Marine took files as part of spy ring

[Joanie Baloney]

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Gary Maziarz said patriotism motivated him to join a spy ring, smuggle secret files from Camp Pendleton and give them to law enforcement officers for anti-terrorism work in Southern California.

He knew his group was violating national security laws. But he said bureaucratic walls erected by the military and civilian agencies were hampering intelligence sharing and coordination, making the nation more vulnerable to terrorists.

-snip-

Details of Maziarz's case emerged after he pleaded guilty to mishandling more than 100 classified documents from 2004 to last year. The overall breach could be far larger: Investigators believe that as far back as the early 1990s, the intelligence-filching ring began taking hundreds of secret files from Camp Pendleton and the U.S. Northern Command, which tracks terrorist activity in the United States.

-snip-

In the big picture, defense experts said, the Maziarz case isn't just about patriotism. They worry that foreign agents might find it easier to steal secret documents from law enforcement groups, which generally have fewer measures for protecting classified information than federal intelligence agencies.

Read more: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20071006-9999-1n6spies.html

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Wow. Just wow. Read the whole article. Truly mind-boggling.


-JB

[tanyev]

1. Anyone check his house to see if the candles in his Oliver North shrine are still burning?

[pattmarty]

3. Ollie, my hero..... Sieg Heil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LiberalFighter]

2. They need to prosecute local law enforcement receiving the docs.

[UpInArms]

4. what a grand "patriotic" thief and spy!

The operation started unraveling about a year ago when Camp Pendleton officials began searching for missing war trophies brought back from Iraq. An internal investigation eventually focused on Maziarz, who had done intelligence work in Iraq.

Investigators tracked the missing goods to his apartment in Carlsbad and to storage units he rented in Carlsbad and Manassas, Va. They recovered items such as Iraqi swords, several types of assault weapons and digital cameras.

Along with the war booty, the investigators found surveillance data on suspected terrorists, two locked briefcases, a government record book, government maps, ammunition and body armor. Based on such evidence, their case broadened to include accusations of spying.

I guess he felt entitled to all those "war trophies", cameras and file!

[formercia]

5. The great Liberator.

Throw the bum in jail.

[Robbien]

6. So the guy is aware of info the US police force needs and he gives it to them

The military feels there are bad guys running around California but keeps that info to themselves.

This guy was worried and took matters into his own hands.

[MindPilot]

8. But wasn't avoiding this kind of scenario the whole point behind the patriot act?

You know so different law enforcement and intelligence agencies could better communicate with one another making it completely unnecessary for some uber-patriot to "take matters into his own hands".

[Robbien]

9. Not so much the patriot act, but the Dept of Homeland Security

was specially established to be the coordinator of info across local, federal and military offices.

But this guy didn't seem to think DHS could do its job. Don't know why he would think such a thing. Everyone can see how well the DHS works. Just look at their handling of the Katrina disaster aftermath.

[monktonman]

10. The guy was a thief !

Ok so he was worried and took matters into his own hands.
How do you explain stealing war trophies?
Whats with the sword, body armor, etc.
He was a thief, plain and simple.
Are we to believe he wasn't paid for the information he passed?

Edit to add: he was also such an uber-patriot, when he got caught he sung like a bird and implicated a bunch of other people. He was a thief.

[MindPilot]

7. Brain cooties?!

“It gives operational security people brain cooties to think about an incident like this,” said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a think tank that focuses on emerging security concerns.

[DavidDvorkin]

11. I'd cut down every tree in England

This passage from A Man for All Seasons should be erected everywhere, not the Ten Commandments.

http://openingarguments.wordpress.com/2007/10/05/the-devil-his-due/

[Ian David]

12. I'm sure if the information was in a Presidential Daily Briefing Document...

it would have been acted upon.

I'd bet my pet goat on it.