Phoenix Police Public Safety Manager Jack Harris and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon Violate Section 1553, Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Look At The Letter We Mailed and We Encourage You to Mail One Too!

Here's the letter we sent to the Office of the Inspector General and the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, as well as many others.  We encourage each of you to make your own copy with your name and email it or snail mail it.  The email link is oig.hotline@usdoj.gov Lying before Congress is a big no-no and Jack and Phil should know better, but they are both too arrogant and think they are above the law.

File a Complaint on WhistleBlower Protection HERE

At the bottom of the letter is Section 1553 (Whistleblower Protection), so you can download and read it yourselves.
~BPC

September 11, 2010

Office of the Inspector General
U.S. Department of Justice
Investigations Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Room 4706
Washington, DC 20530
(e) oig.hotline@usdoj.gov
800.869.4499

AND

Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board

Attention: Hotline Operators
P.O. Box 27545
Washington, D.C. 20038-7958

RE: Violation of Section 1553 (WhistleBlower Protection) Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Officer Phillip Roberts (#4520), Phoenix Police Department

Dear Sir or Madam:

My name is {insert your name}. I am a natural born citizen of the United States and currently reside in Phoenix, Arizona. I have uncovered and would like to bring to your attention a violation in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, sec 1553 which occurred in Phoenix, Arizona between the dates of October 1, 2009 and September 11, 2010 and is currently unending.

The Whistleblower in need of protection is Phoenix police officer Phil Roberts (badge #4520) and the retaliation is stemming from mayor Phil Gordon, city of Phoenix and Phoenix public safety manager, Jack Harris - along with many others in the Phoenix police department command structure.

I want to go on record that I am not a relative of; or tied to Phoenix police officer Phil Roberts. I am a U.S. citizen who has read numerous memos authored by officer Roberts over the past year and have personally experienced retaliation, threats and the mendacious behavior of mayor Phil Gordon and Phoenix public safety manager Jack Harris. I am best described as an outspoken critic of Gordon, Harris, and in part, the command structure of the Phoenix police department. I am outraged at the retaliation exerted upon officer Phil Roberts for simply trying to do what is right, what is a component of his job description and the mandate and charter of the Phoenix police department and our public safety manager Jack Harris.

Section 1553 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is exceptionally clear when it grants whistleblower protection for the following:

Sec. 1553. Protecting State and Local Government and Contract Whistleblowers
(a) Prohibition of Reprisals - An employee of any non-Federal employer receiving covered funds may not be discharged, demoted or otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for disclosing, including a disclosure made in the ordinary course of an employees duties, to the Board, an inspector general, the Comptroller General, a member of Congress, a State of Federal regulatory or law enforcement agency, a person with supervisory authority over an employee (or such other person working for the employer who has the authority to investigate, discover, or terminate misconduct), a court or grand jury, the head of a Federal agency, or their representatives, information that the employee reasonably believe is evidence of-


1. gross mismanagement of an agency contract or grant relating to covered funds;
2. a gross waste of covered funds;
3. a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety related to the implementation or use of covered funds;
4. an abuse of authority related to the implementation or use of covered funds; or
5. a violation of law, rule, or regulation related to an agency contract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract) or grant, awarded or issued relating to covered funds.

Over the past year, beginning in the Fall of 2009, I have seen and read twenty-plus memos authored by officer Roberts of the Phoenix police department citing gross negligence in testimony before Congress, cover ups of investigations and Felony crimes committed by fellow police officers and a danger to public health or safety. These memos have been sent to numerous individuals in Phoenix city management.

