FBI Looks Into Agents’ Lobbying of Gallegly

Three veteran Los Angeles FBI agents reportedly are under internal investigation for lobbying Rep. Elton Gallegly to support a proposed law, and a fourth agent says he is under review for sending an irate note to Gallegly.

The four men face possible disciplinary action for engaging in improper activity, according to several FBI agents. The FBI considers the situation an internal matter and will not discuss it, spokesman Jim Neilson said Thursday.

Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) said in a letter to The Times that he was “the target of a bitter, and politically motivated, attack by a handful of FBI agents and their families” before the June 7 primary. But he denies filing a complaint against any of the agents.

Special Agent Greg Mercier, who sent the irate note to Gallegly on May 9, said he did so because he was upset that three colleagues were placed under internal investigation after a meeting with Gallegly last summer. The three had sought the lawmaker’s support for a bill that would increase the rate of overtime pay for 20,000 to 25,000 federal employees, including most FBI agents.

‘Keep Your Stupid Flyer’

Mercier, a 12-year FBI veteran, said he returned a Gallegly campaign brochure to the lawmaker’s district office with a note scribbled on it: “Keep your stupid flyer. I wouldn’t vote for you again in a million years.” He identified himself as an FBI agent.

Mercier and the other three agents are all residents of Gallegly’s 21st District, which includes southern Ventura County and parts of the west San Fernando Valley. The agents have remained on duty while the inquiry is proceeding.

The agents who lobbied Gallegly at a meeting Sept. 4 were representing the FBI Agents Assn. and spoke with the lawmaker on their own time, said Mercier and another agent not under investigation, who requested anonymity.

Gallegly opposed the overtime measure because he said it was an “open checkbook” that could cost taxpayers as much as $2 billion. Mercier and other FBI agents say this figure is overblown.

An aide to the House subcommittee on compensation and employee benefits, which held a hearing on the bill June 15, said Thursday that the cost estimate by the Congressional Budget Office is expected to be about $100 million.

After the Sept. 4 meeting, Gallegly called Richard Bretzing, special agent in charge of the Los Angeles office, “to learn if the agents were speaking for the bureau,” the congressman said in his May 27 letter to The Times.

A statement issued by Gallegly’s Washington office Thursday said the congressman contacted Bretzing “to communicate to the FBI and its agents why he opposed the bill.”

The statement said Bretzing then asked if the agents had been on their own time and whether they had driven bureau cars to the meeting. Gallegly was unable to answer the questions.

In his letter to The Times, Gallegly said the agents had come to his office “during business hours.”

One of the agents who met with Gallegly, John Callaghan, said: “The congressman, as I understand it, filed a complaint against me. The congressman has put my job on the line.” It was not clear Thursday the precise offense Callaghan and his two colleagues allegedly committed.

‘We’re All Frightened’

Callaghan, an agent for 22 years, said FBI regulations prohibit him from discussing the case, but added: “We’re all frightened.”

The other agents reportedly under review are 19-year veteran Larry Langberg, 45, and Brent Braun, 37, an agent for 10 years. Braun declined comment, and Langberg could not be reached. No explanation was available for why the initial inquiry, which reportedly began in December, has taken so long.

Mercier learned May 11, two days after he sent his note to Gallegly, that his conduct was being questioned. He said he was told by a bureau administrator that he was being placed under review by the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility. Such investigations can result in a range of punishment, including dismissal.

Mercier said he was told that Gallegly had “filed a complaint against me. I was being charged with conspiracy in violation of the Hatch Act, along with other FBI agents, to keep him from being reelected.”

The Hatch Act is a 1939 federal law that prohibits government workers from participating in certain kinds of political activities, including influencing elections. It does not preclude federal employees from voicing their views on politics or on candidates for political office.

Gallegly, who easily won the June primary, said he mentioned Mercier’s note in jest when FBI officials asked whether he had received any communication from agents. “I certainly didn’t take exception,” the congressman said.

Several agents say the controversy has sparked outrage within FBI ranks.

“I have a right to express my views to my elected representative without putting my job on the line,” Mercier said. “It doesn’t matter if I work for the FBI or IBM.”

Gallegly said that Langberg had been his close friend for many years, and Langberg’s wife had worked in one of Gallegly’s district offices. She departed recently as a result of the friction between Gallegly and the agents.

In his letter to The Times, which complained that FBI agents were attacking him politically, Gallegly cited a highly critical letter from Pam Mercier, the agent’s wife, that was published in local newspapers.

Gallegly, 44, is a former Simi Valley mayor who was elected to Congress in 1986 to succeed Bobbi Fiedler (R-Northridge). He touted himself as a strong defender of law enforcement during his recent campaign.