I personally have admired you from afar as a man of honesty, courage, and professional integrity in your capacity as a law enforcement official. This is specifically why I am writing you today to address grave matters that lie within your legal jurisdiction as U.S. District Attorney.
Through the unnecessary United Airlines Chapter 11 bankruptcy that commenced in December 2002 and ended in February of this year, tens of thousands of honest, law-abiding citizens (like you and I) have been criminally wronged. Since United Airlines and the Seventh Circuit Court system lie within you legal domain, I feel you need to be apprised of our current legal and political plight.
There are individuals within certain agencies and organizations, who strongly believe they possess substantial criminal evidence of, and have witnesses to, this pathetic criminal activity. We desperately need a trustworthy human as a legal channel to oversee an investigation, analysis, and collation of these data to confirm our collective allegations and bring justice to these consciousless, white-collar criminals. You're him.
A massive number of disenfranchised airline employees from every airline in the country (as well as workers in other industries) will also be in receipt of this letter and waiting with bated breath for your decision regarding your response to our legal and political concerns. On behalf of those 40-million American workers who are covered by over 30,000 defined-benefit pension plans, don’t let us down now.
It is hereby respectfully requested, at your earliest convenience, that you contemplate the initiation of a grand jury investigation into all questionable legal matters pertaining to the United Airlines and McCook Metals, LLC bankruptcies. I have included as enclosures for your perusal, other letters of petition to high-ranking government officials also requesting a congressional investigation into these matters that willhopefully leadto a full Senate hearing on this and other airline industry and pension issues. Your affirmative decision to engage this much needed legal process will have a profound and dramatic impact on workers from every industry in the country.
Please be there for us; we’re all counting on your honesty, compassion, and professional legal expertise to win the day for millions of real American citizens. Thank you for your consideration. I will patiently await your reply.
cc: Honorable Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General of the United States
Honorable Michael J. Chertoff, Department of Homeland Security
Honorable Mary E. Peters, Department of Transportation
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV)
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI)
Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Senator Barak Obama (D-IL)
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA)
Congressman George Miller (D-CA)
Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI)
Congressman Jerry Costello (D-IL)
Glenn Tilton, CEO United Airlines
Jack Brace, CFO United Airlines
Paul Lovejoy, General Counsel United Airlines
Captain Mark Bathurst, Chairman, United ALPA MEC
Robert Nichols, Attorney, United ALPA MEC
Dr. Donald Hudson, ALPA National Aeromedical Consultant
New York Times
Washington Post
Chicago Tribune
St. Louis Post Dispatch
Belleville New Democrat
Detroit Free Press
Los Angeles
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February 2, 2009
Mr. Robert D. Grant Special Agent-in-Charge Federal Bureau of Investigation U.S. Department of Justice 2111 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, Illinois 60608
SUBJ: WHISTLEBLOWING UNITED PILOTS ASSOCIATION
Dear Mr. Grant,
This morning, I flew from my home domicile of Atlanta to Chicago, rented a car and drove to the Chicago Office of the FBI with the intent of providing criminal evidence and a list of witnesses as directed in letters by members of the Department of Justice on three separate occasions, which I have enclosed for your perusal.
I must admit that I was very much shocked and disheartened by the meeting that I had with one of your agents in the briefing room immediately behind the check-in desk on the first floor of the building. I announced to the female agent, (whose name she claimed she could not provide due to FBI regulations), that I was a disenfranchised unprotected FAA and Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower whose legal rights had been denied. Additionally, I advised her that I was a public spokesperson for the subject association, had filed federal complaint (#2008-9580) a year ago, and had written your office during this time frame in hopes of arranging a meeting with FBI agents, as suggested at the time by Agent David Barusko, to which I received no response.
Additionally, I told her that, although unprotected, I wanted to provide material evidence and a list of preliminary witnesses that supported my stated criminal allegations in the affidavit that was previously sent to your office. I went on to tell her that I had brought a USB storage device that contained much information, but the security guards at the gate told me that it would have to be stored in one of the lockers and, if the agent desired this information, I could give her the key and she would retrieve it. She refused to retrieve this device.
