FBI and the Department of Veterans Affairs IG agents arrested ex-doctor for sexual assault on veteran patient

Former Veterans Affairs doctor in W.Va. accused of incapacitating, molesting patient

By WHSV newsroom
Apr 02, 2020

BECKLEY, W.Va. (WHSV) — A doctor who formerly worked at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia, has been charged with depriving a veteran of his civil rights under the color of law.

Dr. Jonathan Yates, 51, was arrested on Thursday at his home by Special Agents of the FBI and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the Bluefield, Virginia Police Department.

That's according to the Department of Justice.

Federal prosecutors say the charge stems from an incident that happened while Dr. Yates was working at the VA in February 2019.

According to a criminal complaint, Yates sexually molested a patient during an exam.

The complaint says Yates also caused the veteran he was examining severe pain and numbness and temporarily incapacitated him by cracking the patient's neck after the patient explicitly requested him not to do so.

The complaint says while the patient was incapacitated, Yates sexually molested him again.
read it here

FBI Agent thanked by Camp Lejeune Marine for his life

Marine kidnapped as baby reunites with rescuer 22 years later

ABC 13 News
By Brittany Tarwater
Aug 09, 2019

"I think that is the perfect bookend. I think to end seeing him again, it really just puts the final touch to a career.” Troy SowersTroy Sowers

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT/Gray News) - A reunion outside the Knoxville FBI headquarters was the second time Stewart Rembert and Troy Sowers have met.

Rembert doesn’t remember the first time, reports WVLT, but FBI Special Agent in Charge Sowers will never forget that day.

Rembert was two days old in 1997 when he was kidnapped from a Washington state hospital by a woman claiming to be a nurse.

It was one of Sowers’s first cases with the FBI. He found baby Rembert in a box behind a dumpster.

“I pulled a baby out of a box,” he recalled. “That was tough. I had to take a couple deep breaths before I started talking.”

Rembert was then reunited with his family. The kidnapper pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

After graduating high school, Rembert joined the Marines and is now stationed at Camp Lejeune.

"Without him, I wouldn't be where I am today, a United States Marine," he said.

Friday was Sowers’s last day with the FBI. He ended his career with one of the first people he started it with. Cpl. Rembert surprised Sowers at his retirement party.
read it here

Standoff With PTSD Veteran Ends With A Question

The veteran is facing charges, "Hernandez has been charged by the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor with two counts of Attempted Murder of Police Officers; Unlawful Possession of a Firearm; Possession of a Firearm for an Unlawful Purpose; Eluding Police Officers; Resisting Arrest; and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer." 

But why isn't anyone else being held accountable considering how many times veterans reach this point after risking their lives for others?

An Army veteran, a mayor, and a police standoff
Nearby incident with police raises questions about warriors who come home
Hudson Reporter
by Al Sullivan
Reporter staff writer
Feb 12, 2017

“We teach these men how to fight and kill, but we don’t teach them how to come home and be civilized again. “I don’t know what set this man off. He may have seen the police cars and heard the sirens, and thought maybe he was back in Iraq. But I didn’t want to see this man die or anyone else get hurt because of this.”
Roque, a doctor, has worked with veterans in the past, mostly assisting in pain management. And he said he’s seen the troubles these veterans come home with, and the need for counseling that many never get.

WAITING AND WATCHING – Police waited with guns drawn outside the home on 57th Street for some resolution to the standoff in West New York. (Photos by Al Sullivan)

After standing behind an armored vehicle on 57th Street for nearly 12 hours last Saturday, Feb. 5, West New York Mayor Felix Roque had a lot of time to think about the harrowing event that took place in Hudson County that day, and what it means for how veterans are treated when they come home from war.

Earlier that day, a call came in to the police in North Bergen, a town that shares a border with West New York. Emmanuel Hernandez, 27, of West New York, had reportedly been seen inside a red Infiniti with a firearm on Kennedy Boulevard at about 2 a.m.

North Bergen police caught up with Hernandez – an Army veteran who served honorably in Iraq – at about 2:20 a.m. at the QuickChek on Kennedy Boulevard. When they approached him, he reportedly became defensive and, as he fled in his car, he allegedly ran over a cop’s foot and struck the police vehicle.

