Please:

No dice – Kumar is gone from HQ this summer; he’s headed back to Denver.

Hayes’ star rose quickly @ HQ when he was Acting DAD for Domestic Ops during the period during and right after Zapata was killed in Mexico – he was seen as highly competent and a “take charge” guy. At age 40 or so, and already having run ERO AND having been the SAC NY (of all things), there is little he can do bug go up.

Kumar is leaving; Dinkins is anxious to get the hell out of Dodge (he never wanted the EAD job anyway; he was forced to take it in the wake of the Schoch debacle in LA). Pete Edge may get the nod for EAD, but I am sure there will be pressure, now more than ever, to even the balance between the legacy power brokers, which could bring Spero or Arnold back to the “Q” as the Deputy EAD.

You also have to realize that AD Domestic Ops Janice Ayala is probably leaving for the SAC San Antonio job after Jerry Robinette retires later this year, there could be pressure to put a legacy INSer in that position as well, again, to provide balance (and Claude Arnold did an acting stint as DAD for Domestic Ops a couple of years back).

I tell you, my friend – grab a cold one and a bacon cheeseburger and watch the show unfold, it could become very entertaining …

StillShakingMyHead on February 25, 2012 at 9:51 pm

“Please and “Shaking Head” thank you for your ICE Agency overview from the top lookiing down. I only have 2 more comments and then I’m going back to the world of the happy and living for the remainder of the weekend.

1. Please you hit the nail on the head. Agents love to be agents more than anything else. Taking down bad guys, scoring tough prosecutions. I worked a lot with the local Sheriifs, PD and FBI. The agents and deputies on the street always had a good time, bacame good lasting friends. But things always soured as soon as the Suits came in and started dividring up the pie, who does the press release, etc.

In short we need to get our agents back on the street focused on the bad guys rather than internal rivalries. One way is to streamline the reporting requirements. Its maddening to need 35 passwords to access a ll of the diverse reporting systems to record a simple seizure. I gurantee that moral will soar once agents get back on the street, being agents. Get them out there.

Lastly George, at the risk of being accused of being an internet policeman, do you have any source for your information that Perry and Kevin jumped Zeke? Or is that speculation. If so you run the risk of losing your credibility like QTD and Truthful (Deceitful).

Sorry, Just saying. While I am sure that it was not “Terms of Endearment” that caused the escalation to violence and shooting, as far as I know we do not have any specific reports about what actuallly happened. But if you can confirm that you have the “inside” story, then that would advance our understanding of this.

Been There on February 25, 2012 at 10:22 pm

ALCON,
After reading all the comments. I think everyone needs to be humane and pay there respects to Ezequiel Garcia & family. You are all getting paid as a sworn peace officers to catch the bad guys. I find some therapy with reading the comments. Truthfully, many people are reading the comments and it’s offensive & embarrassing. Its actually a JOKE. There’s a right time and right place to air your dirty laundry. Have some professionalism. Show a little USA pride, loyalty, and compassion to each other. If you are so negative why work. I don’t think, any of you deserve to watch my back. RIP Ezequiel Garcia!

philipe on February 25, 2012 at 10:46 pm

Philipe:

I appreciate your assessment, and I agree that far too much dirty laundry has been aired on this site for public consumption. And furthermore, frankly, I really do not believe that any positive change will come out of this, no matter what the debate – ICE and HSI executive leadership have a vested interest in seeing this matter dissipate quickly, and I don’t believe (as has been evidenced in the past) that quick and decisive action will be taken to address the root causes of what happened in SAC LA. Heck, after Tony Mangione in Miami was busted for kiddie porn, it took them almost 9 months to appoint a permanent SAC, all the while the office was floundering under that and a couple of other issues that didn’t make too much press, but troubling, nonetheless – no sense of urgency there, eh?

Regarding Zeke Garcia, with the limited exceptions of Hitler and other despots, I do not speak ill of the dead – I did not know him, but he was someone’s son, husband, father, etc., and his loss is a tragedy to those who loved him. Regardless, he did, even if in a moment of blind insanity, attempt to murder a fellow Federal agent – not cool by ANY stretch of the imagination, and I think we need to watch how we are beginning to romanticize the late Mr. Garcia and his actions. I have been f**ked with many times in my career; I have also chosen my response, and it wasn’t to attempt to kill my antagonist.

Have a good day.

StillShakingMyHead on February 26, 2012 at 8:35 am

“Shaking Head” I agree with you. As long as upper management behaves as though the agency was created solely for them to play “SES musical chairs” that no decisive action to fix the root of the problem, shittty/abusive management, will be taken.

ICE will continue to be disracted from its mission by internal rivalries as long as you have mid level managers who beleive they are on a mission from God to vindicate their anti INS hatred and to make life for Legacy INS folks as miserable as possible.

We cannot romanticize Zeke Garcia’s actions and encourgae copy cat shooters. By the saem token we cannot romanticize mid-level managers holy mission to take revenge and to stick it even harder to Legacy INS personnel.

A white police officer relative of mine was stabbed and cut up badly by a gang of blacks. Long after his wounds healed his hatred continued festering internally and drove him mad.

We now have a wounded agency. We have to deal with both the flesh wounds and the internal wounds.