The following individuals should be part of your investigation; as they knew about defrauding the Federal government and did nothing to stop it, were a party to the retaliation and cover up and have taken no action to investigate it, or were sent memos by officer Roberts requesting an investigation or Whistleblower protection and they have disregarded him:

The city of Phoenix Integrity Committee
Phoenix city Council Members (all eight members and their staff)
Phoenix city manager, David Cavasos
Assistant city manager, Edward Zuercher
Phoenix city mayor, Phil Gordon
Phoenix city public safety manager, Jack A. Harris
Phoenix police Professional Standards Bureau (AKA Internal Affairs)
Phoenix police lieutenant Linda Meraz, Professional Standards Bureau
Phoenix police commander David Faulkner
Phoenix police officer Tommy Thompson
Phoenix police assistant chief Murray “Andy” Anderson
Phoenix police assistant chief Jim Pina
Phoenix police lieutenant Laurel “Lauri” Burgett
Numerous other officers in the Phoenix command structure, to come at a later date, directly from officer Phil Roberts.

This has also been brought to the attention of:

The Federal Bureau of Investigations
Marquita Beene, City of Phoenix EOD Investigator
Terry Goddard and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office – Phoenix, Arizona
The United States Department of Labor
United States Senator John McCain – Arizona
Dennis Burke – US Attorney for the State of Arizona

The basis for officer Robert’s complaint is simple. During mayor Phil Gordon and Phoenix city public safety manager Jack Harris’ testimony before Congress to obtain Federal dollars under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, they were less than truthful about the kidnapping statistics in Phoenix, Arizona and were possibly off in their assessment by 90%. Phoenix, Arizona has been labeled, “The kidnapping capital of the world behind Mexico City” with the far-fetched statistics claiming 358 kidnappings occurring in 2008 alone.

Officer Phil Robert’s would know better then anyone if these numbers were inflated or grossly misrepresented. Officer Roberts served as the co-supervisor in HIKE (High Invasion Kidnapping Enforcement) and was the most senior sergeant in the group, and the one with the most successful kidnapping rescues. Officer Roberts has received over seventy-five commendations for police work; including field officer trainer of the year, and twice the department’s medal of merit for bravery. He was also promoted to police sergeant and took a promotion into the robbery unit in 2000 and 2006, respectively. Officer Roberts has twenty-four years of experience with a spotless record up until a year ago and is now being discredited and under-minded for bringing forward corruption and malfeasances with these kidnapping statistics.

There are seven different kidnapping offenses in Title 13 (Arizona Criminal Statutes).

1. Kidnapping (13-1304),
A. Unlawful imprisonment (13-1303)
B. Custodial interference (13-1302)
C. Trafficking of persons (13-1308)
D. Access interference (13-1305)
E. Unlawfully obtaining labor or services (13-1306)
F. Sex trafficking (13-1307)

The main focus of the HIKE squad was to deal with KIDNAPPING (13-1304.) The current allegation by officer Roberts is that the Phoenix police department, consistent with Mayor Gordon's comments, included all the other types of kidnappings and thus the kidnapping numbers became inflated. Mayor Phil Gordon and the Phoenix police department media relations group communicated that all kidnappings are the same when in reality they are not. There is a distinction and (by way of example) Access Interference (13-1305) in a child custody issue would not make Phoenix, Arizona the kidnapping capital of the world behind Mexico City.

The National Crime Information Center’s (NCIC) missing person file was implemented in 1975. According to the NCIC in 2007 there were 518 records entered as Abducted by a Stranger in the entire United States, yet somehow just one year later according to mayor Phil Gordon and public safety manager Jack Harris, Phoenix Arizona alone had 358 kidnappings!

Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon in his testimony before Congress at the Senate Subcommittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs states,

“People are being tortured. People are being kidnapped. Almost every night, Phoenix police will get one or more calls, with variations…my wife is being held in a Phoenix drop house and they say they will torture and kill her if we don't pay them thousands of dollars.' The response to that kind of call is incredibly labor intensive.”

While this depiction may be true and does happen on occasion, through my extensive interviews with Phoenix police officers (and also confirmed though officer Phil Robert’s memos), this simply is not the case and does not happen each evening in Phoenix, Arizona and barely happens bimonthly.