Disappointed, but not frustrated after having been stonewalled by DOJ for almost three years, I asked her if I could at least speak to an agent in the white-collar criminal division of your office. She refused this request, so I asked her if I could possibly speak to the agent in charge of this department since my associate, Michael Lynch, had already briefed this department on other matters and had a file there containing evidence relevant to my case. She refused.
Finally, although I knew you were presently encumbered with the Blagojevich debacle and other matters, I asked if I could talk to you personally for just a few minutes, since two letters previously sent to your office had gone unanswered. She refused and then informed me that the Department of Justice was not going to investigate our case, which was bewildering to me.
I then queried as to how the FBI could arrive at such a decision not to prosecute a case without ever having viewed a single shred of evidence or questioned witnesses, given that United Airlines was the single largest employer in the state and the bankruptcy and pension termination were amongst the largest in history. She could not provide an answer, but continued to insist that DOJ was not going to investigate this case.
This was the ultimate DOJ stonewall in the history of this case, especially after I was merely following the DOJ direction of reporting criminal evidence to an FBI office. Why should one bother to even file a federal criminal complaint, if the FBI will not even receive evidence or hear witness testimony in the matter? Better yet, why should one even risk being an FAA or Sarbanes-Oxley whistle blower if the protective covenants afforded by these acts are ignored?
Due process of federal law is not being served here. While recognizing that 18 U.S.C.§ 4 “Misprison of felony” only applies to those who knowingly conceal and do not as soon as possible report a federal crime to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States at the risk of being fined or imprisoned not more than three years, or both, the converse holds true here in that I’m attempting to report a federal crime in accordance with Sarbanes-Oxley, but being prevented from doing so by the very federal law enforcement agency empowered to prosecute, while posing grave risk to myself in the process.
If a deferred prosecution agreement has been reached between United Airlines, the Department of Justice, and an assigned external monitor, then would someone in the Department of Justice kindly do me the small favor of informing of such, so I can at least explain this to the association membership and investigative journalists and authors who are tracking this case, while at the same time apologize to my broken family for having wasted three years time with this senseless and frustrating legal exercise in futility? I’m still unprotected; that isn’t asking much.
Last year, the Department of Justice provided a partial list of those corporations who had reached such agreements, with the consequence of white-collar criminal exoneration of their wrongdoings, and financially disenfranchised victims being offered no legal recourse to recoup their losses. United Airlines was not on this list, which I believe is still under investigation by the House Judiciary Committee. Additionally, would your office staff be so kind as to at least provide a written response to this correspondence alone, explaining the reason(s) your office will not review evidence in this case, since I have received no responses in the past?
On January 31, 2009, I wrote to Glenn Fine, the Department of Justice Inspector General advising him of the chronology of DOJ legal stonewalls of the past few years, while requesting DOJ cooperation in this case.
Today’s response from your office was not the level of cooperation I had hoped for.
Very respectfully,
Dan Hanley
Spokesperson – Whistleblowing United Pilot Association
Encl: Letter dated December 11, 2006 from Patrick Fitzgerald Letter dated May 16, 2007 from FBI DC Letter dated December 5, 2007 from Deputy Asst AG John Keeney Letter dated January 31, 2009 to DOJ IG Glenn Fine
Cc: Senator Patrick Leahy – Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee Senator Charles Grassley – Senate Judiciary/Senate Finance Committees Congressman John Conyers, Jr. – Chairman, House Judiciary Committee Glenn Fine – Inspector General, Department of Justice Calvin L. Scovell – Inspector General, Department of Transportation Patrick P. O’Carroll – Inspector General, Social Security Administration H. David Kotz – Inspector General, Securities and Exchange Commission Eric Thorson – Inspector General, Treasury Department Eric Holder – Attorney General Rita Glavin – Acting Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division Robert Mueller – FBI Director Patrick Fitzgerald, District Attorney, Northern District of Illinois Tom Devine – Government Accountability Project Legal Director Eric Lichtblau – New York Times Investigative Journalist Mary Williams-Walsh – New York Times Investigative Journalist Members of the Whistleblowing United Pilots Association
February 6, 2009
Eric Holder – Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001
SUBJ: WHISTLEBLOWING UNITED PILOTS ASSOCIATION
Dear Mr. Holder,
On behalf of the subject association, please allow me to extend to you our sincerest congratulations and best wishes on your recent confirmation as attorney general, the highest law enforcement official in our great nation. As such, we hold great hope that you share in President Obama’s promise of change in governance enabling a greater openness in our government and law enforcement agencies, thereby routing out the cancerous white-collar corruption that has permeated throughout all levels and branches of government and business the past several years.