The officers chased Hernandez for several blocks into West New York, where he exited his vehicle in front of his residence at 608 57th St.

Mayor Roque said Hernandez, inside the house, saw these reports and became even more frightened.

“He kept saying he didn’t commit a crime,” said Mayor Roque, who was among several mediators talking to Hernandez via cellular phone during the standoff. Hernandez was also apparently in contact with his mother in Florida via another phone.
read more here

Tech. Sgt. Steven Bellino PTSD and "Other Factors"

Air Force: PTSD, Other Factors Led Airman to Kill Commander
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN ANTONIO
Jan 16, 2017

U.S. Air Force investigators have determined that post-traumatic stress disorder and the unraveling of a distinguished military career led an airman to fatally shoot his commander last year at a San Antonio base before killing himself, according to Air Force documents.

The April shooting at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland prompted a lockdown and officials to abruptly end a nearby military training parade with thousands of spectators.

Investigators determined Tech. Sgt. Steven Bellino confronted Lt. Col. William Schroeder before the two struggled and Schroeder was shot multiple times. Both men were veterans of U.S. Special Operations Command.

Air Force documents given to the San Antonio Express-News ( http://bit.ly/2jC5obt ) by Bellino's family show he participated in an elite pararescue program with Schroeder but did not complete it.
read more here

A Long Career in Military’s Elite Spirals Into a Killing and a Suicide
The New York Times
By DAVE PHILIPPS
APRIL 15, 2016

Military and law enforcement personnel after a shooting last week at Joint Base San Antonio in which, the authorities say, a sergeant fatally shot his commander, then killed himself. Credit Darren Abate/Reuters

Investigators believe Bellino, 41, resented the outcome following a remarkable military career that included repeated tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and time as an Army Ranger and Green Beret. He also had served as an FBI agent and was a CIA contractor before enlisting in the Air Force and attempting to join the elite unit.


After two decades in the Army Special Forces, several deployments overseas and a stint in the F.B.I., Steven Bellino switched to the Air Force to become an elite pararescue lifesaver trained to jump from planes and save aircrews behind enemy lines. The motto of the rescuers is, “That others may live.”

But last week, just a few months into training, Sergeant Bellino, facing court-martial for being absent without leave, walked into his squadron’s headquarters at Joint Base San Antonio, in Texas, with two pistols and gunned down his commander, Lt. Col. William Schroeder, according to a Department of Defense spokeswoman, who said the sergeant then killed himself.
read more here

Judge rules FBI must train amputee Army Ranger soon

Wisconsin veteran who lost hand must get FBI training soon, judge rules
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Bruce Vielmetti
Published: November 23, 2013

MILWAUKEE — The war veteran who won his case to become the first FBI agent with a prosthetic hand must be returned to individual training by April, a federal judge ruled Friday — unless the FBI knows by March that it will have a new class of trainees starting by June.

Oak Creek native Justin Slaby, 30, was dismissed from agent training in 2011 just six weeks into the 21-week program after officials decided he couldn't safely fire his weapon with his artificial hand. He sued, and a federal jury in Virginia found the FBI had discriminated against Slaby and ordered him back to training.

After the verdict, the FBI argued it would be too difficult, and not effective, to train Slaby as a "class of one," but it couldn't control or know when the next training class would begin, due to federal budget cuts. That would have effectively left Slaby in limbo and could have delayed his training indefinitely if the government remained subject to sequester cuts.

U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga ruled that, given Slaby's prior and uncompleted FBI training, his experience as an Army Ranger, and his continued role as non-agent member of FBI hostage rescue teams, the FBI could effectively train him to agent standards outside the usual group setting.
read more here

Army veteran wins discrimination lawsuit against FBI

Army veteran wins discrimination lawsuit against FBI
ABC News
August 7, 2013

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man who lost his left hand in an Army training accident has won a lawsuit against the FBI, claiming he was denied a fair chance to become a special agent.

Justin Slaby, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, lost his hand when a grenade prematurely detonated during a 2004 training exercise in Georgia.
read more here

Real Criminal Minds FBI Headquarters May Be Torn Down

J. Edgar Hoover Building, FBI's Hulking Headquarters, May Be Torn Down
Huffington Post
By PETE YOST
12/09/12

WASHINGTON -- Just six blocks from the White House, the FBI's hulking headquarters overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue has long been the government building everyone loves to hate. The verdict: It's an ugly, crumbling concrete behemoth, an architectural mishap – all 2.4 million square feet of it.