Blaming this entirely on Zeke Garcia will not address the problem of shitty management.

Been There on February 26, 2012 at 10:55 am

As far as concerns about, “airing dirty laundry,” as we saw even in this comment thread, folks distort and spin things to serve their own agendas. That’s life in the big city!

For example, this shooting was used to slam Morton and by inference, Obama.

Nowadays that is par for the course. Every souce has its own slant. Most readers have learned to filter out the self serving bullshit and get the facts.

Been There on February 26, 2012 at 12:02 pm

“Shaking Head” I would like to comment on your staement “I have been f**ked with many times in my career; I have also chosen my response, and it wasn’t to attempt to kill my antagonist.N

That infers a judgment that Zeke Garcia has inadequate tolerance or personal grit to withstand supervisory abuse.

I believe that it is safe to say that in his 24 years of service in the INS and in ICE, Zeke Garcia has been “f’d with” in more way than we can imagine.

Therefore, it is inaccurate to jump to the conclusion and blame this incident on Zeke Garciams deficiency in tolerance and endurance to withstand supervisory shit and abuse. To the contrary, following 15 years of INS Investigation, Los Angeles, a virtual human meat grinder, Zeke Garcia, has a hide made of crocodile skin. He was no pussy as yu statement seems to infer.

I am not justifying his action resorting to violence, but given a man like Zeke Garcia, something very radical occured for him to escalate to such an extreme act of violence.

Been There on February 26, 2012 at 12:34 pm

Been There:

I think we agree on most things. Again, I think we can agree that Zeke’s actions, while not justified, beg a larger question of how this agency develops and promotes executive leadership.

The state of executive leadership in this agency is abysmal, at best – most wouldn’t command the respect of a flea, much less human beings who carry firearms and are charged with a broad portfolio of Federal law enforcement. If they aren’t flying around trying to obtain post-government employment (while most agents are scrapping to get money to do casework), they are either, as you say, playing “musical chairs” (holding choice spots for each other while developing their resumes) or demanding promotions in SAC offices or at HQ of their choosing (try that as a command or flag officer in the Army or Navy and see where that gets you – all the while, good people can’t get promoted, or, after being used and abused at HQ (because their SACs promoted the ones they wanted to out on the field, without having to make any sacrifice in going to HQ), they end up far away from where they came from; no breaks for them).

The development of managers and leaders in ICE and HSI is horrendous – perform enough fellatio, play enough softball, go out drinking enough, as if this was a frat party, and you can go very far – experience, education, continuing career development and, most of all, an honest assessment of one’s competence and temperment count for almost nothing. The rank-and-file have to look at this, and like me, “shake their heads”.

I can almost bet you what management’s response to this whole, sordid episode will be – more VU training and a series of town hall meetings. They can have it. For as much time as they are dedicating to that, or want us to dedicate time to that, I will be dedicating 10 times that scouring USAJOBS and working my professional connections for a nice GS-13 job in some small OIG, M-F, 9-5, weekends and holidays off and a good quality of life for me and my family. If I’m not going to be promoted within HSI, why wait around for what is sure to be the impending debacle? Does management really think this is an isolated incident? There have been rumblings for years in various SAC offices between managers and subordinates (shouting matches, shoving, even fisticuffs), and this was a very isolated “pre-quake”. God forbid someone really goes off on a bad day, and the tragedy may be almost immeasurable.

I bid you well, “Been There”; I no longer think in terms of “legacy this” or “legacy that” – I have tried to view people for who they are and move on from there. I am sorry it came to this, and, sadly, I am not sure this is the terminal point on this very painful journey.

StillShakingMyHead on February 26, 2012 at 3:26 pm

It’s another example of government incompetency. How did these folks get hired into a controversial agency in the first place? Why is it controversial? It’s starts at the top & works its way down the rank and file. Do you really think this will be the last and only time time this will occur? E.g. look at ICE Frank Johnston, who was convicted of defrauding the government, etc.
There are many people who need jobs that are more deserving. Also considering the incompetent departments, HR, training, administrative, customer service & operations. Go to any government office & they treat you like you are a criminal with no respect, and its the impression, I’m wasting your time attitude. Each department is supposed to be trained, some agencies are law enforcement but each lack with catching there own, the wall of “Blue Shield” mentality. It’s all truly a waste of taxpayers money. That’s the reason most upper level managers are ineffective and works its way down the rank and file. Its like CANCER, and it spreads and doesn’t stop. I think this is the reason we have the “government ills” that we we are in now. Why not dissolve most of the upper level managers with competent mangers and let it work its way thru the rank and file. The same with all government agencies. For example, Why not start with hiring fellow disabled military veterans. They deserve all that’s coming to them. Our ineffective President and legislative leaders owes all our veterans more than what we give them now. What we owe our veterans is priceless. All veterans paid there dues if the want to become civilian government employees. If we have a government run like the military we wouldn’t have all the “government ills” that we have now. History shows a strong military individual is more productive than a non veteran. All these law breakers were highly paid but corruptible, and all lacked patriotic pride. TRAITORS!!! On the other hand, All veterans including the disabled, you would never question there patriotic pride. All veterans are well deserving to become an effective productive government employee minus the negative bureaucratic red tape. Lastly, RIP Ezequiel Garcia! You will not be forgotten!!!
Do you have a back bone?

philipe on February 26, 2012 at 4:31 pm

10/4, Shaking Head, thank you very much for your insight. I agree with you that violence is just not an option, can’t be, no way,period.

