COMMENTARY:
RE: The Removal of FBI Bureau Chief James Maddock from his post in Sacramento ---
Cary Stayner worked at the Cedar Lodge in Yosemite, adjacent to Mariposa
County. He and his uncle were long-standing drug dealers. The managers of
the Cedar Lodge [they lease the lodge], had been operating a drug operation
(Methamphetamine, Heroin, Marijuana) for close to 15 years, and NEVER been
arrested for this operation, despite the fact that the Cedar Lodge was a well
known drug hangout and distribution center.
Most of the high-level officials in Mariposa County were involved with the
owners and managers of the Cedar Lodge, and with the Mariposa Sheriff's
Department. This cozy alliance has been ongoing for nearly 15 years, with no
arrests. AND this operation, which goes far beyond the Cedar Lodge into a
California drug syndicate [as named in previous news accounts] has been
operating under the auspices of THE COMPANY in nearby Fresno.
Cary Stayner, a long-standing, known drug dealer who worked at the Cedar
Lodge and was originally hired by the managers of the Cedar Lodge, was
ultimately arrested as the serial killer of the women in Yosemite National
Park.
PRIOR to Stayner's arrest, I notified a man in Merced who works to uncover
corruption in Mariposa, and advised him to look for the murderer at the Cedar
Lodge, the last known place where the missing women had been seen. I advised
the man to look for an "employee" of the Cedar Lodge, possibly a "maintenance
man or a bartender" at the Cedar Lodge. I pointed out that the Cedar Lodge
was a drug hangout, distribution point, and whoever killed the women probably
worked at the Cedar Lodge.
This man notified James Maddock of this. When Stayner was finally arrested,
[he WAS a maintenance man at the Cedar Lodge], I again notified the man to
advise James Maddock that Stayner was involved in a large drug ring. That
Stayner's hair, blood, etc. should be tested for drugs, and Stayner
questioned about his involvement in the drug operation at the Cedar Lodge.
The man advised James Maddock of this, but NO drug arrests resulted from this
information. The man in Merced subsequently notified the drug task force
about this. I subsequently received a call from the man and he told me the
Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement was going to get in touch with me about this
drug operation at the Cedar Lodge and The Company. I never heard from them,
though I was given their names. I later [a few months ago] learned the
information reached the desk of the California Attorney General, according to
the man in Merced.
I have no idea if James Maddock ever followed up on the drug information
about the Cedar Lodge and serial killer Cary Stayner. I asked the man in
Merced to point out to James Maddock that I felt sure Stayner would expose
the drug operation if questioned on this subject. After all, Stayner
confessed to be-heading one of his victims and killing the others, so why not
confess to his knowledge of the Mariposa-Yosemite drug operation and The
Company?
I will never know if Stayner confessed to the drug operation, but just about
every drug agency in California knows about it by now, thanks to the man in
Merced --- who, by the way, ran for Sheriff of Mariposa County during the
last election. He promised to "clean up" Mariposa if he got elected. He
didn't get elected, but he still works to expose the corruption there.
Meanwhile, I just learned of James Maddock's sudden removal from the FBI
offices in Sacramento. The Sacramento Bee reported today that Maddock was
removed because of his handling of the Cary Stayner case.
To my knowledge, the Cedar Lodge, The Company, and the Mariposa/Yosemite
[California] drug syndicate is still alive and well and doing business as
usual --- to date I haven't heard about any arrests.
If you know anyone who can provide details as to the REAL reason why James
Maddock was removed from his post, it would be appreciated. I suspect it has
to do with what he [Maddock] learned about The Company's involvement in
Mariposa-Yosemite, and Stayner's participation in the drug ring. Maddock is
only one of a long list of law enforcement agents who have resigned, been
fired, forced out, suspended, and even killed after they stumbled upon The
Company's operations in Mariposa County.
I have no idea of Maddock's innocence or guilt in what has been reported
about him. I am only seeking to learn if he probed the drug ties to the
Stayner case, and if those ties have anything to do with his removal from the
Sacramento FBI office.
Signed: Anonymous
Please respond to e-mail address:
Morgan2000711395@aol.com
if you have any
information on Maddock's removal.
See Sacramento Bee story below:
__________________________________________________________________
http://www.sacbee.com/news/news/local01_20010125.html
Sacramento Bee
Capital's FBI chief removed from post: Ouster tied to Yosemite cases
By Sam Stanton
Bee Staff Writer
(Published Jan. 25, 2001)
James Maddock, the high-profile and controversial head of Sacramento's FBI
office, was unceremoniously removed from his post late Tuesday and placed on
administrative leave.
Maddock's top lieutenant in the office, Michael Heard, also was removed and a
third agent was expected to resign shortly, sources said.The moves came in
the wake of an unprecedented review of the Sacramento FBI division's
practices by a team of 50 agents, inspectors and auditors from Washington,
D.C.
The inspectors determined that Maddock, head of the office for three years,
needed to be replaced because of his handling of the Yosemite sightseer
murder case and because of poor morale inside the local office, sources close
to the investigation said.
Heard's removal and the expected resignation of the third agent, they said,
were unrelated to the Maddock suspension.Maddock and other FBI officials
would not comment on the move.
FBI officials in Washington issued a terse statement Wednesday announcing the
decision."The FBI announced today that James M. Maddock, special agent in
charge of the Sacramento division, has been transferred to FBI headquarters
in Washington, D.C.," the bureau said.