But in this time of tight budgets, massive deficits and the "fiscal cliff," the 38-year-old FBI headquarters building has one big thing in its favor.

It sits atop very valuable real estate, an entire city block on America's Main Street, midway between the U.S. Capitol and the White House. Just how valuable? The General Services Administration intends to find out.

This past week, the agency that oversees all federal buildings issued an invitation to developers: How would you like to build a new headquarters for the FBI in a different location? In exchange, we'll consider throwing in the J. Edgar Hoover building and the underlying land as part of the transaction.

"We're testing the marketplace," the GSA's acting administrator, Dan Tangherlini, said in an interview. "We think we have very valuable property. How much is it worth?" Tangherlini wants to see if it could be traded for a property that better meets current needs.

The finish line is still a long way off. But in perhaps seven years, according to an estimate last year by the Government Accountability Office, the FBI could be in a new home at a fresh location in Washington or one of its surrounding counties.

The J. Edgar Hoover building may not be praised as architecture, but the current building has become part of American culture.
read more here

Former FBI officer saw legions of angels at Flight 93 site

Former officer claims she saw angels at Flight 93
Woman has PTSD linked to her role in the investigation of the Sept. 11 terror attacks
By Joe Mandak
Associated Press
July 03, 2012

PITTSBURGH — A former FBI employee with post-traumatic stress disorder linked to her role in the investigation of the Sept. 11 terror attacks has written a book about seeing legions of angels guarding the Pennsylvania site where a hijacked airliner crashed.
read more here

Calif. FBI agent missing, possibly armed, suicidal

Calif. FBI agent missing, possibly armed, suicidal

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) – Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials and other law enforcement personnel searched a rugged mountain area Saturday for an FBI agent who had not been seen for more than 24 hours and was said to be despondent and possibly suicidal.

Los Angeles-based Special Agent Stephen Ivens was last seen by family members Thursday evening, KABC-TV reported. He left his Burbank home the next morning on foot and hasn't been seen since, FBI officials said at a news conference.

Ivens was distraught and authorities fear he may have harmed himself, according to KABC-TV. Officials did not say why Ivens was distraught.

A search of his home did not turn up his handgun and police believe he may have taken it with him. About 100 FBI agents, 40 sheriff's department rescuers and a dozen local police officers were participating in the search for Ivens, who was described as an avid hiker and runner.
read more here

FBI begins "Wounded Warrior" program with dog named Oprah

FBI begins "Wounded Warrior" program
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Shirleen Allicot , Shirleen Allicot

CENTER CITY - January 31, 2012 (WPVI) -- A dog at FBI headquarters is not the most peculiar sight, but this particular one in the above photo is.

This dog belongs to Sgt. William Pagan. Sgt. Pagan is one of the first interns chosen for the FBI's pilot program "Wounded Warrior."

It's designed to help soldiers injured overseas find new, potential career paths and a new purpose.

The yellow lab he calls Oprah is helping with something else.

"I was diagnosed with PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," Sgt. Pagan said.
read more here

FBI saves 52 children from sex trafficking

52 children recovered, 60 alleged child pimps arrested in crackdown
October 26, 2009 2:43 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
3-day Operation Cross Country IV conducted on federal, state, local levels
FBI says more than 690 people in all were arrested on state, local charges
"Child prostitution continues to be a significant problem in our country," FBI says
Operation is part of initiative aimed at ending domestic sex trafficking of children in U.S.
(CNN) -- Law enforcement authorities have recovered 52 children and arrested 60 pimps allegedly involved in child prostitution, the FBI announced Monday.

More than 690 people in all were arrested on state and local charges, the FBI stated.

The arrests were made over the past three days as part of a nationwide law enforcement initiative conducted on the federal, state and local levels, the bureau said.

