBI OKC evidence program.''
The lawyer who represented McVeigh at trial said he believes the
government had an obligation to divulge the problems under court rulings
that require prosecutors to disclose information that casts doubt on the
credibility or professionalism of law enforcement involved in the case.
''I think it should have been (divulged),'' attorney Stephen Jones said.
Jones said he eventually learned about the evidence-handling problem
from an Arkansas Internet publication, but not until well after McVeigh
already had exhausted his appeals. Jones, who no longer represents
McVeigh, said his former client's new lawyers used the information as
part of a last-ditch relief motion that was turned down by the courts.
The Oklahoma City evidence-handling problems surfaced in connection with
prisoner Trentadue's death at a local federal detention center.
Trentadue was found hanging from his cell and the death was ruled a
suicide. His family challenged the conclusion, alleging the inmate's
body was badly bruised.
The internal investigations ultimately upheld the suicide conclusion but
identified widespread problems, including: false statements by prison
officials and an FBI agent; 41 pieces of evidence that were missing; and
the FBI's destruction of a key original document after it had been
repeatedly requested by the Justice Department.
One internal FBI memo indicates agents in Oklahoma City had concealed
from the department the fact that evidence was missing.
''Fortunately, DOJ has not asked for any serials (evidence) which we
have not been able to produce and they are not aware anything was
misplaced,'' a supervisory special agent wrote his superiors in the
Oklahoma City FBI office in 1997.
Trentadue's family sued the government, alleging belatedly discovered
evidence disputed the suicide ruling. A judge this month awarded the
family $1.1 million.
Former Justice Department inspector general Michael Bromwich, who
oversaw much of the Trentadue review, said in an interview that FBI
officials uncharacteristically resisted and hampered the inquiry.
''I will say in general that the FBI has strongly resisted IG reviews at
their onset and generally have been very cooperative once they've
begun,'' Bromwich said. ''The major exception to that was Trentadue,
where they fought us tooth and nail.''
Bromwich said the Trentadue case and another inquiry -- this one dealing
with the FBI's handling of classified information about China --
demonstrate that the nation's premiere law enforcement agency has
problems with documents and evidence.
''We found very widespread problems with the way data was input into the
computer system, the training of FBI agents and other personnel working
on that system and the ability to retrieve information from the
system,'' he said.
The reviews in the Trentadue matter concluded that problems with
evidence logging extended beyond the prison death case.
''We became concerned about broader problems in the way evidence was
handled by FBI OKC,'' the inspector general reported.
Susanna Mullally, then the FBI's top official on handling evidence, also
was sent from Washington to review the Oklahoma City office, and
produced a multipage report.
''The review found serious deficiencies in the way the FBI OKC handled
evidence,'' including inaccurate or missing forms and evidence that
wasn't processed for years, the documents show.
The documents state the FBI's senior evidence control technician for
Oklahoma City was reassigned in August 1995 to the McVeigh case. She
was replaced by a former mail clerk who wasn't fully trained, the
reports state.
''We believe her lack of formal training was a contributing factor to
the problems,'' the inspector general said of the replacement.
The replacement has since left the FBI, officials said.
But the problems went beyond evidence handling.
The inspector general concluded FBI agent Jeffrey Jenkins ''made several
false statements relating to the investigation into Trentadue's death,
several of them while under oath.'' Jenkins, who won the shield of valor
for his rescue work upon arriving at the scene of the McVeigh bombing,
denied any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors declined to prosecute Jenkins, who was referred for
disciplinary action. FBI officials said they couldn't discuss the
ongoing proceedings.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
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The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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