In consonance with the Department of Justice stated mission, all members of our association share these same hopes and visions for a better tomorrow.
"To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans."
Established in April 2006, the ‘Whistleblowing United Pilots Association’ is a national grassroots coalition comprised of employees and retirees from all airlines whose purpose is to help discover the truth regarding alleged white-collar criminality associated with post-9/11 airline bankruptcies and serve justice on the criminals who perpetrated these crimes. I serve as a public spokesperson for this group.
On April 12, 2006, I sent the attached letter to then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announcing the establishment of our association, while petitioning his support of our grassroots efforts. Four months later in a letter response dated, DOJ Gerald Toner advised me to contact an FBI office with evidence of alleged federal criminality.
On November 20, 2006, I wrote District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald a letter advising him of our knowledge of the existence of federal criminal evidence, while asking for his prosecutorial support in this case. On December 11, 2006, I received a letter from the office of Patrick Fitzgerald suggesting that I contact Robert Grant, Chicago FBI Special Agent-in-Charge, if I had 'any evidence of violations of federal law'.
Without expounding, on April 1, 2007, I wrote the attached letter to Mr. Grant that was forwarded by his office to the FBI DC Public Corruption Unit, an administrative arm of the FBI, who responded in a letter dated May 16, 2007 by suggesting that I contact the FBI Field office in Atlanta. Because I was aware that FBI Chicago already had a filed open federal complaint on a matter related to this case, as well as other issues under consideration at the time, I chose not to contact this specific office for reasons that I will not outline in this letter.
On February 2, 2009, I paid a visit to the Office of the FBI in Chicago for the express purpose of delivering federal criminal evidence and a list of witnesses, but this information was declined by an agent in this office. Additionally, I was informed that the FBI did not intend to prosecute this case, even though no one within the bureau had reviewed the tiniest shred of evidence. I am nonplussed, as are members of our association.
On this same date, I transmitted the attached letter to Chicago FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Grant expressing our concerns regarding the fact that due process of federal law was not being served in this case, even though I was merely adhering to DOJ recommendations on three separate occasions to contact the FBI if I had evidence of alleged federal criminality as a Sarbanes-Oxley whistle blower.
As our newly-appointed highest federal law enforcement official in government, request is hereby made that the Department of Justice kindly provide our membership the reason(s) as to why said evidence has been refused by the department resulting in the apparent unconcern of alleged federal criminality surrounding the United Airlines bankruptcy. Other agencies of the federal government have been contacted on relevant legal issues in this case as well, and I have included this related correspondence for your perusal.
President Obama campaigned on a promise of open government, which included the exposition of white-collar corruption, untoward lobbyist pressures, and excessive executive compensation. Although encumbered with current economic problems and many other pressing issues, it is hoped that he will fully support whistle blowers willing to step forth to expose white-collar corruption, given the sorry state of economic affairs in this country which, in part, has been caused by corrupt schemes derived by the likes of Bernie Madoff and others.
The overriding concern and consideration more generally addressed herein is whether or not we do, in fact, have whistle blower laws in this country, but more importantly the question as to whether the federal agencies empowered to investigate and prosecute alleged white-collar criminality while protecting the rights of whistle blowers still exists. We want to believe that the United States has a system of federal laws, legislated by Congress, enacted by the President, with legal processes in place to ensure adherence.
Our association membership embraces the precepts enshrined in our sacred Constitution, which ensures first amendment freedom of speech rights by patriots who stand guard against diminishments of these ideals. The citizens of this great land do not need a Patriot Act to delegate 'patriotism', as it was exemplified by the courageous words and deeds of our forefathers who were willing to risk their lives in support of these virtues and ideals. Our association motto is "Patriotism and Freedom of Speech in Action" in consonance with this same theme.
