“YOU PAY G-MAN’S LEGAL BILLS”


New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com

You pay G-man's legal bills

BY WILLIAM SHERMAN

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, March 6th, 2007


Taxpayers are footing part of the mounting legal bills for an ex-FBI agent accused of helping a Brooklyn Mafia boss commit four murders, the Daily News has learned.


The Justice Department is helping fund retired agent Lindley DeVecchio's defense, which has cost more than $450,000 since his indictment last year by the Brooklyn district attorney's office.


"It's an expensive litigation," said DeVecchio's lawyer Douglas Grover, who declined to comment further.

A highly informed source confirmed the Justice Department contributions, saying, "It's on an hourly rate. Not a top New York City rate, more like a federal public defenders' rate."


It could not immediately be determined how much the department is paying.


"There is a process in place by which employees or former [FBI] employees who are the subject of civil litigation or criminal charges can apply for coverage of their legal costs. The recommendation is forwarded to the Department of Justice, where a final determination is made," FBI spokesman John Miller said.


In a case that rocked New York law enforcement, DeVecchio, 66, was indicted last year for providing information on informants and mob rivals to Colombo family boss Gregory Scarpa before the murders.

DeVecchio, who spent 33 years as an agent, is also charged with receiving payoffs from Scarpa totaling more than $66,000.

Now dead, Scarpa was DeVecchio's top secret informant for more than a decade, beginning in 1982. The murders occurred during the brutal Colombo family wars of the late 1980s and early '90s.


Grover, DeVecchio and numerous agents who worked with him maintain he is innocent of the charges and that the Brooklyn DA's prosecution is baseless and misguided. wsherman@nydailynews.com

The March 2nd e-mail that led to the Daily News story Ever since R. Lindley DeVecchio was indicted on four counts of second degree murder relating to his alleged unholy relationship with Colombo killer Greg Scarpa Sr., the “Friends of Lin DeVecchio Trust,” a group including a number of prominent ex-Feds set up to raise money for DeVecchio’s defense, has been attempting to undermine the Brooklyn D.A.’s investigation by attacking my investigative work in COVER UP and Angela Clemente, the remarkable forensic investigator who first came to me with the Greg Scarpa Jr.-Ramzi Yousef #302’s and other documents relating to al Qaeda’s presence in New York. See this excerpt from “The Friends of Lin” website under the title: MOTIVE: PETER LANCE Peter Lance is the author of “Cover Up, What the government is still hiding about the war on terror” Regan Books, 2004 (Regan Books is affiliated with Harper Collins, the same publisher that Michael Vecchione and Thomas Dades are associated with.) The following is from www.peterlance.com BOOK INSPIRES THE D.A.'S INVESTIGATION In September, 2005 Peter Lance met with investigators for the Brooklyn District Attorney's office who had read COVER UP in detail. On March 30th, at a press conference just prior to SSA DeVecchio's arraignment on four counts of Second Degree Murder, Noel Downey, Chief of the D.A.'s rackets Bureau who led the investigation said, in relation to COVER UP: " Stage one of any murder investigation is to figure out who's who and what's what and where things occurred and (COVER UP) was a wonderful springboard to understand who the parties were and in what direction the investigation should go." Lance clearly knows very little about organized crime. At times, he references the "Columbo" crime family and other times refers to the "Colombo" crime family. One would think that a "5 time Emmy award winning investigative reporter" would properly investigate a fact as simple as the name of the crime family that factors so prominently into his theory of government corruption. Another easily verifiable fact missed by Lance relates to his description of Lin as "the flamboyant 6'5" DeVecchio." Lin DeVecchio is 6'0" tall. (See Page 84 of Cover Up) These are just two examples of simple facts missed by Lance. Lance's book is "sourced," with most of his information about Lin attributed to Angela Clemente, who has worked towards freeing convicted murderer and former Colombo acting boss Victor J. "Little Vic" Orena, and sworn statements and testimony of Gregory Scarpa, Jr. Clemente too has based her "findings" on interviews with Gregory Scarpa, Jr., who is serving a 40 year sentence for conspiracy to commit murder, including, among others, the murder of Joseph "Joe Brewster" DeDomenico, which encompasses count 2 of the indictment. Furthermore, Scarpa, Jr., has been named as a direct participant in the murder of Mary Bari, (count 1 of the indictment), by several former Colombo family members and associates who ultimately cooperated with the federal government. (If the District Attorney is truly after justice, rather than headlines, why hasn't Scarpa, Jr., been indicted for this horrific crime?) Scarpa, Jr., has testified under oath, provided numerous sworn statements and been interviewed by the FBI about his knowledge of Colombo family affairs and the relationship between Lin and Scarpa, Sr. He has denied under oath that he has ever participated in a conspiracy to murder and that he has never killed anyone in his life. This is the "credible" witness that the conspiracy theorists have embraced in their cause celebre to demonstrate government corruption. (We will present more about Scarpa, Jr.'s credibility in the near future, including his current collaboration with Sandra Harmon and how his story has changed dramatically and repeatedly as he attempts to free himself and Victor Orena from prison.) Scarpa, Jr., has been described by Lance as a "benign figure in organized crime" and as merely a "marijuana dealer." This is the author and sourcing of information that has been cited by Noel Downey, the Chief of the Rackets Bureau as providing a "wonderful springboard" in this investigation. Publicity and money are the reasons for the prosecution of Lin DeVecchio. If this was about justice, Gregory Scarpa, Jr., would be under indictment for the murder of Mary Bari. You are witnessing the most egregious case of prosecutorial misconduct this country has seen. Apart from citing a few typos in the early edition of COVER UP, “The Friends of Lin” had nothing else to say about the 128 pages of my book which cites dozens of end notes from FBI #302’s; federal court transcripts and dozens of interviews with sources inside and retired from the FBI, DOJ and other agencies.