Officer Phil Roberts is currently on stress leave for the second time. Each time he returns to work, they want to investigate him for his disobedience in discrediting mayor Phil Gordon and public safety manager, Jack Harris. Both Mayor Phil Gordon and public safety manager Jack Harris have already demoted officer Roberts to a Patrol position against his will, and are trying to Loudermil him, discipline him and ultimately terminate him for misconduct in bringing these counterfeit statistics to light.

The sole reason these statistics were presented to Congress was to illegitimately and illegally obtain Federal dollars under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and to bring those dollars to Arizona where Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon and public safety manager Jack Harris would receive credit on these dollars and relish in the accolades for political gain. It is my belief and understanding that Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon and public safety manager Jack Harris purposefully lied before Congress with aforethought of malice and ill will. By my summation, officer Robert’s HIKE squad alone received an estimated $1.7 million dollars of this stimulus money.

The population of Phoenix, Arizona in 2008 is recorded as 1,567,924. No citizen thinks 1 out of 4380 people was kidnapped in 2008; nor do they believe there were 258, 158 or 58 kidnappings that year. We believe no one will initiate an investigation because the lies and corruption are so unbridled and so unfathomable, what your investigation might unearth will require Federal involvement to correct the city of Phoenix with a consent decree.

If we cannot trust a twenty-five year veteran of the Phoenix police department with an impeccable record to bring forward such discrepancies, fraud, and malfeasance conducted within the leadership of Phoenix government, then who can we trust? Who are we to turn to? Who will have oversight on this?

In June of 2006, (memo enclosed) the Phoenix police union (AZPLEA) confronted public safety manager Jack Harris on his unique and one-sided investigations. Jack Harris told them, “I’m not going to allow PLEA and citizens to say when and how investigations are done” PLEA noted that, “Sadly his [Harris’] disregard of citizens and employees in the investigatory process contradicts his priorities.” Simply put, Phoenix public safety manager Jack Harris investigates who he wants, when he wants, feels accountable to no one (not even citizens) and the Union noted we are all “ill served” by having Jack Harris leading the Phoenix Police department. Unfortunately, officer Roberts is experiencing this first hand as many have before him.

As a citizen of Phoenix and of the United States of America, I have witnessed and experienced Jack Harris’ retaliation and corruption for four years. Now it has reached Washington, DC and touches over 300 million Americans. Jack Harris along with mayor Phil Gordon have defrauded every citizen in the United States and have unlawfully obtained monies with half–truths and innuendo. They knew these statistics were wrong but presented them anyway and labeled us erroneously the kidnapping capital of the world, when we are indeed not. Phoenix public safety manager Jack Harris has shown not only to be deceitful, but fraudulent and retaliatory, and one who cannot be trusted. I am sure history will show Jack Harris to be the most reprehensible assistant city manager the city of Phoenix has ever seen.

I would like to request a formal investigation into the retaliation against officer Phil Roberts under Section 1553 (WhistleBlower Protection) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

I understand the inspector general reserves the right not to conduct or continue any investigation under Section 1553, but as required by law, such inactions on your part must be presented to Congress. Under section 4 (A) I will request the investigation file in accordance with section 552a of title 5 of the United States Code.

For your review, I have enclosed several copies of officers Phil Robert’s memos. We have published many of these online for the world to see and I am able to provide you website links.

If you would like to contact me or would like me to visit personally with you at my expense in Washington, DC, I may be reached directly or if you find it more appropriate, through my counsel {insert your lawyers name}.

Warm Regards,

{Your Name}

Cc:

{Your Attorney} – counsel for {Your Name}
Honorable John McCain – Senator, Arizona
Honorable Jon Kyle – Senator, Arizona
Honorable Jan Brewer, Governor, State of Arizona
Office of the President of the United States, Barack Obama

Enclosures


Sec1553-WhistleBlowerProtection