It appears Zeke had a year to go for 25, almost made it. I have never thought in “Legacy” terms. But heard about it everyday at SAC/LA at the Long Beach Office, the former offices of Customs SAC/LA. It should be a non-issue. You had fire breathers or slugs and hair brain nincompoops from both agencies.

But it seems that talent and enthusiasm was entirely besides the point. To the contrary tt appears that the Customs supes are out to “rig things” to demonstrate that even the best INS agents couldn’t favorably compare to the Customs agents. As I said they were out to vindicate their hatred.

Well good luck “Shaking Head” I can tell by the quality of your writing and your analysis that you are an smart independent thinker. Sorry to hear things are bad going all the way to the top.

Been There on February 26, 2012 at 4:58 pm

“Been There” You should have stayed there, you have co-opted yourself as the moderator of this blog, are you actually JaNa in disguise? You have attacked anyone who has posted on here that you do not agree with, and slammed those that don’t agree with you, loss of “credibility” really? You have a handle on that do you? How many times has your post been the last one, and how many times do you have to repeat the same posting, trying to get your point across, whatever it is?

Once again, I am not convinced other wise, INS is, was and forever shall be, a minor league, caca, agency, nothing will change that, it is written in stone, that’s its legacy,it is a major part of the dysfunctionality that is happening right now at ICE. And you, through your rantings, have not, and are not, going to change anything. That warm and fuzzy feeling that you get when you thank someone on this blog for not disagreeing with you is so pathetic.

I hope the agency turns itself around, I really do. ICE can begin by acknowledging the problems it has, as evidenced from a number of sources including this one. I also hope that it removes the kind of thought control patterned individuals, such as yourself, from ever being in a position of authority. It’s a lot to ask for.

I also hope I’ve managed to spoil that warm and fuzzy feeling you had through those ludicrous, babbling, painfully ad nauseum postings that you’ve been doing.

Have a nice day 🙂

QTD on February 27, 2012 at 2:43 pm

Debbie…you ought to hang your head in shame for continuing to report as fact whatever anyone posts on your blog. That is the problem with you and other bloggers who have no editor or fact checking in place. You just post whatever you want and people actually believe it. No wonder mainstream media has blackballed you. They have recognized your complete lack of integrity and disregard for truth! I have known Kevin Kozak for over 20 years. He is one of the finest men and most professional agents I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He does not “screw” with people. He treats everyone with dignity, respect, and fairness…period!!!

SDD on February 27, 2012 at 3:10 pm

QDT…

How sad that you need to continue to coin INS as “is, was and forever shall be, a minor league, caca, agency, nothing will change that, it is written in stone.”

It is people like you that promote the rife. Maybe you do own a white sheet…

How Sad on February 27, 2012 at 5:10 pm

Please take note that Kevin Kozak received a character endorsement from SDD, the first that wasn’t from an open INS hater of about 285 comments in this thread.

Kozak’s other endorsement was from QTD.

On April 13, 2011 at 4:14 pm, QTD also endorsed Anthony V. Mangione, SAC, the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in South Florida, who exposed himself to teenage girls at a mall in Florida. QTD described Mangione as follows, “by all accounts, (Mangione) is a hard working, experienced agent that rose through the ranks. Unless one has been there, we don’t know what type of stress he was under and how he handled it, and we all do handle it diffrently.”

So consider the credibility of your sources!

Been There on February 27, 2012 at 6:57 pm

Been There;

That was Frank Figueroa who exposed himself in Orlando; Tony Mangione is accused of downloading kiddie porn on his home computer – my sources tell me his case remains unresolved pending trial in May.

StillShakingMyHead on February 27, 2012 at 8:06 pm

Uh oh didn’t know about that one too. My apolgies to all for the mistake. Thank you Shaking Head.

Been There on February 27, 2012 at 8:30 pm

Well I Personally knew Zeke and he was one of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of knowing. My mother worked with him and we considered him a great friend. If I had a flat tire he’d come fix it in his work dress shirt, when my mother was in the hospital he was there making sure we were ok and making sure I didn’t feel alone, when we had money problems he helped us more then any other person I know that isn’t family would have. He was a good person and I don’t know what happened but it must have been incredibly overwhelming and I’m not saying what happened was ok. I don’t know about the inner workings of ice but i know as soon as customs merged with immigration my mother started to dilike her job very much. I do know he wasn’t a “nut” or the type of person to just randomly shoot someone for no reason he must have been desperate and I pray for him and his family every day! I’m so sorry for you!

Amanda on February 28, 2012 at 4:14 am

I can tell you this, inept management is widespread. Direct supervisors and above who have no clue how to manage or lead. Most of these guys are politicians that are never proactive. It seems like all they want to do is slide under the radar. Ask them to approve anything that may cause a stir and bam they kill it or delay it by making you write so many memos you give up. Military should be a prerequisite for management (prior military leadership experience only).