But in a desperate effort to raise money and attempt to attack the reporter who has done the most detailed reporting on the DeVecchio scandal to date, Chris Mattiace, a principal in “The Friends of Lin” sent out the e-mail below on Friday. It was sent to me by a friendly FBI source. It as this e-mail that word first broke that the Department of Justice is shelling out taxpayer funds for an ex-SSA being prosecuted for murder by a local prosecutor. It also attacks me as 

a “prominent conspiracy theory author (who unabashedly hates the FBI).” Subject: Letter to SOFSAFBI Chapters Re: Former SA Lin DeVecchio - Immediate  Friends,      This note of urgent importance is being sent to all SOFSAFBI Chapter Chairpersons and/or Secretary's.         My name is Chris Mattiace, and I am a retired FBI Special Agent, having served for 33 years in our FBI.  I am also the Chapter Chair of the Hudson Valley Chapter of the Society.  I would not be sending this communication if not for the strong personal and professional beliefs I share with many others concerning the current legal plight of one of our own, former FBI Special Agent Lin DeVecchio.      On March 31, 2006, Lin, who retired as a supervisor after dedicating 33 years of his life to the Bureau, was arraigned in Kings County Supreme Court on an indictment charging him with four counts of murder in the second degree.   The charges are based on allegations that Lin had an improper relationship with a top echelon confidential source in organized crime, Gregory Scarpa (deceased), who was allegedly killing his opponents aided by the information he got from Lin.  These claims, which come from a former "common-law" wife of Scarpa, and which are 180 degrees from what she told investigators years ago, are just plain preposterous.      The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office presented these charges to a grand jury despite 15 years of accumulated evidence and testimony, much of it publicly released, that clearly establishes Lin's innocence in this unfounded and, we believe, politically motivated prosecution.   Among those who lobbied the Brooklyn District Attorney for this prosecution were a prominent conspiracy theory author (who unabashedly hates the FBI) and private "investigators" working for imprisoned Colombo family mobsters who have been seeking to use Lin's conviction as their own ticket out of  jail.  You can read more about this at www.lindevecchio.com.      By viewing the website, you will also see that the advisory board and trustees who have been coordinating these efforts on Lin's behalf are familiar names to us all.  These men, and hundreds of others, have all given their financial support and placed their personal reputation on the line on behalf of Lin.  It is in this spirit of support that I write to you now.      Together with others who feel as I do, we have taken on the responsibility, much as we did when we were active agents, to ensure that justice is served and that Lin has a fair opportunity to clear his name.  To this end, we have raised funds to support a vigorous defense.  But it isn't easy.       Lin is represented by two former prosecutors, one federal and one state, who have put together a team of lawyers and paralegals to fight these unjust charges.  The lawyers and their staff, some of whom are working for nothing, have agreed to bill Lin at 50% of their standard rates.  They have also donated countless week-ends and evenings when they are not even billing.  Nevertheless, legal fees have already exceeded $450,000, with the trial still looming in the near future.     For our part, the Friends of Lin DeVecchio have raised over $80,000, including $10,000 from The Society Foundation.  In addition, the Justice Department has already paid and agreed to continue to pay a portion of the fees and costs, but that is nowhere near enough to pay the total cost of defense.  With their support, and with the contributions from us, Lin is already looking at a debt of over $110,000 - and we haven't begun the trial.        You should all know that over 50 of us showed up for arraignment on March 30, 2006.  And even though only five of us were asked to sign Lin's bail bond for release (a $900,000 commitment), all 50 of us would have agreed to sign if the judge had required it.  Each time Lin has appeared in court, a  group of us have been there with him.  Believe me, this is not John Connolly or Robert Hanssen . This brother of ours is innocent.  And don't just take my word for it; go to www.lindevecchio.com.      I ask all of you to share this information with your colleagues at your next Chapter meeting .  Please ask those who can to contribute, whatever they can afford, to assist Lin in his defense.  