Once its star, agent assails ATF
Leaders dispute picture of a bureau run amok
Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 14, 2007 12:00 AM
Jay Dobyns is no stranger to dangerous adversaries.
Within days of becoming a sworn agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Dobyns was taken hostage and shot during a Tucson sting operation.
A year later, he was run over by gangsters in a getaway car.
Since then, he has gone undercover to bust bombmakers, murderers, drug dealers, gunrunners and prison thugs. Three years ago, he infiltrated the Hells Angels so completely that he was offered membership in the biker club.
Now, after nearly two decades of service, after being praised by ATF as a hero and earning national awards, the man known as "Jaybird" is battling his most formidable foe yet: his employer.
Dobyns, 45, is one of dozens of current and former agents to allege mismanagement and misconduct in the ATF, a federal agency responsible for enforcing America's gun laws and preventing terrorist bombings. More than a dozen lawsuits, administrative claims, grievances, ATF documents and letters to Congress reviewed by The Arizona Republic accused administrators of betraying their own field investigators and operatives out of arrogance or incompetence.
A 2006 inspector general's report also found that the agency was plagued by poor management and questionable judgment. The ATF director resigned amid the inspector general's investigation. But agents, lawyers and experts say problems persist, and if left unchecked, a troubled agency will continue to spin out of control.
"The public needs to know," said Kay Kubicki, a Detroit attorney and former agent who has represented about 25 ATF employees in cases against the bureau, winning half of them and obtaining settlements in some others. "This has a lot to do with homeland security."
Life undercover, under fire
Jay Dobyns is a picture-perfect undercover man.
Tough and profane, he wears a pointy goatee and silver rings on all his fingers. He is heavily tattooed. And he keeps a dark wool cap pulled low to the brow.
All this, even when he is not trying to infiltrate the Hells Angels or take part in some sting operation.
Dobyns, among the most celebrated agents within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, has lived on the edge from the beginning of his career.
In 1988, 10 days after getting his shield, Dobyns was part of a task force chasing an ex-con on foot. Near a Tucson trailer park, the felon took Dobyns hostage at gunpoint. The rookie agent was dragged into a car as other agents converged.
Dobyns described the incident in Angels of Death, a book published last year. He said it was clear he was going to be killed if he let the crook drive away, and he preferred to die among friends. So he tried to escape and took a bullet in the back as the criminal was gunned down.
"I was lying on the desert thinking, 'I got shot before I even got my first paycheck.' "
Dobyns survived and, one year later, got into another shootout while on duty in Chicago. This time, as described in Angels of Death, he was working a sting on gunrunners. As the takedown began, two suspects leaped into a car and drove directly at Dobyns.
He opened fire, wounding the driver. But Dobyns was still knocked through the air - and back into the hospital.
more ...
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A very long article.
Leaders dispute picture of a bureau run amok
Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 14, 2007 12:00 AM
Jay Dobyns is no stranger to dangerous adversaries.
Within days of becoming a sworn agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Dobyns was taken hostage and shot during a Tucson sting operation.
A year later, he was run over by gangsters in a getaway car.
Since then, he has gone undercover to bust bombmakers, murderers, drug dealers, gunrunners and prison thugs. Three years ago, he infiltrated the Hells Angels so completely that he was offered membership in the biker club.
Now, after nearly two decades of service, after being praised by ATF as a hero and earning national awards, the man known as "Jaybird" is battling his most formidable foe yet: his employer.
Dobyns, 45, is one of dozens of current and former agents to allege mismanagement and misconduct in the ATF, a federal agency responsible for enforcing America's gun laws and preventing terrorist bombings. More than a dozen lawsuits, administrative claims, grievances, ATF documents and letters to Congress reviewed by The Arizona Republic accused administrators of betraying their own field investigators and operatives out of arrogance or incompetence.
A 2006 inspector general's report also found that the agency was plagued by poor management and questionable judgment. The ATF director resigned amid the inspector general's investigation. But agents, lawyers and experts say problems persist, and if left unchecked, a troubled agency will continue to spin out of control.
"The public needs to know," said Kay Kubicki, a Detroit attorney and former agent who has represented about 25 ATF employees in cases against the bureau, winning half of them and obtaining settlements in some others. "This has a lot to do with homeland security."
Life undercover, under fire
Jay Dobyns is a picture-perfect undercover man.
Tough and profane, he wears a pointy goatee and silver rings on all his fingers. He is heavily tattooed. And he keeps a dark wool cap pulled low to the brow.
All this, even when he is not trying to infiltrate the Hells Angels or take part in some sting operation.
Dobyns, among the most celebrated agents within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, has lived on the edge from the beginning of his career.
In 1988, 10 days after getting his shield, Dobyns was part of a task force chasing an ex-con on foot. Near a Tucson trailer park, the felon took Dobyns hostage at gunpoint. The rookie agent was dragged into a car as other agents converged.
Dobyns described the incident in Angels of Death, a book published last year. He said it was clear he was going to be killed if he let the crook drive away, and he preferred to die among friends. So he tried to escape and took a bullet in the back as the criminal was gunned down.
"I was lying on the desert thinking, 'I got shot before I even got my first paycheck.' "
Dobyns survived and, one year later, got into another shootout while on duty in Chicago. This time, as described in Angels of Death, he was working a sting on gunrunners. As the takedown began, two suspects leaped into a car and drove directly at Dobyns.
He opened fire, wounding the driver. But Dobyns was still knocked through the air - and back into the hospital.
more ...
*******************
A very long article.