During the criminal trial, the government was permitted to enter into evidence that, by my refusing a settlement that would have been enough to pay the child support; I was guilty of willful failure to pay my child support. They even claimed I would not settle, because I would have to pay child support. Oddly the AUSA in the FAA case, argued the opposit, that I had brought up the need to pay my child support and not them.
I was not permitted by the court to tell the jury that the child support was paid by my family. And I was not permitted to discuss why I no longer was working for the FAA.
Seem kind of odd, not if you understand the politics of even the judicial branch of the government. U.S. District judges are appointed by the president usually because of party favors. These judges are also looking for promotions to the U.S Court of Appeals or even Supreme Court appointments. Not even God can help you if you get a judge that was appointed by the party you just embarrassed.
In my case I had Judge William J Zloch, the chief judge for the Southern District of Florida appointed by a Republican. It was my bad luck that a Republican, Bush, was new to office and Zloch was looking for a promotion.
Having Judge Zloch was no coincidence, because he also was the presiding judge over the Value Jet case. As Chief Judge for the district he gets to assign the cases. I was also the Whistle Blower in that case that reported the wiring problems with the aircraft used on flight 592 one week prior to the crash. Judge Zloch had just sent two people to prison ruling the accident was the oxygen canisters they had put on the aircraft and not the wiring problem as I had reported.
My case is under its final appeal in the Eleventh Circuit and I will likely lose, because of the actions of my court appointed lawyer during the trial.
To date, I lost well over $1,000,000 in compensations had I been able to stay and retire, and my career in aviation and as a civil servant was completely destroyed. I went to prison and have no decent job prospects with a $30,000 support debt which accrued during my prison term that I must pay or go to prison again.
After all that has happened to me, I can’t say that I have not had second thoughts about whistle blowing. What if I just let the killing continue? It is likely that this will kill me.
I would never advise a government employee to blow the whistle. This is a very personal decision. It is like I said; you are laying your career and your life down on a grenade to protect the lives of people you don’t even know.
The FAA manager was not lying or wrong when he said, “You have a good job here, and your wife has a good job [at an FAA facility in Dallas]. I’d hate to see you jeopardize yours and her careers trying to take down a couple of losers.”
Government Whistle Blowers do risk all for no reward and are soon forgotten.
People say the official 9/11 story must be true because there are few whistleblowers and none who can prove explosives were laid.
But if they can do all this to a person who was involved only in poor maintenance of aircraft, what would they do to someone who blew the whistle on explosives in all three towers?
I don’t agree with the theory that the buildings were bombed. I do know that you cannot trust anything the government tells you unless you know from some other source that it is true.
I was directed to with hold evidence from the NTSB for a crash by management in Washington. I was told it was not my job to report to the NTSB the information of inoperable systems involved in a crash that killed several people.
It was an FAA maintained system. No metion was made of the system in the final NTSB crash report.
by
Gallaher (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 608 comments)
on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 7:08:35 PM
Gallaher Someone must thank you for the sacrifices you have made in an attempt to protect the public, even if the public is somewhat complicit, by their silence in these matters. Whistle blowers almost always try to work within the system to correct wrongs, but then they are given no choice, but to go outside the system. And they always pay a price. I am a retired nurse who fought the system and the system won. I paid with my health and sanity at one point. But it was my decision. But I do have peace of mind, in that I did the best I could .It will not feed you but it does take the edge off every now and then.
by
cluelessfl (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 184 comments)
on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 10:33:29 AM
I have compassion for you, sadness for those who inextricably judge you not on the merits of your duty, but on their loyalties to those who appointed them. The system is (seems) irrefuttably set up to protect the order, not the people.
That being said, I would hope there are those who will not quench their cause because of the stacked deck. Like a spoon on concrete, eventually an opening will appear. It takes many to lay the road for the the one that breaks through.
The managers comment of Peter's 'family' reminds me of Aaron Russo's story of when Nick Rockefeller offered to 'letter' him into the CFR. Aaron's years of friendship with Nick and Nick's explanation in the year 2000 of the planned RFID's, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq brought on by an 'incident' caused him to refuse Nick's suggestion he join. Nick didn't understand why Aaron wasn't interested in joining the CFR. Aaron asked Nick "what about 'the people'? (affected by these planned events). Nick's response: "Why do you care about those people. They're just people. You have a family Aaron. Take care of your family".