I leave it to your good judgement to decide whether these contributions come from individuals or from a Chapter. To donate, click on the "How to Donate" box on the website.      I am also sharing this communication with regional officers and the board of directors of the Society. We appreciate the support the Society and Foundation leadership has provided to date. Any one of us could be in the same position Lin faces now.   If you handled an informant or cooperating witness, and problems later arose, wouldn't you want your former colleagues to stand by your side?  There but for the grace of God go any one of us.      The Friends of Lin DeVecchio believe that this fight for justice is a just cause.  We cannot stand by and allow this travesty of falsehoods, press leaks, perjury, and conspiracy by imprisoned members of organized crime, not to mention the political motivations of a misguided prosecutor, to continue unanswered.  Please join us in any way you can, with your donations, your presence, and your prayers.   Respectfully Chris Mattiace
NYO 69-02 Please help support retired SA Lin Devecchio, make a donation to his defense and catch up on the latest developments by visiting www.lindevecchio.com On Friday, as soon as I got the e-mail I e-mailed Mattiace insisting that he cease and desist these defamatory attacks: From: Peter Lance <netgraph@earthlink.net> Date: March 1, 2007 10:35:18 PM PST To: friendsofLinDeVecchio@gmail.com Subject: your libelous statements about Peter Lance To Chris Mattiace, For some months now I've sat by quietly as you and your colleagues in the "Friends of Lin DeVecchio Trust" have defamed my good name as an investigative reporter and  attacked my reputation for accuracy, honesty and thoroughness earned over 35 years. As of today's date (March 1st, 2007) on your website "The Friends of Lin DeVecchio Trust," under a page labeled "The Books, The Movie, The Motive, The Money..." etc. you state:  "Lance clearly knows very little about organized crime," citing some typos in early editions of the book that were corrected as if they revealed anything about my knowledge of LCN or my ability to tell this complicated story. You erroneously state that my book COVER UP (Harper Collins 2004) is "sourced" with "most" of my "information about Lin attributed to Angela Clemente." This is -- another blatent falsehood that ignores the dozens of end notes in the book which cite not only the three inch thick DeVecchio OPR file, but a series of federal court cases, major media sources and dozens of human sources inside and outside of the Government.  In my current book TRIPLE CROSS I published the infamous May 8th, 1995 letter from EDNY prosecutor Ellen Corcella to various defense attorneys, citing eight (8) separate examples where SSA DeVecchio may have leaked key evidence to Scarpa Sr. on his rivals with potentially lethal consequences.  See attached along with the memo less than a year later on 4.10.96 drafted by your good friend James Roth for James Kallstrom ADIC of the NYO and sent to Louis Freeh. In it Kallstrom concluded, that despite the two year OPR which was prompted by three SA's concerned about the leaks to Scarpa Sr. aka "The killing machine,"  "there is insufficent evidence to take prosecutive action against SSA DelVecchio (sic). The failure of the DOJ to provide a prosecutive opinion or for the FBI to administratively resolve this matter continues to have a serious negative impact on the government's prosecutions of various LCN figures in the EDNY and casts a could over the NYO." I sent a copy of the Corcella letter to your associate Andy Kurins months ago, asking for a comment and he has never responded. There are a number of Special Agents both on active duty and retired (including Andy's former partner Joseph F. O’Brien and Len Predtechenskis, a close associate of Andy's) who respect my work and want to see the FBI improve as a counter-terrorism agency. One of the retired SA's copied me today on your rather desperate fundraising e-mail dated March 1st, 2007 in which you go so far as to falsely describe me as:  "A conspiracy theory author (who unabashedly hates the FBI)." I don't hate any government institutions, especially one with the august history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation -- an agency charged with protecting Americans, not just from organized crime but from terrorism. Cover Up has been on the stands since September of 2004. It was heavily vetted by outside counsel for Harper Collins. Triple Cross, which contains new information on the DeVecchio case, published November 21st, 2007, underwent similar rigorous vetting. The latter book contains almost 100 pages of