-Caveat Lector-
FBI Confirms Probe of Stolen Briefcase
N.Y. Agent Questioned for Leaving Classified Documents; Has Said He Is
Retiring
By Cheryl W. Thompson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 21, 2001; Page A06
The head of the FBI's counterterrorism division in New York is under
investigation for leaving his briefcase filled with classified information
that was later stolen and found in another hotel, FBI sources said
yesterday.
John P. O'Neill, a 31-year veteran of the agency with a reputation as a
top-notch investigator, was attending an FBI conference last year in Tampa
when he was paged. Surrounded by FBI employees, O'Neill left the
soft-covered case near his chair and went to return the page, sources said.
When he returned, the group had broken for lunch and the briefcase was
gone.
"He didn't say to any employee, 'Keep an eye on this until I come back,' "
an FBI source said.
Attorney General John D. Ashcroft declined to comment on the matter
yesterday.
O'Neill, the special agent in charge of national security for the FBI's New
York field office, immediately reported the briefcase missing, sources
said. The incident was first reported by the New York Times, which said
the documents included a report on national security operations in New
York.
The stolen briefcase, which was quickly recovered, is one of a string of
recent embarrassments for the FBI, including a failure to turn over several
thousand pages of material in connection with the Oklahoma City bombing
case; missing FBI weapons; and the controversial investigation of Los
Alamos Nuclear Laboratory scientist Wen Ho Lee.
The thief, who has never been caught, took the briefcase to another hotel,
left it and stole another case, sources said. When the owner of the second
briefcase returned, he opened it and found documents he didn't
recognize and called hotel security. Hotel security then reviewed the
contents and realized the information was confidential and notified the
local FBI.
"It probably looked to someone like a laptop," an FBI source said.
O'Neill's case was returned to him within 90 minutes after it was taken,
sources said. "Nothing was tampered with," an FBI source familiar with the
matter said. "I'm fairly confident the thing was retrieved intact."
The FBI does not allow documents to be removed from the office without
authorization, according to Joe Valiquette, a spokesman in the FBI's New
York office.
He declined to say whether O'Neill had authorization. O'Neill has not been
disciplined, Valiquette said.
O'Neill did not return a telephone call to his New York office yesterday.
O'Neill, 49, began at the FBI as a civilian and became an agent in 1976, an
official said. He announced last week that he was retiring at the end of
this week, officials said.
O'Neill investigated the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen last year and the
bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa that killed 224 people, including
12 Americans, in 1998. He also investigated Osama bin Laden, who allegedly
operates terrorist camps in Afghanistan.
© 2001
The Washington Post Company
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
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The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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