Too bad they did not list this zoomie's name, because "I Want You..." for the Shiitake Awards.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/08/26/air-force-sex-stings-federal-law/14611583/
Air Force aiding Florida police in sex stings
USA TODAY NETWORK
Noah Pransky, WTSP, Tampa
12:51 p.m. EDT August 26, 2014
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Not only have Central Florida law enforcement officers violated federal rules in conducting "To Catch a Predator"-inspired sex stings, but WTSP in Tampa has learned they may also violate longstanding federal law that prohibits the use of military resources to enforce state laws.
While Tampa Bay-area law enforcement agencies refuse to turn over public records from questionable "predator" roundups, court records show that a member of the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations (OSI) has been a regular participant in Central Florida undercover stings for more than a year.
In a recent deposition, the agent indicated his goal was to trap service members who might be willing to break the law. But he also admitted to targeting, and helping arrest, civilians. According to an operation plan from a recent Pinellas County sting, Agent William Glidewell, acted as a "chatter," communicating with potential investigative targets online. He was put up in a Clearwater Beach hotel for four days and reported to the sting's lead agencies, the Clearwater Police Department and Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
"It's odd that you would have a military (investigator) being so treated like civilian law enforcement," said Charles Rose, a Stetson Law professor and retired U.S. Army prosecutor in the Judge Advocate General (or JAG) Corps. "You cannot assign military personnel -- on orders -- to a (local law enforcement) organization."
Unlike the original "To Catch a Predator" stings, which posted suggestive ads indicating the availability of children, detectives in recent Central/West Florida operations began reaching out to otherwise law-abiding men who posted ads themselves on legal dating sites. An ACLU leader has called for a federal review of the stings.
Violation of federal law
Now, a number of the prosecutions could be in jeopardy with the discovery that the Air Force OSI agent may have broken the law with his involvement.
A court motion filed last week by defense attorney Peter Aiken in Pinellas County contends a civilian case from April's "Operation Home Alone II" that Glidewell participated in should be immediately dismissed on the violation of the longstanding Posse Comitatus Act.
The federal law, which dates back to Reconstruction and Southern aversion to Northern influence, mandates the military may not be used to enforce local laws. Violations are considered felonies, although Rose couldn't remember a case ever being prosecuted.
Aiken's motion contends "the Clearwater police, over the course of four days, made direct, active use of Glidewell, the 'military investigator' to execute purely state laws" and "in this case, it is particularly egregious in that it was counseled, planned and executed with the knowledge and consent of numerous members of state law enforcement."
Other law enforcement agencies involved in the Clearwater/Pinellas sting include the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, St. Petersburg police, Department of Homeland Security, FBI and the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Several agencies had no immediate response to questions about the Air Force's involvement, but Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, interviewed after a recent press conference, said he "didn't know" how or why the military investigator got involved.
"I think (OSI) got involved because (there was a target) from MacDill (Air Force Base) and I think they got involved because of that on the backside," Gualtieri said, indicating the agent wasn't a part of the initial sting plan.
But documents obtained through court records, after the Pinellas sheriff's office would not turn them over, indicated the Air Force OSI had been involved from the early planning stages of not just the April "Operation Home Alone II" sting, but the January "Operation Home Alone" sting as well.
Furthermore, OSI Agent Glidewell admitted in a recent deposition that he had been a part of multiple stings around the state for almost a year. Glidewell works out of Detachment 340 at MacDill, but reports to Air Force leaders in Quantico, Virginia.
The Air Force said OSI agents are involved with internet crimes against children task forces across the U.S. and typically get involved after a servicemember is identified in a sting. That was not the case in Pinellas County.
Rose, from Stetson Law, said aside from entrapment and posse comitatus issues, there should be concern regarding how the Air Force investigators are prioritizing their time.
"Every moment that OSI has been doing this work, for free, for the civilian government, is a time where he's not out investigating military cases and handling military issues," Rose said. "If you have military members engaging in criminal activity, it very often has a national security component."
Targeting servicemembers
The Air Force OSI agent said in his deposition that his goal was to identify servicemembers who may commit crimes. It included posting ads specifically designed to get responses from servicemembers, including posting military seals and referencing "men in uniform."
However, Gualtieri denied knowing anything about ads that target servicemembers.
"I haven't seen anything to that, and I don't know if that's the case. If someone says 'targeting men in uniform,' that doesn't necessarily mean the military either. It could be any one of a number of different things. There are all kinds of uniforms out there, and it doesn't necessarily mean the military."
In his deposition with attorney Aiken, the Air Force investigator said he had worked on a handful of other stings around the state, with other civilian men arrested. Depending on what the judge rules on Aiken's motion, the case could impact several other prosecutions.
http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/investigations/2014/08/25/air-force-sex-stings-federal-law/14568993/
Operation Home Alone: Mistakes Made
One of the non-servicemembers the Air Force OSI agent helped apprehend in "Operation Home Alone" this spring was not looking for children. He was tricked by Glidewell into meeting what he thought was an 18-year-old woman interested in him.
Glidewell forgot -- or simply failed -- to switch his decoy's age from 18 years old to that of a 14 year old girl after he started chatting with a man he met online. While the "switch" typically happens soon after the "bait" in Central Florida stings, 10 Investigates found detectives don't always follow the rules, either.
Court records reveal Glidewell and the defendant, from Miami, swapped 200 messages over the course of two days, including some sexual. The two ultimately made plans to meet at the decoy's house on Clearwater Beach. It wasn't until the defendant had driven 300 miles to the sting location that Glidewell realized he was still playing the part of an 18 year old woman and told the defendant "she" was really only 14.
READ: Ad posted by Air Force OSI agent
Seemingly uneasy and confused, the defendant found a hotel to stay at for the night. But the two continued the conversation, and the defendant said he wanted to meet the girl who showed so much interest in him over the last two days. They made plans to meet, and he was arrested for traveling to meet a minor.
During his deposition for the case, Glidewell acknowledge the defendant wasn't the kind of man the stings were supposed to target. But like so many other men arrested, he ultimately gave in to the bait-and-switch and has paid the price for it. His family, job, and financial futures have all been adversely impacted, even if charges are ultimately dropped.
Take it from someone who knows Raymond Foy. One of Florida's sex sting operations."Make a criminal" program. Before Raymond graduated from high school Hockey was his life. He spent 6 weeks of his senior year in Czech playing hockey and still graduated despite missing 6 weeks. He worked 2 jobs in high school. Graduated at 17 and 2 months later left for the army. He was a staff Sergeant, he was 82 airborne and had over 25 jumps, he had his American and Korean wings, Many awards. spent 2 years in Germany, 1 year in Iraq and 1 year in Korea. Was never in trouble not even a traffic ticket. A very respectful and responsible young man. The judge received over 20 letters on Raymond's behalf and still sent him to prison and he will be a registered sex offender for 25 years. NO CAREER- NO LIFE. Raymond Foy had a Great future ahead of him and now has a debt of $20,000. Oh yeah, they took his car only because it was paid for. He needs a lawyer to try and get it back. All because the police, the district attorney and the judge can't tell the difference between someone who is psychologically imbalanced and a decent young man who made a mistake. Raymond also took a psyco/sexual evaluation and came out to be a regular guy. Yet the JUDGE still put him in prison and took away his life. There was no victim, it was a sting, where they need to weed out the good from the bad before slapping decent guys mugshots everywhere. Raymond has dreamed of serving his country since 9/11. All taken away. He went from holding his head high to hiding it anywhere he can! Shame, It's a very sad situation!
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