Reflecting on the words offered to Attorney General Gonzales in April 2006:
“You are hereby advised of our plight and our efforts. If DOJ, DOT, and DHS are disinterested in our investigation, that is acceptable, although not understandable, to us. However, you must be forewarned, we will be successful in discovering the truth and serving justice and then will be calling on your good offices to explain your apathetic behavior towards our just and noble cause”.
Our association membership asserts that much of the truth regarding federal white-collar criminality in this case has been uncovered. Service of federal justice is a jurisdictional matter outside the association domain of control. It is a Department of Justice function. Ordinary grassroots citizen groups should not be required to investigate and prove federal criminality, as this is a Department of Justice function also. Will you join us in our just and noble cause in support of the stated mission of the Department of Justice? To date, our association efforts have been most ineffective in our legally persuasive processes of the past.
Very respectfully,
Dan Hanley Spokesperson – Whistleblowing United Pilots Association
Encl: Letter dated April 12, 2006 to AG Gonzales, DHS Chertoff, and DOT Mineta Letter dated July 3, 2006 from DOJ Gerald Toner Letter dated November 20, 2006 to District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald Letter dated December 11, 2006 from District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald Letter dated April 1, 2007 to Chicago FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Grant Letter dated May 16, 2007 from FBI DC Public Corruption Unit Michael Anderson Letter dated September 1, 2007 to Asst AG Fisher, Leahy, Schumer, Conyers Letter dated December 5, 2007 from Deputy Asst AG John Keeney Letter dated February 10, 2008 to Deputy Asst AG John Keeney Email dated February 2, 2009 to Chicago FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Grant Letter dated January 25, 2009 to Calvin L. Scovel, DOT Inspector General Letter dated January 28, 2009 to H. David Kotz, SEC Inspector General Letter dated January 31, 2009 to Gordon S. Heddell, DOL Inspector General Letter dated January 31, 2009 to Glenn A. Fine, DOJ Inspector General Letter dated January 31, 2009 to President Barack Obama Letter dated February 2, 2009 to Eric Thorson, Treasury Inspector General Letter dated January 26, 2009 from Government Accountability Project Coalition to President Barack Obama
cc: President Barack Obama Vice-President Joe Biden Rahm Emanuel - Chief of Staff to the President Calvin L. Scovell - Inspector General, Department of Transportation H. David Kotz – Inspector General, Securities and Exchange Commission Gordon S. Hedell – Inspector General, Department of Labor Glenn A. Fine – Inspector General, Department of Justice Eric Thorson – Inspector General, Department of Treasury Rebecca Batts - Inspector General, Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation Senator Patrick Leahy - Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee Senator Charles Grassley - Member, Senate Judiciary/Finance Committees Senator Daniel Akaka - Chairman, Senate Government Management/Federal Workforce/DC Committee Senator Carl Levin - Chairman, Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Max Clellan - Former Democratic Senator from Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) Congressman John Conyers, Jr. Chairman, House Judiciary Committee Congressman Henry Waxman, Chairman, Government Oversight Committee Congressman George Miller, Chairman, Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee Rita Glavin - Acting Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division Robert Mueller - FBI Director Patrick Fitzgerald - District Attorney, Northern District of Illinois Robert Grant - Chicago FBI, Special Agent-in-Charge Mary Schapiro – SEC Chairman Merri Jo Gillette - Chicago SEC, Regional Director Eric Lichtblau - New York Times Investigative Journalist Mary Williams-Walsh - New York Times Investigative Journalist Jeff Bailey - New York Times Investigative Journalist David Cay Johnston - Pulitzer Prize Winning Investigative Journalist/Author Paul Krugman - New York Times Reporter/Nobel Laureate in Economics Richard Duprey - Journalist, 'The Motley Fool' John Perkins - Author Jan Schwartz - CEO, Forensic Fraud Research, Inc. Holly Hegeman - Editor, 'Plane Business' Keith Olberman - NBC News Correspondent Chris Matthews - NBC News Correspondent Rachel Maddow - NBC News Correspondent Lou Dobbs - CNN News Correspondent Ed Schultz - Public Talk Radio Show Host Michael Lynch - Associate Tom Devine - Legal Director, Government Accountability Project United Airlines Board of Directors Captain John Prater - President, Air Line Pilots Association Captain Steve Wallach - United ALPA Master Executive Council Chairman Members of the Whistleblowing United Pilots Association
