'Fast and Furious' gun sting had '96 precedent in Minnesota
Key ATF agent faced similar questions here.
By KEVIN DIAZ Star Tribune
February 11, 2013 — 7:58pm

WASHINGTON - A key figure in the federal gun-tracking operation that is under fire for helping to put sophisticated weapons into the hands of Mexican drug cartels also played a central role in a similar sting involving Twin Cities gangs a decade ago.

George Gillett Jr., a supervisor in the federal operation in Arizona known as Fast and Furious, is now a cooperating witness in the congressional investigation that could lead to an unprecedented contempt citation against U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

As a leader in Fast and Furious, congressional sources say, Gillett has been instrumental in determining who in Washington provided oversight for the operation and whether top federal officials had sanctioned such gun stings before.

The Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) initially denied that they had approved the controversial "gun-walking" tactics allegedly used by Gillett and other Arizona agents investigating gun-trafficking networks along the Mexican border between 2009 and 2010.

Interim ATF Director B. Todd Jones, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, was brought in by President Obama to guide the agency through the political turmoil. He has acknowledged ATF "mistakes." But an ongoing standoff over Justice Department documents has sparked a classic Washington clash between Obama's claim of executive privilege and congressional Republicans' accusations of a White House cover-up.

Originally Posted By Sirveaux:
Unrelated so far.  But still...

https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/My-friends-family--cartel-war-in-Mexico-UPDATED-in-OP-with-details-from-those-involved/5-2269056/?page=1

Sobs of relief racked the Tucson federal courtroom where Judge David Bury imposed his sentence. Men in the camouflaged uniform of Brian Terry’s tactical Border Patrol unit have silently attended every trial, conviction and sentencing since his murder outside of Nogales, Arizona, nine years ago. They filled the courtroom as this sixth defendant was sentenced. The convicted man, Heraclio Osorio Arellanes, was impassive. He was convicted of six felony counts, including first-degree murder.

Osorio and the other defendants had formed a "rip crew" that robbed smugglers in Southern Arizona’s border region. They encountered Terry’s unit in December of 2010 and fired on the agents. Terry died when a bullet severed his spine. Osorio told the judge he’d been unfairly singled out during his trial.

Terry’s sister Michelle Balogh dismissed his complaint.

"He was just using it as a copout. He knew what he was doing when he was out there. It wasn’t his first time coming over here, committing crimes," she said.

She described Terry, a former marine and Detroit cop, as a warrior and a hero. She reiterated that outside the court.

"You’d think after nine years it gets easier, it doesn’t get any easier. That’s how much of an impact Brian made on our family."

Terry’s murder raised alarm when a whistleblower told Congress the guns used originated from a Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives gunwalking plan known as Operation Fast and Furious. ATF agents in Phoenix allowed guns to be smuggled into Mexico, hoping to track them to high-level cartel figures. Instead, agents lost track of thousands of high-powered rifles and handguns.

The scandalous program is never mentioned by federal prosecutors overseeing Terry’s case.

Border Patrol national union president Art Del Cueto put it this way:

"I think at the end of the day, everyone that’s responsible for walking guns into Mexico should be held responsible," he said.

The last defendant in the case has not yet been extradited from Mexico, where he is still in custody.

Originally Posted By hugh1:
This thread needs a bump, less we forget.

Originally Posted By high_order1:
Good call


There is a feature in the platform that can be unset to allow a topic to not autoarchive, guess he found one.

So

How did this turn out?


edit: beat! Sorry man

Originally Posted By whiskerz:
Government working against the taxpaying citizens. With no punishment for crimes. This is what a third world country looks like.