"Richard R. Baker, a 22-year FBI veteran currently assigned to FBI
headquarters, has been appointed interim special agent in charge pending a
permanent selection."Sources said Maddock was told of the decision at 5:09
p.m. Tuesday, then allowed to pack up his office and told to turn over his
bureau car, building access card and other items belonging to the Sacramento
office. He was told he would not be allowed back inside the Sacramento FBI
offices, sources said.
Officially, the move is a transfer back to the headquarters office Maddock
left when he assumed the top job in Sacramento. But sources said the decision
leaves Maddock in limbo because he is expected to fight his transfer in hopes
of remaining an agent in Sacramento until August, when he turns 50 and
becomes eligible for a full pension.
Maddock's wife, an FBI civilian employee, has school-age children, and
Maddock has previously said that he wants to retire in Sacramento.Once
considered among the most promising agents, Maddock had the potential to
reach the highest levels of the bureau. His fall from grace and the
suddenness of his removal stunned many in local law enforcement and in the
community.
"I'm surprised," Sacramento Sheriff Lou Blanas said. "Jim's been very
generous with the support of his staff on local law-enforcement
issues."Maddock played a prominent role in many of the most sensational
criminal cases of recent years.When three Sacramento synagogues were hit by
arson in June 1999, Maddock promised a community gathering of 6,000 people
that the case would be solved quickly. Two brothers, self-professed white
supremacists, later were arrested by Shasta County sheriff's investigators
and charged with the slayings of a gay couple near Redding.
Maddock also engineered the operation that led to the arrest in December 1999
of two anti-government militia members who allegedly planned to blow up the
massive propane plant near Elk Grove.
But it was his handling of the Yosemite murder cases, and the media attention
those cases gained him, that led to his demise, sources say.Maddock became
the main spokesman for the task force assigned to investigate the Feb. 26,
1999, disappearance of Carole and Juli Sund and Silvina Pelosso, three
sightseers who vanished while on a trip to Yosemite and were later found
slain.
Four months after the disappearance, the FBI had rounded up a number of
suspects on unrelated drug and other charges. At that time, Maddock said he
was confident the killer was among them.A month later, however, Yosemite
naturalist Joie Ruth Armstrong was slain near her home. The FBI said there
was no link between the killings, but days later agents arrested local
handyman Cary Stayner. He subsequently confessed to all four murders.
Sources say Maddock agonized over whether Armstrong would still be alive had
he not assured the public that the Sund-Pelosso killer was in custody.At the
time, a high-level FBI official publicly supported Maddock and his agents,
saying criticism of Maddock was inappropriate.
Inside the bureau, however, there was resentment over the way the case was
handled and the national television exposure Maddock received, sources
said.There also were complaints about morale under Maddock and allegations
that he was too close to some agents and employees in the office. At one
point, sources said, he faced charges of sexual harassment. He was cleared
but warned to be more cautious in his dealings with employees.
Some local law-enforcement officials also were irritated with Maddock on
occasion. Maddock once angrily accused Blanas of leaking information on the
synagogue probe to the media.But Maddock appeared to have had a cordial
working relationship since then with Blanas and representatives of other
local law- enforcement agencies. He had provided Sacramento sheriff's
officials with expertise and resources on several recent cases.
Despite that, the audit team from Washington questioned some local officials
in recent weeks on whether they got along with Maddock. Such overall audits
routinely are held of FBI field offices every three years, but the size and
scope of the Sacramento review was unusual, sources said.
In addition to poring over all records inside the FBI offices, the team
conducted interviews not only with local law-enforcement representatives, but
also with elected officials and others who have routine contact with the
FBI.Sources said that during some of those interviews it became apparent
through comments and questions that Maddock's job was in jeopardy.
Maddock, once among the most prominent FBI officials, was close to FBI
Director Louis Freeh. He had served as Freeh's point man in defending the FBI
crime lab from criticism, a job that also earned him some powerful political
enemies. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, once accused Maddock of following
"the cowboy approach to law enforcement.
"Maddock, an attorney, joined the FBI in 1980, following a lifelong dream. He
handled all FBI undercover operations and ran an anti-terrorism unit in San
Juan, Puerto Rico.He also served as head of the violent crimes section in
Detroit, was involved in a major bank robbery case in New York and twice had
postings at FBI headquarters, including a stint as deputy general counsel.
Regarded as a counter-terrorism expert, Maddock was a veteran of the Oklahoma
City bombing investigation.
Apart from the state Capitol political corruption cases of the 1980s, the
Sacramento division of the FBI had rarely generated public attention. But
Maddock, a fitness buff and triathlete, made headlines from his first days
here by announcing the creation of a toll-free hotline for tipsters to report
corruption at the Capitol.
Then, he found himself facing a series of high-profile crimes and
cases.Maddock did not shy from controversy, sparring with state officials
over allegations of staff abuses at Corcoran State Prison. He accused state
corrections officials of trying to obstruct his probe, which led to
indictments of prison guards. The guards later were acquitted of the charges.
But Maddock won many supporters in Sacramento, especially in the religious
community, where he became prominent during the synagogue arson probe.He
appeared at rallies and workshops on crime prevention and three weeks ago
served as honorary co-chairman of a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day dinner at the
Sacramento Convention Center."I'm saddened, and I'm shocked," said Rabbi Brad
Bloom of Congregation B'nai Israel, one of the three synagogues torched in
June 1999. "We had come to create bonds with this man."
