“Pete Forcelli did what members of the U.S. Congress encourage government employees to do: he spoke up when he saw misconduct within the federal government,” the synopsis for The Deadly Path: How Operation Fast & Furious and Bad Lawyers Armed Mexican Cartels, reads. But choosing to be a whistleblower almost cost Forcelli, a since-retired ATF deputy assistant director, his job, his possessions, and his reputation as a law enforcement official.
The book holds a special interest for me. As the “blogger” who, along with the late citizen journalist Mike Vanderboegh, first reported on the connection between the slaying of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “walking” guns to Mexico, Forcelli was one of the subjects of our reporting.
In The Deadly Path, Forcelli reintroduces us to many of the other characters and scenarios we covered in our attempts to get corporate media and Congress to investigate for themselves.
Two of the names giving superlative reviews of the book are people Mike, and I worked with. They are Jay Dobyns, a whistleblower in his own right who ATF tried to destroy, and William LaJeunesse of Fox News, one of a handful of true investigative reporters who made their own unique revelations and consistently “got it right.” Experience has taught me that neither is inclined to say anything they don’t mean because that’s not who they are – if they tell us something is good, I believe them.
If it was like pulling teeth to get media and representatives of Congress interested in looking into “gunwalking” evidence, it was even harder for Forcelli to get the U.S. Attorney in Phoenix to prosecute bad actors, in some cases declaring some suspects were off limits to investigators. Ask yourself what legitimate motive could federal prosecutors have not to go after a criminal smuggling grenades to cartel recipients with every legal tool at their disposal, and why are the principals behind those decisions still in decision-making capacities today within the Justice Department?
Written with Keelin MacGregor, “an editor and first-time author who grew up in the publishing industry, reading manuscripts from an early age,” Forcelli conveys his disbelief, his growing frustration, and his outrage that clear violations of law were taking place with the complicity of the people who were supposed to help him stop them. And when he ultimately had to do the right thing and come forth, those in power and protecting their own interests tried to throw him under the bus.
The result: Untold numbers of people were dying in Mexico along with two American officers, Terry and Department of Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Jaime Zapata.
“May they both Rest In Peace, and may this book provide their families with some answers that I so wholeheartedly believe that they deserve,” Forcelli writes in his dedication.
Because so many answers are still outstanding, and because so many of the people responsible for initiating, executing, stonewalling over, and covering up Fast and Furious have never truly been held to account, those families deserve so much more from our elected officials.
The Deadly Path reopens a case so many on the wrong side of justice have an incentive to forget, bury, and deny. The best way to keep that from happening is to renew interest and for more to learn the truth. If that speaks to you as it does to me, get a copy for yourself, available for purchase on March 5. And if you want to go the extra mile, ask your local library to make sure it stocks copies.
Also Read my interview with Peter Forcelli.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
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