Another thing I never seen such a good ole boys club like here at ICE/HSI. It seems like everyone has got an uncle a brother a father who is or was a SAC/ASAC/or someother ranking position. Their kids come here with no experience and are arrogant.

A look at the NY office where the surrounding population is pretty much equal between minorities and non minorities yet that office has barely any latino, asian or black representation. Its like they go out of their way to hire people not from the NY area. Then struggle to make cases because they dont speak any languages??? There are plenty of qualified candidates. I dont get it.

One could go on forever about the mismanagement from DC on down.

Staying afloat on February 28, 2012 at 11:41 am

Been There, you are pathetic, get your facts straight before you post them, a little fact checking such as when one does an investigation, is essential. If this is any indication you are a minor league player when it comes to investigations.

How’s this for an “endorsement”: Kozak is a hard working agent that paid his dues battling the Colombian Cartels, cargo thieves, weapons smugglers, and other conspirators as a GS-13 agent; graduated law school, then as an AUSA (while still a Customs agent), he prosecuted the same type of criminals. He did this throughout his career, without all the accolades, he was just doing his job. He also has a family that he cares for and they care for him.

He did this, along with many other Customs agents that went about quietly doing their jobs daily, while you were probably sitting on your fat ass, or at the very least kicking down those infamous doors to get to those McDonald’s workers, or kitchen moppers, or just having coffee and reading the paper, doing crosswords at 6:30 am from the comfort and safety of your desk, participating in the day’s gossip klatsch, INS is notorious for the gossip.

Sadly that part of you probably hasn’t changed.

So, prepare yourself if you insist on displaying your ignorance, and fascist views on this blog directed at me

I will respond accordingly, Clown.

QTD on March 1, 2012 at 1:40 pm

Perfect another pro-Kozak, openly INS hater post. Just what the ICE world needs. How is the kiddie porn case going on your other Legacy Customs hero, Mangione? What is it with the child sex crime related-cases and Legacy Customs folks?

Been There on March 1, 2012 at 9:19 pm

QTD and SSD, you two are something else. Having been with several Federal Agencies as an investigator, I can tell you ICE management has been the worst! I did not personally know any of the individuals involved in the shooting, however, I hear all the talk from those that did. It is 20 to 1, against what you claim to know of the people involved. The former US Customs Service had and continues to have as many problems as the former INS. There have been many a lawsuits against the agency and the ignorant management that still has key positions today.
The truly sad part is, a decade letter and people like you two, still talk legacy crap! This only fueling the new hires who refuse to use the “Immigration” word in their identity. Granted, the merge was not done correctly, but let us remember one thing. CUSTOMS was disbanded !!!!!, not the FBI, Not the ATF, heck not the DEA!! So obviously USCS was the bastard child of the US Treasury. If you want to swap stories, I will be glad to talk with you, but seriously, become a real cop first.

A proud Federal Employee on March 1, 2012 at 10:06 pm

I have to admit that I confused the legacy Customs SAC (Freddie the Fig) that exposed himself to a teenage girl and the other Legacy Customs SAC (Anthony Mangione), who is under indictment for kiddie pornography charges.

Been There on March 1, 2012 at 10:12 pm

QTD please allow me to remind you that we are posting comment s under Debbie Schlussel’s Headline Story, Ice agents: “Shooting No Surprise, W/Obama Bad Morale Mgt Immigration Agency.”
The story is based on reports from Debbie Schlussel’s sources who are both Legacy INS and Customs persons who state that in view of Kozak’s open INS hatred and his abusive management style, they were not surprised that Kozak would be involved in a workplace shooting.
QTD slavishly repeating Kozak’s work and education resume does not enlighten us whether or not Kozak’s alleged abusiveness and hatred, or his possible belligerence towards Zeke Garcia, contributed to triggering the incident.

However, QTD’s own belligerence and name calling, and his open INS hatred displayed in support of Kozak, certainly supports the existence within ICE of a seething INS hatred and the inclination to indulge in belittling and demeaning Legacy INS persons.

QTD’S knee jerk, slavish, support of Kozak appears to be in-character with his endorsement of the character of Anthony Mangione, another Legacy Customs manager, when Mangione was indicted for child pornography charges. QTD appeared to excuse Mangione’s indicted child sex criminal behavior stating in effect that Mangione’s job stress could have adversely affected him and caused him to commit child sex crimes.

This slavish, knee jerk support of even indicted child sex criminals appears to be QTD attempting to ingratiate himself with the Legacy Customs “Powers That Be” within ICE who hold the lion’s share of managerial positions within ICE.

We get if QTD. But this comment thread is not about how many “A”‘s Kozak got in school. It is about why this shooting was no surprise and why management is so lousy within ICE.

First QTD supports the report of an INS hatred in ICE, then he unctuously provides an s job stress excuse for Mangione’s child sex criminal behavior, before Mangione is even convicted of such behavior!

If I were Kozak or Mangione, I may be thinking “with friends like QTD who needs enemies?”

Been There on March 2, 2012 at 11:48 am

Been There, you continue to showcase your ignorance, the term is “Frankie the Fig” as posted on this blog.

