Accusations of Cronyism Plague Customs Service

A traffic accident in the Arizona desert has rekindled concerns that the agency that protects America’s borders can’t discipline its own people, even as complaints of serious wrongdoing soar.

The 1998 accident occurred when a U.S. Customs Service agent on a nonemergency assignment crashed into a tractor trailer he was trying to pass while speeding at least 20 mph above the limit on a dirt road in his government car. The collision killed another customs agent.

The agent behind the wheel had “a documented history of reckless and aggressive driving” but returned to work initially with no punishment, after an official Customs Service investigation concluded he wasn’t at fault.

Later, officials hurriedly gave him a letter of reprimand that foreclosed further discipline after investigators began to question the original account of the accident, interviews and documents show.

Two later investigations reversed the original findings and concluded that the driver, Allan Sperling, had operated his vehicle in an unsafe manner that “significantly contributed” to the death of agent Gary Friedli.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said he intends to use the Arizona accident to reexamine whether the Customs Service has made enough progress on discipline.

“I plan to look into this case and into the broader questions it raises . . . whether customs agents are adequately investigated for allegations of wrongdoing in the course of duty and whether they’re adequately disciplined when wrongdoing is substantiated,” Grassley said.

The Customs Service has long been the subject of allegations of cronyism and lax discipline among its 19,000 employees.

A 1999 Treasury Department review of nearly 400 disciplinary cases inside the Customs Service in the previous two years concluded that many were bungled so that wayward agents were neither disciplined nor prosecuted.

Former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly promised to strengthen discipline and accountability when he took over the service three years ago and made changes to its internal affairs unit. But Kelly acknowledged in an interview with the Associated Press that the problems weren’t solved before he stepped down in January.

“It’s not easy to change a culture when you’re a political appointee,” Kelly said.

The 1999 investigative report quoted one federal prosecutor as saying the Customs Service was “dysfunctional and almost unwilling to enforce criminal laws” broken by its own workers. The report cited numerous examples of mishandled inquiries:

* A case was not thoroughly pursued and subsequently closed, even after law enforcement sources provided information that a customs employee was involved with individuals suspected of money laundering, gun running and armored car robberies.

* An inspector who admitted placing marijuana in a passenger’s luggage was only admonished by a supervisor, and over the next four years, received seven cash awards and one promotion.

* A supervisor was placed in charge of an investigation of one of his employees who left the scene of an accident involving a government vehicle--even though both had been drinking together before the accident.

A Senate Finance Committee review found that the number of complaints of serious wrongdoing by customs employees increased by more than 200% from 1996 to 1998. During the same period, two-thirds of the complaints referred to management by internal investigators had no record of action being taken.

The questions surrounding the Customs Service’s original handling of the car crash near Douglas, Ariz., have come to light in recent months as the widow of the agent who died and members of Congress pressed for more information.

“I want to make sure there’s finally some responsibility, some accountability,” said the widow, customs agent Dorene Kulpa-Friedli. “There’s no such thing as closure.”

The two internal investigations that reversed the original findings found that Sperling, the driver, was speeding and had “a documented history of reckless and aggressive driving,” including five previous accidents.

They also concluded that Sperling’s supervisors in Arizona had given misleading statements to customs agents probing the accident.

The customs internal investigator who handled the first inquiry said customs personnel in the Douglas office did not cooperate fully and he also felt pressure from headquarters to complete the investigation.

Sperling told investigators he was traveling only 25 mph when he decided to pass the truck and did not see the truck’s left turn signal, which investigators concluded “more likely than not” was blinking.