The disconnect is chilling.
Your honor is recorded. Thank you. Your children proud of their father.
peace
by
mikel paul (10 articles, 1 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 396 comments)
on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 10:42:33 AM
They live with me for a little more than a quarter of the year. They did complain that I would spend too much time on my cases. They wanted to spend the summer at Six Flags, White Water, or the pool.
I'm remarried now.
My wife went through the entire ordeal (before we were married). We got married a year after I got out of prison. Both, she and her parents went to court with me and were shocked at how corrupt the process was. They knew I was inocent of what I was charged with.
Innocents, right or wrong, does not matter in American courts. It is all about who can win.
My wife came to see me every weekend once I was in the prison camp.
If you don’t think your government tortures people here in America you are mistaken. I’ve seen it first hand.
I’ve seen people forced to stand for hours naked in a cage shivering on the roof of a building 13 stories up in late December.
I’ve met people imprisoned for doing exactly what the government told them to do.
I could write several books on the atrocities Americans do to their own people.
by
Gallaher (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 608 comments)
on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 6:26:33 PM
Your experiences sound familiar to me although mine occurred in Israel. I was in court 35 times [three in the Supreme Court] and never got to a discussion of content. For charging over 100 Israeli officials with crimes against humanity and murder one, I have had a hold order on me for 16 years.
You and I have no national recourse our countries being almost totally corrupt. As I am old and broken, I won't live to see a solution.
I am content to join my fellow victims in a class action suit in Europe.
Nail the perpetrators, I say.
by
Jason Paz (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 72 comments)
on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 12:18:35 PM
For years after I left to FAA every flight I made I had a U.S. Marshal next to me. I thought it was quite comical. I don’t fly anymore and I’m not permitted to leave the United States even though my sentence and probation has long since been over.
by
Gallaher (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 608 comments)
on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 7:27:05 PM
I would give the whistleblower his bosses job, and can the threat makers. If Cybil Edmonds cant be heard we are in bad bad shape. In the military and defence civil service we had a reward system if funds were recuperated and employees got protection from retaliation. I dont think any of this matters though, folks dont want to fly anymore to avoid the thugs at the airports and ticket prices are climbing and airlines shutting down. The elite is sacrificing some of their own in the fascist takeover.
by
john riggs (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 427 comments)
on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 1:11:18 PM
"In the military and defence civil service we had a reward system if funds were recuperated and employees got protection from retaliation. "
The same thing is available for civil servants in the FAA. Saddly, it doesn't work.
It is only OK if you make them look good. You are not a real whistle blower in this case you are merely informing them of a problem they agree with. I was in the military for 10 years and saw the same thing there.
by
Gallaher (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 608 comments)
on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 7:34:14 PM
I am so sorry that being a caring person of conscience and courage that you have been subjected to a living nightmare. In my book you are a hero. You are the kind of person we need more of.
Unfortunately the Cabal of the greed and power driven who have a stanglehold on our country are without conscience, ethics, morality and decency. They hold those that do possess those qualities in contempt.
Our country is a mess. We have no voice and no representation except for a very, very few among our elected and those voices are not being heard. I can't help but feel that those who don't adhere to the depravity of the many, are probably receiving threats to keep them from taking the steps that it would take to bring about any measurable change.
Keep in mind during your darkest time that your choice of doing what was right regardless of the consequences are what keeps hope alive within the rest of us. Perhaps the example you, and others like you, show to others will be the catalast that eventually unites us to have the courage to do what ever is necessary to bring the changes so desperately needed.
by
Rae (0 articles, 1 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 218 comments)
on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 8:50:26 PM
If the judge can stop the jury from hearing evidence or argument favorable to the accused, then, from the jury's viewpoint, the presumption of innocence includes the presumption that evidence or argument favorable to the accused is being suppressed. Therefore the jurors must acquit every time -- regardless of what evidence or argument they *are* allowed to hear.
Pass it on.
by
Gavin R. Putland (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments)
on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 9:14:32 PM
I spoke with a woman on a 18 month tour with the United States Grand Jury.
She had no idea that it was perfectly legal for the United States Attorney to openly make false statements it is frequently done just to win a case and nothing can be done about it because it is not testimony.