I stand by my earlier posting, the one you quoted, and thoroughly without realizing it, you have actually agreed with me about Garcia “…by all accounts, (Mangione) is a hard working, experienced agent that rose through the ranks. Unless one has been there, we don’t know what type of stress he was under and how he handled it, and we all do handle it diffrently.”
Sound familiar? Sounds like Garcia to me. As someone posted earlier, had he lived, Garcia’s name would have been all over the news about his crime, arrest, and trial; somehow Mangione’s and Figueroa’s crimes pale in comparison to Garcia’s.

Anyone who posts here and claims that I am wrong because there are “20-1” postings in favor of him against Kozak is also delusional, totally unscientific at arriving at that conclusion, and I don’t claim to know anything about Garcia, other than he committed a aggravated felony against another agent.

Been There, if you are Dyslexic and can’t read, or comprehend what you’ve read, or perhaps suffer from poor judgement, or lack of impulse control, I can understand some of your ridiculous comments.

But if you are not, then I admit I am wrong, there is something Major League about you: You are a Major League DH.

QTD on March 2, 2012 at 11:59 am

QTD I do not recall anyone making any excuse for Zeke at all. But that does not excuse Kozak’s alleged abusive management style and open INS hatred that Debbie Schlussell reports had caused her sources to not be surprised that Kozak would be involved in a workplace shooting.

I highly doubt Zeke Garcia would have opened fire on Kozak, absent Kozak’s alleged abusive style and open INS hatred.

Zeke was wrong to open fire, but it appears that Kozak may have also been wrong by being an abusive, open INS hater and provoking Zeke.

Tell me QTD are all Legacy Customs Managers who undergo stress inclined to become child sex criminals and criminal defendents like “Freddie the Fig” and Mangione? Is that what you are claiming? If it wasn’t so serious, I’d say it was amusing that Customs folks even give their sex criminal managers little nick names, cute!

Been There on March 2, 2012 at 12:49 pm

QTD please desist from resorting to abusive language and name calling. It detracts from this experience of exploring what could have gone wrong that resulted in this tragedy. Grow up.

Been There on March 2, 2012 at 1:37 pm

Wow, how f@$&ed up are a lot of you people… Somehow you slugs always need to fall back on “he’s an INS hater.” No, Kozak is a “useless slug hater.” But if you can’t handle having to work hard and produce to get favorable treatment, then you need to LEAVE. By the way, all you clowns who suggest Kozak got what he deserved because he was “abusive” and that “zeke worked in a human meat grinder” for so many years are also complete p@$$:es and should LEAVE. I notice no one has mentioned Zeke’s colorful work past complete with disciplinary actions. By the way, your friend went bat s@:t crazy and is a FELON. Just like the other guy someone mentioned earlier who zeke worked with. I forget his name but he was a FELON too!!

The real truth on March 3, 2012 at 5:07 am

I like these guys who call themselves “truthful” and the”real truth” as if they, alone, have a monopoly on “the truth” and that THEIR opinion is “The Truth.”

No one ever said that Kozak got what he deserved because he was abusive. Debbie Schlussel reported that both INS and Customs sources stated that they were not surprised that Kozak was shot because he was an abusive open INS Hater.

The truth is the fact that Debbie Schlussel reported this. If you do not like this truth then go on Virtual University and get the only truth that you can stomach.to

Been There on March 3, 2012 at 11:06 am

The real truth that I hope the finders of fact can establish, is whether or not Kozak’s alleged abusive open INS Hater style was a contributing factor to provoking this incident. The “Real Truth” could be that, if not but for Kozak’s abusive open INS Hater style, Zeke Garcia would not have been provoked to resort to violence.

That is certainly not saying that Zeke Garcia was justifed whatsoever. These so called “Real Truth” folks seem to lack the sophistication to understand that Kozak’s abusive, open INS Hater style could have pushed Zeke Garcia to a point that he felt it was a point of honor to resort to violence, knowing full well he would also be killed in the process.

In fact, contrary to their belittling demeaning statements, Zeke Garcia may have taken his job much more seriously than these “Real Truth” Legacy Customs INS haters could ever imagine. People don’t normally sacrifice their lives for things that they don’t care about.

These “Real Truth” people are the same ones who scoff at the tough Los Angeles immigration work that Zeke Garcia did his whole career, day in and day out.

Been There on March 3, 2012 at 12:03 pm

Finally, “Real Truth” should be educated to understand that, just because “Real Truth” and those of his ilk, do not have the wherewithal or the intestinal fortitude to undertake Immigration work, they should not belittle those who undertake this most worthy casework.

“Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” attitude of the Legacy Customs agents amounts to a weak, mamby pamby, surrender and dereliction of duty.

Been There on March 3, 2012 at 12:16 pm

Donations for Zeke Garcia’s family can be made at the below link. The many comments from well wishers are very touching and telling of the nice man and dedicated agent that Zeke Garcia was.

http://www.gofundme.com/faycc

Been There on March 3, 2012 at 2:50 pm

MR. Been There, I agrees with your comments and everything is ok at INS because you said so and I beleiev everything about your written words. All of thenm that are against you to disagree are really wrong. that an was a INS hater every body know that beacuse it was reporetd to be true, and you say that he was too.Peopel dont understand what it is to be doing immigration hjobs, it is very hard and not evrybody has the guts to do it or the whereisitall. I want to thank you for always having the last word no matter what, you put everybody in there place, maybe you should run for the president. I think tht many immigration read and post here because this is the only way that they will listen to us, so thank you once again for being the spokesman or woman for immigration rights, I dont know if you are woman or man but it dont make no diffrence, the word is the same thank you. Pleas continue to monoiter this place for any one that is against immigration rights, I knopw that you will find themn and put them in there place beacsue we all belkieve everything you say and it is the truth what you always say for the immigration rights, we have to unite and stick together because we will show them what we are very good inmmigration people and dont take nothing from nobody anymore.