"Child prostitution continues to be a significant problem in our country, as evidenced by the number of children rescued through the continued efforts of our crimes against children task forces," Kevin Perkins, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, said in a written statement.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/26/child.prostitution/index.html

Reunited: Vietnam veterans celebrate reunion in Lubbock

Reunited: Vietnam veterans celebrate reunion in Lubbock
By Laci Holcombe FOR THE AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Monday, June 01, 2009
Story last updated at 6/1/2009 - 1:21 am

The unique bond that is formed between people who serve together in war was strongly displayed Friday when members of a Marine platoon that served together in

Vietnam gathered to remember and catch up.


Despite the years that have passed, the bond between these men remains strong.

Friday was an evening of recognition for First Platoon, India Company, Third Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment. They gather twice a year for memories and camaraderie.

Larry Wilson, their platoon leader more than 40 years ago, helps sponsor and organize these reunions.

"In 1997, we had our first reunion in Big Bear, Calif.," said Wilson, "and it was the first time I had seen anybody since I led them in battle in 1967."

"So when we got together," said Wilson, "it was such a wonderful experience that we decided we should do this more often."

He said they decided to honor platoon member Lionel (Jerry) Lucero of Lubbock this year because he was their "tunnel rat." Wilson said they sent him into the tunnels to look for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese army, which used tunnels for storage and to hide from American forces.

"So I decided that this year we should come to Lubbock and see Jerry," said Wilson. Wilson said he had served here in the FBI in the 1970s, so he had a fondness for the city.
go here for more
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/060109/fea_445807128.shtml

FBI Agent Slain In Drug Raid

FBI Agent Slain In Drug Raid
Rookie Agent In Pittsburgh, 33, Was Former Cop, Teacher

GLENSHAW, Pa., Nov. 19, 2008


(CBS/AP) A former Baltimore police officer who had been an FBI agent for less than two years was shot and killed Wednesday while serving a warrant at a home near Pittsburgh, and an alleged cocaine dealer who lived there was taken into custody.

Special Agent Samuel Hicks, who was taking part in a drug-ring roundup, was shot around 6 a.m. in Indiana Township, a middle-class community about 10 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

The home's owner, Robert Korbe, was in federal custody in connection with the shooting, said a person familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity pending an official announcement.

Hicks, 33, had been with the FBI since March 2007, and was assigned to the Pittsburgh office in August 2007, said Michael Rodriguez, special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh FBI office. A former Baltimore police officer and school teacher, Hicks graduated from Southmoreland High School in Alverton and from the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown with a degree in chemistry in 1999. He leaves behind a wife, Brooke, and a 3-year-old son.

"Special Agent Hicks made the ultimate sacrifice that any law enforcement officer makes for his country," Rodriguez said in a statement read to reporters. "He served with honor and bravery and will be greatly missed by his colleagues here in Pittsburgh and throughout the FBI."
go here for more

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/19/national/
main4616795.shtml?tag=topHome;topStories

Soldier says faulty grenade blew hand off

Soldier says faulty grenade blew hand off
FBI agents speak out on injuries from faulty grenades
Story Highlights
Weapon emits bright flash, deafening bang that's used to shock and disorient

Three FBI agents injured when flash-bang grenade unexpectedly went off

Federal indictment says manufacturer knew weapon was defective

Pyrotechnic Specialties says "indictment is lacking in detail, vague and/or confusing"

By Abbie Boudreau and Scott Zamost
CNN Special Investigations Unit

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- The explosion happened without warning around 4 a.m. in West Chester, Pennsylvania.


FBI agents were sitting in this car when a "flash-bang" grenade on one of the agents went off without warning.

1 of 3 FBI agent Donald Bain was sitting in his car in a parking lot with two other agents. He was armed and wore a Kevlar vest. He was also carrying a "flash-bang" grenade, a nonlethal weapon that emits a bright flash and deafening bang that's used to shock and disorient criminal suspects or the enemy in combat situations.

The three agents -- Bain, Thomas Scanzano and James Milligan -- were waiting for developments on a kidnapping that had turned into a hostage stakeout.

That's when, Bain says, the flash-bang grenade in his vest just blew up.

"The car is on fire," Bain recalled. "I was told later I was on fire. Smoke billowing in the car. It was obviously chaos."

Scanzano remembers "it was like being in combat. There was smoke and fire in the vehicle, and I knew that we were in trouble."