Even if it is proven that they provided false information nothing can be done to them.
Most jurors believe whatever is told to them by the government. Why would they lie?
by
Gallaher (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 608 comments)
on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 6:05:57 PM
Judge said that a curative statement during final jury instructions, “nothing the attorneys said was evidence”, was good enough. This ruling was after an objection as to the known false statements and outside the hearing of the jury.
If a U.S. Attorney tells a jury that you are a mass murderer. Do you think that an obscure curative statement at the end is going to cure the undue prejudice?
Not when juries don't understand that the government does knowingly make false statements at trial just to win the case.
by
Gallaher (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 608 comments)
on Monday, April 7, 2008 at 5:56:57 PM
I too watched the hearings and was quite frankly shocked by what I heard. These guys stood up and protected the public while taking on great personal risk. We owe them a serious thank you!
Reading your article though, something isn't make sense. To get to the position of being tried in federal court for not paying child support (regardless of their motivation for why they were going after you) you have to be seriously delinquent in your payments and making no effort at living up to that obligation. Another way of saying that is that you opened the door for your own prosecution by not living up to your obligation as a parent. This is the lowest of the low. I know you are going to say the government this or that but at the end of the day nothing is lower than a man or woman who does not live up to their obligations to their children.
Comparing yourself to the individuals who testified this past week is probably a stretch!
by
stanley smith (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments)
on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 2:39:44 AM
I'm not buying it. Way too many people involved in the process as well as mandatory appeals, public court rooms, etc. A conspiracy on this level could NOT and does NOT exist. Especially since a basic search on the internet reveals a lot.
Since you question it, check out this guys other posts and his other article. Sense a slant. I do. This article just pieces a lot of it together.
by
stanley smith (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments)
on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 10:13:59 AM
Gallaher v. Secretary of Transportation, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia filed in Dec 1998. U.S. v. Gallaher began Dec 2000 during settlement negotiations.
It does not take much at a trial court level to prevent an appeal.
No you are not "guaranteed" an appeal. Cases are screwed up daily by court appointed attorneys. Mine admitted in open court he knew nothing about family law. He then proceeded to make stipulations with the U.S. Attorney in areas that he admitted he had no knowledge.I think the court of Appeals may not be as tainted as the proceedings in the trial courts unless they too are looking for a boost to the Supreme Court.
by
Gallaher (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 608 comments)
on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 6:58:22 PM
This was a bizarre situation. My Ex-wife did not even testify. It was not her. The State of Florida admitted it was them and they were working with the FAA and the US Attorney.
It did not matter that it was paid or that it was overdue. The only thing that mattered is that I did not settle with the government. They admitted to this. I have this as testimony given in pre-trial hearings.
by
Gallaher (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 608 comments)
on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 5:58:37 PM
The Florida child support official testified at a pretrial hearing that she was working with the FAA and the United States Attorney and the deal was that I would be indicted if I did not settle with the FAA. Not if I did not pay my child support. All it takes is $5000 and your children living in another state.
My support was based on my FAA salary and it was not chump change. I had over 15 years as an as an EE, Airways Systems Specialist, and was chief pilot for the Caribbean.
by
Gallaher (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 608 comments)
on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 6:36:01 PM
The hell of it is, federal employees are supposed to take a mandatory course called the "No Fear Act," which is supposed to get you to believe that you can do this sort of thing and not fear retribution. If you fail to take a mandatory course in the Department of Agriclutter and they'll start messing with your paycheck and believe me, there is damned little other reason to work for them, even in the Forest Circus. It is unfortunate, but there are many federal employees who don't have much confidence in their employer. http://www.dotcr.ost.dot.gov/asp/nofear.asp
by
Dave Kisor (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 136 comments)
on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 2:17:57 PM
This is more feel good legislation that means nothing. You had better fear for your job and your life as you know it.
Another employee agreed to testify in my case against the FAA. He was fired within a month. They claimed he altered a piss test. Oddly, you could not be fired for testing positive for drugs when working for the FAA. They sent you to drug treatment. But you could be fired for altering a drug test. They claimed he had too many nitrates in his piss. I knew this guy for many years on and off the job and he did not do drugs.
He was re-hired after my case was dropped.
by
Gallaher (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 608 comments)
on Monday, April 7, 2008 at 6:12:28 PM
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