MF Jones on March 5, 2012 at 12:01 pm

Well MF Jones, since you addressed me by name I’ll give you the courtesy of a response. You are incorrect that it is mostly Legacy INS folks posting here. The great majority are apparently Legacy Customs folks with anti-INS comments. I’d say its a good representative sampling of the existence of this anti-INS bs at the workplace. Mostly one-sided, anti-INS, snobbery.

Been There on March 5, 2012 at 12:13 pm

Does anyone have the name of the FBI case agent, or, FBI POC for the investigation of this shooting? I think they may be interested to see all of the anti-INS commentary posted bth in this thread and others at Debbie Schlussels website over the past year, even prior to the shooting.

I think it is indicative of the hostile work environment that Zeke Garcia was exposed. I’ll leave it to the finders of fact whether or not the reports of Kevin Being an open INS hater, plus, the INS hate we see resounding throughout this website and practiced at work, was an aggravating factor in the shooting.,

Been There on March 5, 2012 at 12:20 pm

Only $125 to go to reach the $20,000 goal of donations for the family of Zeke Garcia.

Donations can be made at the linf, below:

http://www.gofundme.com/faycc

Been There on March 5, 2012 at 1:09 pm

If Mr. Garcia couldn’t handle the pressure of performing as a group supervisor in a federal law enforcement agency, he should have looked for another line of work instead of “going postal” against his boss. As federal agents, we are entrusted with enforcing U.S. laws, and are trained to deal with a multitude of dangerous situations, which include using deadly force if necessary. There is NO EXCUSE for Mr. Garcia’s actions. If he was so stressed out, he should have gone for counseling, or asked for a transfer, or done anything other than emptying his firearm at his boss. I was assigned to SAC/NY, which was located at 6 World Trade Center, and survived both the bombing in 1993 as well as 9/11. I went to EAP and spoke to someone afterwards, which helped me deal with the horrors I witnessed. Too bad Mr. Garcia didn’t avail himself of this option. I was also on a warrant where an agent was shot, and had run-ins with management over the course of my career, but even on my worst days, I could never conceive of doing what Mr. Garcia did. I was against the merger, and still think it was a disaster. However, I also believe that since we’re never going back to the way things were in the “good old days’, everyone needs to grow up, and stop slinging mud at legacy agencies, because we’re stuck with this one, and have to work together whether we like it or not.

ICEd on March 5, 2012 at 3:50 pm

Only a fool would deny or down play the on-going distaste, distrust and discrimination that many old-school Customs people have for the INS people. It is fact and it is obvious and it certainly takes a toll on those subject to it. HSI has no desire to perform the “lesser quality and not-so-sexy” immigration investigations opting to focus on IPR and money cases. HSI is perfectly willing to allow ERO to come in and take the aliens away but they want to skim the cream off of the top by taking the criminal prosecution cases and leaving ERO with the body. HSI doesn’t want to be bothered with handling the aliens but they don’t want to unleash the significant funding that comes with at least putting up the facade that they are taking their immigration responsibility seriously. By all appearances, the old school customs folks so hated anything related to immigration that they pushed the name change to HSI to make themselves feel better. The agency is more dysfunctional now than either of the “legacy” agencies were prior to the merger. HSI not only fights itself from within with the two former cultures failing to combine into some functional emulsion, it also battles with the other ICE component, ERO. The latter battle is more over who is going to get the bigger piece of the funding pie than who is going to get more respect than the other. There appears to be a very definite shift toward placing more responsibility on ERO for immigration law enforcement. With this trend, more funding will go to ERO. Perhaps some day the powers that be within ERO will finally recognize the value of their people. ERO does not suffer from the culture clash that plagues HSI but it is just as administratively incompetent as HSI. Sad but true. I can’t speak for either Zeke Garcia or the SAC/LA DSAC or ASAC but I can stand witness to the on-going feud between Customs and INS old schoolers as real and serious impediment to HSI’s effectiveness as a law enforcement agency charged with such a broad range of responsibility. Anybody who denies this problem either has their head in the sand or is a perpetrator of the problem, regardless what their legacy agency is or was. My feelings are simple, defund HSI for all immigration law enforcement responsibility and hand it over exclusively to ERO. Let HSI focus on drugs, money, IPR, kiddie porn and the stuff they were good at. End the war for good. It’ll never happen.

snakepit migra on March 5, 2012 at 4:59 pm

I just have a question to Debbie and to you all, why has the media stopped reporting on this incident? Clearly there are no winners on this but like ICEd stated, “the good old times” are gone and we should be dealing with each other as brothers in arms. Heaters on both sides are a hindrance to HSI’s mission and I say if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem and should move on to “greener pastures” if you don’t want to or can’t be part of HSI. I’m ICE and I’m proud to be part of it. Family, God and Country, just do an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay and leave the bickering behind. Hope for Kevin’s quick recovery, Perry to move on as best he can and may Zeke rest in peace. Clearly no winners here.

