BY HAND DELIVERY

 

December 6, 2002

 

 

Roscoe C. Howard, Jr., Esq.

United States Attorney

U.S. Attorney’s Office

District of Columbia

Judiciary Center

555 Fourth Street, NW

Washington, DC 20530

 

 

Complaint for Criminal Investigation – Anthrax Attacks

 

Dear Mr. Howard:

 

I.  INTRODUCTION

 

Judicial Watch, Inc. (“Judicial Watch”) is a non-profit, non-partisan, public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse.  Judicial Watch represents hundreds of United States Postal Service (“USPS”) workers and a USPS workers’ support group organized as “Brentwood Exposed,” concerning all matters related to the October 2001 anthrax attacks.

 

On behalf of its USPS worker clients, and in the public interest of all Americans, Judicial Watch launched an investigation of the October 2001 anthrax attacks, focusing principally on the Brentwood Road Postal Facility (“Brentwood”), now known as the “Joseph Curseen, Jr. and Thomas Morris Jr., Processing and Distribution Center,” after two Brentwood USPS workers died from inhalation anthrax they contracted working with mail in the contaminated Brentwood facility.  An additional two Brentwood USPS workers contracted inhalation anthrax, but subsequently recovered.

 

 

 

II.  FACTS

 

A.  Freedom of Information Act Request and Litigation

 

As part of the Brentwood anthrax investigation, Judicial Watch filed Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. § 552 with the USPS and other federal agencies.  When the USPS failed to respond to our FOIA request, we filed suit against the USPS in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on June 6, 2002.  (See: Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Postal Service, Civil Action No. 01-1101 (HHK)).  On September 11, 2002, United States District Judge Henry H. Kennedy, Jr. ordered Defendant (USPS) to, “produce all documents or portions thereof which are responsive to Plaintiff’s request. . .by October 21, 2002.”

 

B.  FOIA Document Production

 

Judicial Watch received a portion of the documents Judge Kennedy ordered produced via U.S. Mail from the USPS on October 23, 2002.  The USPS document production of October 23, 2002 is woefully incomplete, as well as poorly reproduced, organized and assembled.  Despite these shortcomings, Judicial Watch conducted a careful inspection and analysis of the materials provided by the USPS.  The documents produced contain stunning, new information that clearly merits a full and immediate criminal investigation by your office.  Attached, as Exhibit 1 you will find the diary or log of a senior Brentwood postal official whom we believe by document content and/or context to probably be Brentwood Postal Facility Senior Plant Manager Timothy C. Haney.  The diary/log attached as Exhibit 1 is marked with Bates Stamp numbers 00290, 00291, 00292 and 00293.

 

C.  New Information Meriting a Criminal Investigation

 

An examination of the documents produced on October 23, 2002 under Court Order and comprising Exhibit 1 reveals:

 

1.            USPS and other U.S. government officials knew on or about Thursday, October 18, 2001 that “mail was leaking” anthrax spores into the environment at the Brentwood Postal Facility in Washington, DC.

 

2.            USPS and other U.S. government officials knew on or about Thursday, October 18, 2001 that Brentwood and its approximately 2,200 United States Postal Employees were “affected” by anthrax spores.

 

3.            USPS and other U.S. government officials knew on or about Thursday, October 18, 2001 of the “exact machine (DBCS 17) that had been used to sort the mail” containing the anthrax spores found in Senator Daschle’s letter.

 

4.            USPS and other U.S. government officials contacted on or about Thursday, October, 18, 2001 URS (a biological testing company) to arrange on-site testing for anthrax spores at Brentwood.

 

5.            USPS and other U.S. government officials directed  on or about Thursday, October 18, 2001 URS to take 30 scientific anthrax spore swab tests of DBCS # 17 and the “manual cases for ZIP Code 20510 (The Senate).”

 

6.            USPS and other U.S. government officials received on or about Thursday, October 18, 2001 the 30 URS scientific anthrax spore swab tests results of DBCS # 17 and the manual cases for ZIP Code 20510 (The Senate).

 

7.            USPS and other U.S. government officials knew on or about Thursday, October 18, 2001 that the 30 URS scientific anthrax spore swab test results indicated that DBCS # 17 and the manual cases for ZIP Code 20510 (The Senate) tested positive for anthrax spores.  Indeed, in their own words: “Again, they tested hot.” (Emphasis added).