An ambulance rushed the three agents to a nearby hospital.

"To me, it felt like someone just whacked me in the back with a baseball bat as hard as they could," said Bain, recalling the incident, which happened four years ago.

Bain suffered severe bruising, a concussion and burns to his neck and ears. All three agents said they have experienced hearing loss.

"There was smoke, and it was like a grenade going off in the car," Scanzano said.

Stern has also filed a civil lawsuit against PSI on behalf of Dean Wagner, a master sergeant in the Army who also said he was seriously injured by a flash-bang grenade that he says prematurely detonated and was manufactured by PSI.

An emotional Wagner told CNN he was days away from finishing his second tour in Iraq when he was putting away his flash bangs. One of them exploded, severely damaging his right hand. The injuries were so severe that he ended up having his hand amputated.

Earlier this year, PSI, its chief operating officer, David Karlson, and three other defendants were indicted for fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. According to the federal indictment, PSI had a $15 million contract to supply flash-bang grenades to the military before it supplied them to the FBI. Watch soldier describe losing his hand from flash bang »



click link for more

FBI employee with PTSD can proceed with lawsuit

Case Law Update - FBI Employee Who Suffered From Post Traumatic Stress Disorder-Related Sleeping Problems Can Proceed With His Rehabilitation Act Lawsuit, D.C. Circuit Rules

September 16, 2008
In a case of first impression, the D.C. Circuit has ruled that an FBI employee who suffered from post traumatic stress disorder-related sleeping problems can proceed with his Rehabilitation Act lawsuit against the Bureau. Siding with three other circuit courts, the D.C. Circuit ruled that sleeping is a "major life activity" under the Rehabilitation Act, and therefore, the FBI employee who developed sleeping difficulties after being held at gunpoint could reasonably be found to have been disabled when the Bureau refused to permit him to graduate from its special agent training program.

The case began when the FBI employee applied to be a special agent in December 1996. While he was awaiting action on his application, he accepted a position as a financial assistant in the agency's Cleveland office. After passing the necessary tests, he was sent for new agent training at the FBI Academy in February 2000.

In the meantime, in December 1997, while living with his mother in Cleveland, the employee was home alone when an armed robber broke into the house. For an hour, the employee was held at gunpoint as the robber searched for valuables and repeatedly threatened to kill him and to return to rape his mother. Although the employee escaped and helped in the prosecution of the case, he began to suffer extreme anxiety, nightmares, sleeplessness, and extreme worry for his mother's safety.

Because of this, he repeatedly tried to get a post-training assignment to the Cleveland division, despite the fact he knew of the FBI's policy against transferring agents to different stations for personal reasons. In June 2000, the employee learned that his request would not be granted, and that he would be assigned to the Chicago field office. Consequently, he alleged, his sleeping problems deteriorated even further.
go here for more
http://www.fedmanager.com/article.php?ID=780

This brings up a very interesting point. Do FBI agents and CIA agents develop PTSD and if not why not? DEA agents do but you don't read about them very often. Police and firefighters do, as well as all humans, so it's pretty much a given even the agents do. If they do, what is in place for them for help?

Judge Rules PTSD covered under disability law

Federal appeals court rules Rehabilitation Act extends to post-traumatic stress
Nick Fiske at 6:48 AM ET



[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia [official website] on Wednesday reversed [opinion, PDF] a district court ruling and found that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [NIMH backgrounder] may qualify as a disability under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [text, DOC]. The plaintiff in the case, Martin Desmond, alleged that he was forced to resign from the FBI New Agent Training Unit [FBI backgrounder] in Quantico, VA when his superiors learned that he suffered from PTSD.

Desmond argued that his dismissal from the program constituted discrimination based on disability, in violation of Section 501 of the Act. In its ruling, the court explained that under the Rehabilitation Act a plaintiff is disabled if "(1) he suffers from an impairment; (2) the impairment limits an activity that constitutes a major life activity under the Act; and (3) the limitation is substantial." Finding that PTSD qualified as a "mental impairment" and that sleep constituted a "major life activity," the court concluded that the condition was covered by the Act where evidence of significant sleeplessness exists. The case was remanded for further proceedings.
go here for more
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/07/federal-appeals-court-rules.php