Thread: Fast & Furious: Congress expanding probe to include gren

Fast & Furious: Congress expanding probe to include grenades


Jim Kouri, Law Enforcement Examiner
September 27, 2011

The U.S. Congress will expand their investigation of Operation Fast and Furious to determine its connection to the smuggling of explosives ordinance into Mexico, a police source in Washington, DC, told the Law Enforcement Examiner on Saturday.

According to the law enforcement source -- who requested anonymity -- besides the firearms and ammunition allowed to "walk" by agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), grenades and explosives may have also been allowed smuggled across the border into Mexico, ending up in the hands of drug cartel members.

Investigators are renewing their probe into a narco-terrorist attack in which 60 people were killed and upwards of 30 were wounded on August 24 when the perpetrators tossed three grenades into a casino in Monterrey, Mexico, the capital of Nuevo Leon.

The incident occurred at the Casino Royale when two males aboard the back of a pickup truck pulled up to an entrance and allegedly tossed the grenades into the building

Between 20 and 30 people were trapped inside the casino because of debris from the grenade blasts, said the U.S. officer who requested anonymity.

A Spanish newspaper, El Diario, claims a video from the scene showed a burned-out building as firefighters made rescue attempts to break the wall of the facade of the casino to release the deadly smoke inside the building.

"In fires, most victims die from smoke inhalation. By the time the actual fire reaches them, they're already dead," said former New York fire marshal Jan Petton.

"It will be difficult to determine if the grenades used in the attack are the same that were allegedly smuggled into Mexico as part of Operation Fast and Furious," said a former NYPD arson & exposives unit detective, Benny Caladonia.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon released a statement upon hearing of the grenade attack: "With deep consternation, I express my solidarity with Nuevo Leon and the victims of this abhorrent act of terror and barbarism."

Mexico's Nuevo Leon been the victim of similar attacks this year. On August 13, four civilians were wounded when an armed group fired two grenades at a jail in the municipality of Apodaca.

In July, gang members sprayed a downtown bar in Monterrey with hundreds of rounds of ammunition killing 20 patrons.

Nuevo Leon, Coahuila and Tamaulipas have witnessed numerous clashes between organized crime groups. The Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas are vying for control of trafficking routes into the United States.

Local authorities aren’t helping in the investigation because “police corruption and police involvement in criminal activity continue to be a problem in Mexico.â€

Getting wild and wooly. Heads will roll over this!

this is looking like a coup attempt.

Sniper Rifles / Assault Rifles; Enough to arm up a Heavy Brigade in the U.S. Army

and now Grenades

Were we trying to create a Failed State in Mexico

It looks like it to me

U.S. Government Used Taxpayer Funds to Buy, Sell Weapons During 'Fast and Furious,' Documents Show

By William Lajeunesse

Published September 26, 2011

AP

This Jan. 25 picture shows part of a cache of seized weapons displayed at a news conference in Phoenix.

Not only did U.S. officials approve, allow and assist in the sale of more than 2,000 guns to the Sinaloa cartel -- the federal government used taxpayer money to buy semi-automatic weapons, sold them to criminals and then watched as the guns disappeared.

This disclosure, revealed in documents obtained by Fox News, could undermine the Department of Justice's previous defense that Operation Fast and Furious was a "botched" operation where agents simply "lost track" of weapons as they were transferred from one illegal buyer to another. Instead, it heightens the culpability of the federal government as Mexico, according to sources, has opened two criminal investigations into the operation that flooded their country with illegal weapons.



Related Interactive

Documents Detail ATF Involvement in 'Fast and Furious'



The following documents detail the role the ATF played in buying and selling weapons as part of its controversial "Fast and Furious" operation.




Operation Fast and Furious began in October 2009. In it, federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives encouraged gun stores to sell weapons to an arms smuggling gang, then watched as the guns crossed the border and were used in crimes. Each month, the agency allowed hundreds of guns to go South, despite opposition from some agents.

All told, the gang spent more than $1.25 million for the illegal guns.

In June 2010, however, the ATF dramatically upped the ante, making the U.S. government the actual "seller" of guns.

According to documents obtained by Fox News, Agent John Dodson was ordered to buy six semi-automatic Draco pistols -- two of those were purchased at the Lone Wolf gun store in Peoria, Ariz. An unusual sale, Dodson was sent to the store with a letter of approval from David Voth, an ATF group supervisor.

Dodson then sold the weapons to known illegal buyers, while fellow agents watched from their cars nearby.

This was not a "buy-bust" or a sting operation, where police sell to a buyer and then arrest them immediately afterward. In this case, agents were "ordered" to let the sale go through and follow the weapons to a stash house.

According to sources directly involved in the case, Dodson felt strongly that the weapons should not be abandoned and the stash house should remain under 24-hour surveillance. However, Voth disagreed and ordered the surveillance team to return to the office. Dodson refused, and for six days in the desert heat kept the house under watch, defying direct orders from Voth.

A week later, a second vehicle showed up to transfer the weapons. Dodson called for an interdiction team to move in, make the arrest and seize the weapons. Voth refused and the guns disappeared with no surveillance.

According to a story posted Sunday on a website dedicated to covering Fast and Furious, Voth gave Dodson the assignment to "dirty him up," since Dodson had become the most vocal critic of the operation.

"I think Dodson demanded the letter from Voth to cover both himself and the FFL (Federal Firearm Licensee). He didn't want to be hung out to dry by Voth," a source told the website "Sipsey Street Irregulars."

Subsequent to this undercover operation, sources told Sipsey, "Dodson just about came apart all over them (his supervisors). In a 'screaming match' that was heard throughout the Phoenix office by many employees, Dodson yelled at Voth and Assistant Special Agent in Charge George Gillett, 'Why not just go direct and empty out the (ATF) arms room?" (to the cartels), or words to that effect.'

After the confrontation, ATF managers transferred Dodson to a more menial job. Months later, after the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, Dodson blew the whistle and went public about the federal government's gunrunning operation.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09 ... ents-show/