| The INS officer thought he had busted the biggest drug-gang in the Northeastern United States, and he had. He thought he would get another medal, maybe a raise, but what he got was framed, arrested, convicted, and put away in the very same prison where some targets of his own previous criminal investigations wound up serving their sentences. Joe Occhipinti is founder and Executive Director of the National Police Defense Foundation, and former Chief of NYC's Immigration and Naturalization Services Anti-Smuggling Unit. With 22 years of service, and 78 medals and commendations to his credit, Occhipinti was one of the highest decorated federal law enforcement officers in US history, and a leading expert on criminal drug cartels and international crime syndicates. On July 27th 2000, Occhipinti testified before the House Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law in support of H.R. 4105, the Fair Justice Act of 2000. This bill would create an agency to investigate corruption and criminal behavior on the part of Department of Justice personnel. He described how in 1988, he was put in charge of solving the horrific murder of NYPD officer Michael Buczek. "During the course of this homicide investigation, I developed credible evidence that Dominican Drug Lord Freddy Antonio Then was buying up Spanish grocery stores called 'Bodegas' in Washington Heights in order to facilitate his drug trafficking and money laundering activities," said Occhipinti. He launched what became the very successful, multi-agency taskforce Operation Bodega, netting 40 arrests, and the seizure of more than $1 million cash from drug proceeds. In one raid, officers found $136 000 "wrapped and ready" to be shipped to Sea Crest trading, a suspected CIA front company. Soon after, Occhipinti found himself set up, arrested, tried, and convicted for violating the rights of some members of the Dominican Federation he had busted during the operation. Sentenced to 36 months in prison in 1991, Occhipinti was pardoned by the out-going President Bush on January 15th, 1993. "There are many that believe the conspiracy was sanctioned by the intelligence community to protect certain CIA operations and assets under the disguise of national security," Occhipinti told the Committee. "Wherein, others are convinced there is widespread corruption in the Justice Department and I had to be eliminated due to my increased enforcement efforts that would ultimately expose the drug cartel operations and official corruption." "My investigation confirmed that Sea Crest, as well as the Dominican Federation, are being politically protected by high ranking public officials who have received illegal political contributions which were drug proceeds. In addition, the operatives in Sea Crest were former CIA-Cuban operatives who were involved in the Bay of Pigs. This is one of the reasons why the intelligence community has consistently protected and insulated Sea Crest and the Dominican Federation from criminal prosecution," testified one NYPD Internal Affairs officer, William Acosta, in sworn testimony entered into the Congressional Record by Rep. James Trafficant. "I have evidence which can corroborate the drug cartel conspiracy against Mr. Occhipinti." A not-so-optimistic Occhipinti told the committee, "I would like to conclude by saying we have lost the war against drugs and we need this important bill to have basic oversight authority over the Justice Department. My colleagues in law enforcement tell me every day that they are more afraid of being prosecuted and railroaded by the our Justice Department, then by putting their lives in harms way." The US Department of Justice shut down an investigation into one of its favored clients, and supported drug-trafficking cartels, The Dominican Federation, when it shut Occhipinti down. He is not the first police officer either, nor is he the last, to find themselves shut down by the US government for getting too close to these Dominican mobsters. |
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Court Decision Leads To Public Outrage
This fairly interesting article outlines how a couple of cops were assassinated by drug dealers, and mentions a few other cases whereby honest cops were done in by bad guys, as in the case of Occhipinti.
Puerto Rican Terrorist Group Tied to Castro, Mafia
This absolutely bizarre article by J. R. Szigethy (September 8th, 1999) mentions the murder of journalist Manuel De Dios without once mentioning the Dominican Federation, blaming his murder on the Colombians from whom the Dominican Federation gets its cocaine. This seems to be nothing more than partisan bashing of President Clinton policies (ayyee, may Allah take his immoral soul), rather than a sincere attempt at reporting news.
The Plight Of Joe Occhipinti
This article by Greg Kaye in the This New American article (February 24th, 1994) by Greg Kaye describes the travails of Occhipinti, and other officers, who have come up against corrupt officials who actively protect criminals. These corrupt officials assist criminals in setting up the honest cops.
Smuggler's Dues
This New American article (April 28th, 1997) by William Norman Grigg outlines the fact that drug money seems to have been donated to the Democratic National Party by known Dominican traffickers. It also discusses the case of Occhipinti.
Hell Of Heroin: Two Charged In $5 Million Heroin Bust
This Star Telegram article (1998) by Marisa Taylor, in the Star Telegram, (1998) remarks that these men, busted with $5 Million worth of supposedly 92 percent pure heroin at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport signals the first time that US cops had found Mexicans and Dominicans working together to bring in Colombian drugs. Gee, this was in 1998. What is happening now? US taxpayers are giving more money to each of these countries, and covering up for the real drug lords in each of these countries, including the US.