HSI AGENT on March 6, 2012 at 1:51 am

Someon else aksed the question about kozak beeing an ins hater, mentioned sources, that said it, but no one here has come up with any examples of that. I think the “hater” of customs is the one that did the shooting! he hate him so much that he want to kill him and that is never good. People here just take it for granted now that he was an ins hater, ins hater this ins hater that, leave the man alone now, let him recover, he is a victim of attempted homicide by a federal agent! I endorse peace, love, tranquility, but if you mess up dont shoot the man! what that say about you, something wrong deep inside that was hid. There are many ahole bosses, lots of them, but we arer federal agents! we dont do that, we dont play that!

MF Jones on March 6, 2012 at 1:05 pm

Truthful, you don’t know what you are talking about. Zeke was NOT being investigated for anything that could have gotten him fired or suspended. Perry did not have the backbone to stand up to Kevin. The acting ASAC and DSAC are the same as Perry and will not bring any bad news to the SAC that people in the SAC office want some changes. The employee councils in each division are a joke. Will changes be made in the sAC office? No. Get used to it SAC LA people, get used to it. Do the job, shut your mouths about there being problems and do the job. Sad sad sad days in LA. What could be the best office in the land is a sad little joke.

inLA on March 19, 2012 at 1:22 am

and word from sac: no one gets reassigned. the group doesnt move to another office area. everyone does their jobs or they get disciplined.

inLA on March 19, 2012 at 1:31 am

i worked for the post office and retired early just so i would not shoot a bunch of ass hole management shits.i hope some one shoots the two who lived.

BRUCE on April 10, 2012 at 2:58 pm

Wow, Bruce, take some extra strength Quualudes. You need it. Get off your meds one day and this happens. So anyone know what’s been going on with the shooting investigation? Perry coming back? Kevin coming back? Was it a justified shooting? I’m hearing that Zeke shot himself, Perry and he did not struggle for the gun. Maybe Perry drew and then Zeke shot himself and they are trying to create a hero? And what’s this story I’m hearing that Claud is out the door? headed to HQ?

woww on April 11, 2012 at 12:36 am

Ms. Schlussel,

Have you gotten any reports of action to address the problem described by you, below?

“…in this case, the man who was initially shot yesterday, ICE Los Angeles Deputy Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kozak, was part of the problem, not the solution. I condemn violence, I wish him well, and I hope he fully recovers. But while he certainly did not deserve to be shot, the many ICE agents I know have universally condemned this man and not a single one is surprised this happened. In fact, a retired federal agent I know who worked at ICE told me that everyone predicted that one of these days, Kozak was going to take a bullet by fed-up, abused employees. Other agents from all over the country have echoed the sentiment. I’m told that there have been years of complaints filed against Kozak for bad management and discrimination. Never once was anything done about it.”

Even before the shootng incident, we have seen anti INS hate by senior Los Angeles managers being reported here:

“sac la is in the toilet because of the management being controlled by one person. legacy customs guy who hates legacy ins. sac la opr controlled by legacy customs guy who is best friend of sac la controller. and the controller is not the sac that just got hired.

sacla on July 15, 2011 at 12:28 am”

Then you (Debbie Schlussel) quoted another ICE Agent, below:

“Kozak, who is an open INS hater, was going after yet another legacy INS supervisor and got shot.”

And another:

“Deputy SAIC Kevin Kozak….. One of the most despised and corrupt agents in the agency. ICE has already begun their coverup and attack against “the shooter” who was a very good and liked agent. I have personally overheard agents talk that someday Kozak would take a bullet…. That it was just a matter time.

I have personally assisted agents with their formal written complaints against this pieces of s**t. Kozak has more mismanagement and discrimination complaints filed against him than probably any other supervisor in the agency, yet because of his connections in DC, the agency never does anything. Now they will surround the wagons around Kozak “the victim” and trash the name of ” the shooter”.”

I completely agree with the comment of HSI Agent, above, that the Legacy Agency bickering and discrimination must end.

However, imo, this incident exposed a long term, deep-seated problem that needs to be addressed and taken out at the roots.

I am very concerned that, unless the problem is addressed, the chasm between the two Legacy Agency groups will widen/deepen.

Even some of the comments in here by “Old School,” and Rev. Umgana Khicqbouti (I’m a gonna kick butt), supposedly an open discussion forum, have degraded to the typical cheap shot bs and hint at retaliation.

For example, Old School talks about “data mining” and the revelation/exposure of Legacy INS commentors’ IP addresses.

Even though it is against the law to use federal investigative resources for pursuing vendettas, we must consider:

In conclusion, in lieu of any progress reportts on the state of the investigation, and in view of:

1) the abusive/discriminatory INS hater background reported here, plus;

2) the report of Kozak’s close association of the SAC/LA OPR/Internal Affairs, mostly Legacy Customs folks.

