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A whistleblower's allegation that a dispatcher at an Army weapons research and testing center violated security procedures and threatened co-workers was partially substantiated in an Army investigation, according to the Office of Special Counsel.

The whistleblower, under anonymity granted by OSC, accused John W. Furmankiewicz, a lead dispatcher at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, of:

• Failing to follow security procedures required by Aberdeen in verifying the identity of people requesting admission to the facility's highly sensitive areas, relying solely on voice recognition.

• Making threatening statements and behaving in a way co-workers found threatening, including statements about shooting dispatchers from a nearby water tower, taking hostages, using explosives on the facility's grounds and committing suicide.

• Turning off the communication center's teletype printer used to receive information on threats and suspicious activity that could affect Aberdeen.

After the whistleblower reported Furmankiewicz to the facility's dispatch supervisor, Ian F. Booth, nothing was done to correct the problem, according to OSC.

The whistleblower's complaint filed with OSC was referred through five Defense Department offices, finally landing with the Army Materiel Command, which verified that two of the whistleblower's allegations against Furmankiewicz were true and found that other dispatchers were not following the proper procedures.

Allegations regarding Furmankiewicz intentionally turning off the printer were not verified; it was found that the printer was sometimes inadvertently offline due to paper problems. The Army report also concluded that there was no evidence that anyone gained unauthorized access to a sensitive area of Aberdeen.

Furmankiewicz was made a lead dispatcher by Booth in 2002, but he did not have supervisory authority over other employees, according to OSC. He worked with Booth on administrative issues; soon after his appointment, the head of law enforcement at Aberdeen had Furmankiewicz investigated and found him to be "abrupt and abrasive with the public and often rude, impolite and unmannerly to his co-workers."

Furmankiewicz was reprimanded in a letter, but Booth did not deal with any other problems. Booth was notified that there were concerns regarding Furmankiewicz's mental stability, though he was cleared to return to work after a medical consultation.

In November 2003, Booth began the process of suspending Furmankiewicz because co-workers had complained he was verbally abusive, made violent comments and made inappropriate sexual comments to a female co-worker.

As a result of the investigation of those events and the whistleblower's accusations, Furmankiewicz was suspended for 30 days without pay, reassigned to a different squad and ordered to attend counseling.

Management changes in Aberdeen's law enforcement department were implemented as a result of the investigation. The facility is going to comprehensively reorganize its law enforcement and plans to hire a new civilian supervisor.

The position of chief of the Department of Law Enforcement Operations Division will be converted from a military position to a civilian one. Booth was removed from his responsibilities as head of dispatchers and will hold nonsupervisory positions under the reorganization.

Busted

A senior Border Patrol agent and his brother pleaded guilty last week to bribery and drug conspiracy charges after they received $1.5 million in exchange for allowing several tons of marijuana to slip past the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the Justice Department.

The agent, Juan Alfredo Alvarez, was a dog handler in Hebbronville, Texas, and was responsible for guarding Border Patrol checkpoints on Texas highways 16 and 359. He and his brother, Jose Guadalupe Alvarez, lived in Laredo, Texas.

From June 2003 to April 6, 2005, Juan Alvarez, 35, and his brother Jose, 38, solicited and received about $1.5 million from a drug trafficking group in exchange for the safe passage of drugs through border checkpoints, authorities said.

The unnamed drug organization shipped at least one load of the marijuana per month for nearly two years, each containing one to two tons of the illegal substance.

The brothers could each receive a sentence of 10 years to life in prison. Both have agreed to jointly pay the government $1.5 million; their property, bank accounts and cars are subject to forfeiture if they are unable to pay.

As a senior Border Patrol agent, Juan Alvarez's duties were to screen traffic traveling through checkpoints in an attempt to deter narcotics and alien smuggling.

The case is still under investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the Homeland Security Department, the Office of Inspector General and the Laredo Police Department.

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