CSJ Petition For Joe Occhipinti
This is a letter from John Dabbene, President of CSJ, (just what CSJ is I'm not actually too sure, but it looks official) to Attorney General Janet Reno, asking to get a full Presidential Pardon for Joe Occhipinti, rather than the simple Executive Clemency that Occhipinti got from President Bush. Occhipinti told me that when he testified to Congress on July 27th, one of the Congressmen tried to belittle his testimony simply because of his conviction. I wonder how often that has happened to others as well? I remember President Bush saying on camera, (in the excellent movie about the US invasion of Panama, The Panama Deception), that President Manuel Noriega of Panama could not be trusted or believed if he said anything about Bush being involved in drug running or any other criminal activity, because Noriega was an indicted drug criminal, not yet a convicted one. Yet, Bush was still painting him with that brush to ward off certain horror stories about Bush and Noreiga, best bossom pals once upon a time.
The Democratic Drug Money Pipeline
This From the Wilderness newsletter article ((May 2000) by former LAPD narcotics officer Mike Ruppert, describes how the major political figures in US politics are all touched in one form or another by drug money, especially the Dominican Drug money. Ruppert reveals how the Democratic Party really wants to win the US Senate seat in NY with Hilary in November 2000, to have a ready supply of black-market cash. If this seems a bit difficult to believe, perhaps after reading this article you won't feel so doubtful.
US Grocery Coupon Fraud Funds Middle Eastern Terrorism
This New American article (March 3rd, 1997) outlines how the drug smuggling Dominican Federation has been engaging in all sorts of protected, and not-so-protected scams and frauds, and drug trafficking. Also explored is the Dominican Federation's connections to the mysterious and unprosecutable CIA-front company Sea Crest Trading.
An Island Nation Stormed By Drugs
According to this penetrating article from InsightMag.com (November 1999), by Martin Arostgui, which quotes the Dominican Drug Czar, Marino Vinicio Castillo, the US Government under Clinton is only paying lip service to the evil, fascistic War on Some Drugs. Says Castillo: "'The United States cannot be serious about the war on drugs,' concludes Castillo, interviewed in his private law office in Santo Domingo and closely guarded by security agents with pump-action shotguns and automatic rifles. 'By denying their own intelligence reports, they are allowing the narcos to create a state within a state in the Dominican Republic.'"
Lethal Partners: Dominicans Now Dominant In East Coast Drug
This New York Times article (May 11th, 1998) by Clifford Krauss, and Larry Rohter, details the taking over of the illegal drug trade in the North Eastern US and elsewhere by the Dominican drug gangs.
Senate Cracks Down On Money Laundering Drug Lords
'Most people see the results of illegal drugs as ruined lives, broken families, crime and desperation,' Senator Farley, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks, said, 'but the big drug lords see huge profits -- cash profits which they send out of the country to avoid detection and to purchase more drugs for sale . . .,' notes this press release from the US Senate (December 12th, 1998). This release details the efforts to stop the big money launderers from shipping and cleansing millions and billions of drug profits. Do they really expect us to believe that the Federal Regulatory system doesn't know where the dirty money is, and goes? Of course they do! As Catherine Austin Fitts, former Assistant Secretary Housing and Urban Development (HUD), under President Bush, has said about the US system: "This country is more addicted to drug money than it is to drugs." If we legalized drugs, the banking and financial system might just collapse.
National Police Defense Federation
This is the official NPDF Web site, founded by Occhipinti in 1995 to help defend officers who were being prosecuted for whatever reason, as well as to basically be helpful to society as a whole. Quite an interesting, and even a bit of a scary site for those of us who have spent years fearing and being suspicious of police. I must admit that this has been a very strange trip for me throughout this research. I sure am learning a lot.
Testimony Of Joe Occhipinti Before The Subcommittee On Commercial & Administrative Law, July 27, 2000
This is a must read for anyone who wants to know how an apparently honest cop feels after finding himself on the wrong side of the law, without having done anything wrong, but simply doing the job he was hired to do. This is the complete text of his July 27th, 2000 testimony.
Manuel De Dios: Dead Right
This is the very first article I've come across that says Occhipinti was guilty as charged in violating the civil rights of the criminals he busted. This is by Bill Berkeley, in the Colombia Journalism Review. It is actually about Manuel De Dios, and how he was assassinated, it is suspected, by someone in the Dominican gangs he spent years investigating and reporting on. Shortly before he was killed, De Dios had come out very strongly in support of Occhipinti, saying in a sworn affidavit that Occhipinti had been framed by the Dominican Federation.
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