Is the incident truly being investigated, or, is SAC/LA using and abusing its Internal Affairs resources towards retaliation against those who have exposed the problems that you have reported and exposed, above?

Been There on April 23, 2012 at 12:45 pm

IMO, barring self-defense, attempted murder is never justified.

However, imo, and in view of the above comments about Kozak, Zeke Garcia may have been provoked. This possible provocation does not justify the shooting. However, the reports here appear to be indicative of a very serious problem, a problem that could have led to this terible violence.

Like HSA Agent, above, I also:

“Hope for Kevin’s quick recovery, Perry to move on as best he can and may Zeke rest in peace. Clearly no winners here.
HSI AGENT on March 6, 2012 at 1:51 am

Been There on April 23, 2012 at 1:03 pm

Wow man, you should take your crusade aginst the Customs “ins-haters” to a Senate Committee on Un-American Activities. Speaking of provoked, your boy didnt do nothing to mend any fences by going immigration on a federal agent, now it provokes a “see I told you so” response from many people. Your plan of action should be to actually designate ins as a protected class, then you can use the “D” word, as in discrimination.
A constitutional amendment, like a Prohibition, against any body using derogotaory, discriminatory practices against anyone from ins is surely needed, you can be the poster boy for that mr. been there. Why you can become the rev. Al Sharpton of the ins protected class. ‘INS, We BE Peeples too” “INS rights” You can have the “million INS man March” to DC to get your point across, demand INS quotas. The future looks great!

MF Jones on April 26, 2012 at 1:58 pm

MF Jones is your name “Ms Schlussel” the owner of thise web site to whom my questions were addressed?

Ms Schlussel published the Headline, “Shooting No Surprise,” quoting reports that Kozak is an open INS hater, and the subject of multiple Complaints of Discrimination. Even before the shooting Ms. Schlussel’s website carried reports that Kozak was the subject of Complaints of Discrimination but nothing had happened to Kozak because he was protected by HQ.

One commentator described the SAC LA as being controlled by an INS hater who was a close friend with the Chief of OPR.

Then Ms. Schlussel quoted reports that, due to his abuse of subordinates, thosethat knew Kozak had expected that he would take a bullet.

So whats all of your indignation about? Are you saying Ms Schlussel has fabricated these eports? Are you saying the headline, “Shooting No Surprise,” is mere sensationalism?

Lets not delude ourselves that there was/is not a serious problem.

If HQ supports a reportedly, abusive discriminatory INS hater manager like Kozak, then what other abuse and discrimination is occurring?

Under such reported abusive conditions at the workplace, including open INS hatred by a senior managrer, you have a great idea of giving Legacy employees the right to file a discrimination complaint based on this INS hatred.

I did not quote these reports, Ms Schlussel quoted these reports and published that headline. Ms. Sclussel identified Kozak as being part of the problem, not I.

Consequently, I addressed my questions to Ms Schlussel: Have these reported problems been addressed? Was OPR focusing its efforts on investigating the problems. Or, was OPR focusing on white washing the problem or retaliating against any one exposing the problem?

Been There on April 27, 2012 at 2:02 am

Once again, in my opinion (imo), short of self defense, atetmpted murder cannot be justified. However, in view of all of the above reports about Kozak on the Debbie Schlussel, even before the shooting, it begs the question whether Zeke Garcia was abused and/or provoked to the point that he snapped? We would be deluding ourselves to not ask this question in the face of such long term reports of discrimination by Kozak and of INS hatred at a senior level at SAC/LA. Lets not play stupid any longer.

I agree with HSI Agent’s remarks that the bickering must end. Plus, I wish the very best for Kevin Kozak and Perry Woo, but failure to correct abusive behavior is not in anyone’s best interest.

Been There on April 27, 2012 at 2:20 am

Been There, what the hell do you expect? Did you really think that the powers that be who have been covering for Kozak for all of these years wil authorize a genuince investigation, or, admit their miserable judgment and expose themselves to liability?

Get real.

You know they are attempting to sidetrack focus on the real issues when they start making racial accusations, invoking the name of Al Sharpton, like a page straight out of Johnnie Cochran’s play book.

Not Surprised on April 27, 2012 at 9:10 pm

No, I’m saying that you are trying to second guess the investigators that are on this incident and that you are nothing more than a rumor monger. Isn’t the SAC/LA legacy Immigration? You don’t know what you are talking about, unless you have some type of first-hand information that you are withholding, not more gossip. And you are also trying to steer this whole blog through your ridiculous postings, into some sort of platform for all of the long suffering INS agents that are being abused. Getting a GS level bump to a 13, 14 and 15’s to INS when they had no chance other than with the merger, wow, that is some abuse; what do you want, quotas? That’s already happening, look at all of the incompetent clowns holding key positions from both legacy agencies, with the exception being that the clowns from Immigration don’t have the experience. Just look at the results, people in positions that don’t know how to act. Take your platform and agenda to another level, if you are so concerned about exposing wrong doing and massive cover up by a multitude of employees in HSI and OPR, that led to this shooting, then make a case, get it out there, provide the evidence that you have, but don’t invent it or rely on hearsay and unsubstantiated allegations. I, for one, will listen to what you have to say, barring any nonsense or rumors.

MF Jones on April 28, 2012 at 2:22 pm