documentary end notes and appendices -- with hundreds of citations from federal court cases and internal FBI memos, not to mention interviews with dozens of sources including SA's on active duty and retired. I have an M.S. from Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. I worked as a Trial Prep Assistant in the Manhattan D.A.'s office and while at ABC News as a producer and correspondent I won numerous awards, including five Emmy's and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Prize. I don't deal in conspiracy theories. I deal in facts. Your attacks on me, on the website and in today's e-mail, by contrast, have been ham-handed and crude. I am well aware of your own connections to the Colombo Task Force, Chris and I fully understand why you, in particular, have been circling the wagons. If Lin DeVecchio goes down, the scandal may well rip the lid off years of incompetence, negligence and obstruction of justice inside the FBI's NYO and many, many careers will be tarnished. There could be other retired SA's who will be brought up on charges or find themselves named in the many civil suits that could ensue. So I understand why you and other colleagues of Lin DeVecchio may be worried.  Just don't try and defend yourself or Mr. DeVecchio by denigrating one of the reporters who had the courage and tenacity to tell his story. This e-mail is to notify you that your descriptions of me and my work are libel per se in that they falsely denigrate my reputation and my skill as an investigative reporter.  I expect you and any other members of the DeVecchio camp to cease and desist these attacks on me and remove any and all false statements from your website and fundraising materials.  I expect a reply in writing within the next 24 hours or you will be hearing from my attorney. Sincerely Peter Lance http://www.peterlance.com The May 8th, 1995 letter from Ellen Corcella of the EDNY to defense lawyers admitting (8) separate examples where DeVecchio may have leaked key intelligence to Scarpa Sr. The April 10th, 1996 memo from James Kallstrom ADIC of the FBI’s NYO via his head lawyer James Roth to FBI Director Louis Freeh, asking, effectively that the two year old DeVecchio OPR internal affairs investigation be concluded due to “insufficient evidence,” and claiming that the DeVecchio OPR is casting “a cloud over the NYO.” On March 5th, Mattiace blinked, suggesting that “we should talk.” From:   friendsoflindevecchio@gmail.com Subject:   DeVecchio Matter Date:   March 5, 2007 11:22:01 AM PST To:            netgraph@earthlink.net On Mar 5, 2007, at 11:22 AM, Friends of DeVecchio wrote: Peter, Received your email. Really think we should talk. Please advise of a phone number and a convenient time/date when I can contact you.
 Thanks! Chris Mattiace ___________________________________________ Half an hour later I responded to Mattiace with this e-mail: From: Peter Lance <netgraph@earthlink.net> Date: March 5, 2007 11:50:11 AM PST To: "Friends of DeVecchio" <friendsoflindevecchio@gmail.com> Subject: Re: DeVecchio Matter Chris, I will be happy to talk with you by phone after you do the following: 1) remove the offending material from your website; 2) remove the offending material from your e-mail; and 3) issue a written apology. Send me notice in writing and I will talk with you. I did a two hour presentation on my new book TRIPLE CROSS that was telecast yesterday on C-Span's Book TV.   The response has been incredible. The book went as low as #33 overall on amazon.com and now ranks as the No. 1 bestseller on their terrorism list. I spent a good deal of time in the two hour telecast taped at Borders new store in L.A. discussing the DeVecchio case -- At multiple points I praised the street or brick agent in general and agents like Len Predtechenskis and Nancy Floyd in particular. My criticism of the Bureau has always been of "management." In your effort to defend Lin, you have attempted to tarnish the unblemished reputation of a nationally ranked, award-winning reporter. Cease and desist. Make the corrections. Apologize in writing and we can talk. Best, Peter Lance http://www.peterlance.com At this point, 3:15 p.m. PST on March 6th, Mattiace has yet to respond. http://www.peterlance.comhttp://www.lindevecchio.com/http://www.lindevecchio.com/http://www.lindevecchio.com/mailto:netgraph@earthlink.netmailto:friendsofLinDeVecchio@gmail.comhttp://www.peterlance.com/mailto:friendsoflindevecchio@gmail.commailto:netgraph@earthlink.netmailto:netgraph@earthlink.netmailto:friendsoflindevecchio@gmail.comhttp://www.peterlance.com/shapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_7shapeimage_2_link_8shapeimage_2_link_9shapeimage_2_link_10shapeimage_2_link_11