To Whom It May Concern:

Attached are names of U.S. Customs employees and former Customs employees who have witnessed the following illegal practices during their careers at the U.S. Customs Service. These practices include, but are not limited, to the following:

• Whistleblower retaliation
• Witnessing some form of criminality amongst Customs employees
• Retaliation for being a witness in a Whistleblower case
• Retaliation for filing an EEO complaint
• Retaliation for filing a grievance
• Retaliation for being a witness in either an EEO case or a grievance against Customs
• Severe abuse of Customs Office of Internal Affairs (IA) as a tool to threaten and intimidate anyone who files any type of complaint or becomes a witness in these complaints against Customs
• Creating a hostile work environment for anyone who files any type of complaint against Customs or chooses to be a witness in a complaint
• Customs ãblackballingä of employees for future employment, after the employee has filed a complaint, become a whistleblower, or become a witness in any type of complaint against Customs

The following brave souls are coming together in the demand for a Congressional, Senatorial, and/or GAO (Government Accountability Office) investigation into the repeated, illegal practices of Customs management nationwide. We feel that this agency is rife with cronyism, corruption and incompetence at all management levels. These managers abuse their authority and positions to retaliate and destroy the careers of anyone who chooses to speak up and take a stand against this. The individuals who have signed this letter are willing to provide written and verbal testimony, under oath, for the purposes of a complete investigation into this agency and its practices. We strongly feel that these systemic illegal management practices serve as a clear and present danger to our national defense, within the very agency charged with making our borders safe. This agency, above all others, should be the most regulated / scrutinized agency in these times of severe terrorist threats to our nation. Yet, this agency seems to be the most egregious and arrogant in its illegal practices.

We would like to also present solutions that we all agree will greatly reduce the core origins of this behavior. These solutions include the following:

• Take away all internal investigation power from this agency. Customs has proven time and time again that it does not investigate itself well.  IA has simply turned into the ãGoon Squadä for corrupt managers. Customs IA in its present form is a built-in conflict of interest and internal investigations are almost never initiated or completed objectively.

• Install a fair and objective promotion system. We have a model based on a strict point system that involves seniority, accomplishments, education, and many other objective qualities that an agent should possess for promotion. This is a simple point system that will allow the person accumulating the highest points to be promoted, without interference with anyone at any level of Customs management.  The current promotion system is simply the ãGood Old Boyä, crony system of promotion. Bad, incompetent managers simply promote clones of themselves and ãYesä people.  Rarely are the employees who are most deserving promoted. This has led to decades of systemic cronyism and corruption within this agency.  

Once the signatures for this letter are completed, they will be presented in person and by mail to numerous Congressional and Senatorial representatives as well as Tom Ridge, Director of Homeland Security. Please place your information, with original signatures, in the spaces indicated below, and mail it to the below listed personnel. The signatures will then be consolidated into one complete list. Certified copies of this letter with the signatures and information will then be forwarded to our elected officials demanding a complete investigation. Your bravery and support is drastically needed for this effort. For more information or questions, please contact the individuals listed below.

Sincerely,

Darlene Catalan                                                          Sandy Nunn                                                    

Former Customs Special Agent                                  Former Customs Special Agent

Author, ãU.S. Customs: Badge of Dishonorä             President, SIG International   

3070 Lake Crest Circle #400-247                              1107 Brewley Lane

Lexington, KY 40513                                                 Vista, CA  92083

kybendar@aol.com                                                     sandynunn@earthlink.net

(859) 879-8777                                                           (760) 727-8936                                       

John Carman ~Editor of www.CustomsCorruption.com

Former Customs Senior Inspector

Private Investigator

P.O. Box 3811

La Mesa, Ca. 91944

(619)601-9250

jcarman@cts.com

Diane Kleiman

Former Customs Special Agent

Attorney-at-Law

380 Rector Place, Apt 3B

New York, New York, 10280

kleimanlaw@aol.com

(212)945-4077

SIGNATURE                                  CURRENT OR                                      CONTACT

                                                     FORMER POSITION                      INFORMATION