 

8.            USPS and other U.S. government officials, to avoid closing Brentwood at an estimated cost (per Plant Manager Haney) of $500,000.00 per day, concealed on or about Thursday October 18, 2001 from their estimated 2,200 Brentwood Postal Employees (97 % Minority Representation) the fact that USPS and/or U.S. government officials knew that anthrax spores had contaminated Brentwood’s postal machines and building.

 

9.            USPS and other U.S. government officials, to avoid closing Brentwood at an estimated cost (per Plant Manager Haney) of $500,000.00 per day, failed on or about Thursday, October 18, 2001 to follow the emergency isolation/evacuation mandates of their own Management Instruction: Emergency Response to Mail Allegedly Containing Anthrax (Effective Date: October 4, 1999/Serial Number EL-860-1993-3).  (See Exhibit 2 for a complete copy of this Management Instruction.)

 

10.            USPS and other U.S. government officials, by failing to follow the mandates of their own regulation on or about Thursday, October 18, 2001, breached their responsibility to provide “a safe and healthful work environment for its employees.”

 

11.            USPS and other U.S. government officials, by failing to follow the mandates of their own regulation on or about Thursday, October 18, 2001, abrogated “management’s responsibility to minimize potential exposures through quick isolation and evacuation until emergency response and law enforcement can arrive and take control of the incident.”

 

12.            USPS and other U.S. government officials, by concealing the anthrax spore contamination at Brentwood from their Postal Employees and by failing to follow their own officially promulgated Anthrax Emergency Isolation/Evacuation Instruction, recklessly and needlessly exposed an estimated 2,200 Brentwood Postal Employees (working in a facility that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week) to anthrax spores from on or about Thursday, October 18, 2001 through the eventual closure of Brentwood on late Sunday, October 21, 2001.

 

13.            USPS and other U.S. government officials, by concealing the anthrax spore contamination at Brentwood from their Postal Employees and by failing to follow their own officially promulgated Anthrax Emergency Isolation/Evacuation Instruction recklessly and needlessly prevented an estimated 2,200 Brentwood Postal Employees from timely (1) being medically tested (nasal swab and/or blood tests) for exposure to anthrax spores and (2) receiving preventative/curative antibiotics (i.e., Cipro and/or Doxycycline).

 

14.            USPS and other U.S. government officials’ above-referenced concealment of anthrax spore contamination at Brentwood and their failure to implement the Anthrax Emergency/Isolation Instruction at Brentwood is in stark contrast to their prior diligent and effective actions on or about Tuesday, October 8, 2001 in notifying and medically testing for anthrax spores the machines/premises and all estimated 25 - 35 Postal Employees at the Boca Raton Post Office in Florida where the letter addressed to American Media was processed.

 

III.  PROBABLE VIOLATIONS OF LAW

 

The information above details probable violations of District of Columbia and/or United States law that merit a full and immediate criminal investigation. (See, generally: District of Columbia Official Code, Division IV, Section 22 (Criminal Offenses and Penalties) and U. S. Code, Title 18 (Crimes and Criminal Procedure)).  Specifically, USPS officials and other U.S. government officials appear to be in violation of:

 

A. Reckless/Wanton Endangerment

 

B. Involuntary Manslaughter (Title 18 U.S.C. § 1112)

 

C. Deprivation of Civil Rights (Title 18 U.S.C. § 241-242)

 

D. Forced Labor (Title 18 U.S.C. § 1589)

 

E. False Official Statement (Title 18 U.S.C. § 1001)

 

F. Subornation of Perjury (Title 18 U.S.C. § 1622)

 

G. Obstruction of Justice (Title 18 U.S.C. § 1510, et seq.)

 

H. Fraud and Concealment

 

I. Conspiracy (Title 18 U.S.C. § 371, et seq.)

 

IV.  CONCLUSION

 

Judicial Watch, in the public interest, and on behalf of its USPS worker clients, urges your swift response to the serious matters raised herein.  The criminal act of terrorism perpetrated by a still unidentified person or persons, by the transmission of anthrax pathogen through the U.S. mail, has been exponentially compounded by crimes of commission and omission at Brentwood by USPS and/or U.S. government officials. 

 

Judicial Watch stands ready to assist you in your investigation.

 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

JUDICIAL WATCH, INC.

 

 

 

 

 

Larry Klayman

Chairman and General Counsel

 

 

Encl:

Exhibit 1 – USPS FOIA Documents (Bates No. 00290 - 00293)

 

Exhibit 2 – USPS Management Instruction: Emergency Response to Mail Allegedly Containing Anthrax (Effective Date: October 4, 1999/Serial Number EL-860-1993-3)