The House of Death

An interview with DEA whistleblower Sandy Gonzalez

Radley Balko | September 30, 2008

(Page 3 of 5)

Gonzalez: Oh, absolutely. I mean, after the first murder, they had all the evidence they needed. At the time that first murder took place, we already had a prosecutable drug case against Santillan. And then we had the murder on top of that.

reason: After all this, the main target of the investigation—Santillan—was only charged with drug trafficking. He pled guilty, and received a 25-year sentence. U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton dropped five murder charges against him—all committed at the House of Death. Do you think Sutton was afraid of what would come out in a trial where Lalo and Santillan were called to testify?

Gonzalez: Oh, there’s no question about that. No way they could afford to put Lalo on the stand and have him testify to all of this.

Remember, he had a drug case before the first murder took place. That’s the case that he pled guilty on. The murders had to be dismissed because the government’s star witness and informant, Lalo, would have had to testify that he took part in them. At that point, any defense attorney worth his salt would’ve gotten out of Lalo that he was reporting these murders to federal agents before they happened.

reason: The DEA administrator at the time, Karen Tandy, has admitted in court testimony that she gave you the only poor performance review of your career because of your letter calling for an investigation into the murders. That led to your retirement. Have any of the ICE officers who handled the Lalo case been held accountable—criminally, professionally, or otherwise?

Gonzalez: Not to my knowledge. I doubt it. I would have heard about it.

reason: Have you had any indication that Congress might step in? Have you talked to anyone on Capitol Hill?

Gonzalez: Back in 2005 I went and briefed the senior staff of two senators.

reason: Which ones?

Gonzalez: [Iowa Sen. Charles] Grassley and [Vermont Sen. Patrick] Leahy. I think what happened is one of the members of Leahy’s staff was a Justice Department officer who was on loan on a detail to the senator’s staff. I think she knew Johnny Sutton. She worked out of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys. She knew Sutton personally and throughout the whole interview she was antagonistic. My guess is that she railroaded the whole thing.

reason: You eventually won a lawsuit and a settlement from the federal government. What exactly did the jury determine in that case?

Gonzalez: I was suing the government for retaliating against me when I blew the whistle on some missing drugs on another case in Miami. But I amended the lawsuit to include their retaliation for my letter in the House of Death case. This was an ongoing pattern of discrimination and retaliation against whistle-blowing that began in Miami and continued in El Paso. Believe it or not, the government tried to use the letter against me in the case. The jury didn’t buy it.

reason: What were the terms of the settlement?

Gonzalez: The jury ruled in my favor and awarded me $85,000. Both parties appealed, and the government settled for $385,000. But the jury that heard all of the evidence ruled in my favor. Of course, the government didn’t admit to doing anything wrong.

reason: Some of the families of the people murdered at the site brought a class action suit against the federal government for its complicity in their deaths. Do you know the status of that case?

Comments

|9.30.08 @ 3:14PM|#

The War on Drugs Sanity continues. Place your bets on the number of US officials who are charged with crimes over this.

I've already got zero.

libertarian democrat|9.30.08 @ 3:24PM|#

Get him! He's actually doing the job we hired him for!

|9.30.08 @ 3:39PM|#

"I think the American people would be justified in believing that their own government may be as corrupt as any of the countries our government criticizes for corruption."

Thanks, Radley. Yet another completely fucked-up example of government abuse of power and complete disregard for the law that you found necessary to... Sorry, I have to get back to watching the Dow!

|9.30.08 @ 4:06PM|#

So if multiple levels of the federal government will allow a dozen murders to take place I wonder what they'll do if we ever get close to ending the drug war?

|9.30.08 @ 4:10PM|#

So U.S. Attorney Sutton knew about this and refused to even investigate it?

Would this be the same U.S. Attorney Sutton who prosecuted two Border Patrol agents for shooting a Mexican drug runner in the ass and then being less than forthcoming about it?

Gee, what a surprise.

|9.30.08 @ 4:20PM|#

"The War on Drugs Sanity continues. Place your bets on the number of US officials who are charged with crimes over this.

I've already got zero."

The war on some drugs is a cog in the "Culture War". I always tell people that the war on some drugs is not about people's safety or well being, it is about control and it is carte blanche for the myriad government abuses of human rights and dignity.

|9.30.08 @ 4:22PM|#

sorry about the misplaced tag in the quote. my bad

Ramsey|9.30.08 @ 4:23PM|#

Radley FTW with 2 great articles.


How are you not institutionalized with soul crushing depression? I just read the articles and they bring me down.

|9.30.08 @ 4:30PM|#

"I think the American people would be justified in believing that their own government may be as corrupt as any of the countries our government criticizes for corruption."

Government corruption mixed in with an amount of money which one can barely grasp is a recipe for exactly what we're getting, dead bodies and a dead Constitution.

|9.30.08 @ 4:33PM|#

In January 2004, while under torture at the House of Death, one man gave his captors the address of a DEA agent assigned to the agency's office in Juarez

See, the neocons are right! Torture does work!

This story is fucking horrible. And no one cares.

dhex|9.30.08 @ 4:37PM|#

of course not. they're mexicans, not people!

nonPaulogist|9.30.08 @ 4:41PM|#

1000+ drug-related deaths and counting in Ciudad Juarez this year. I was picking up my 9 year old stepson at his school today and the Mexican army rolled by in a HummVee with a fifty caliber loaded, mounted and manned machine gun-IN A FUCKING SCHOOL ZONE!!

Just another day in occupied Juarez.

|9.30.08 @ 4:43PM|#

of course not. they're mexicans, not people!

Right, good point. I forgot that basic rule of US/Mexico detente.

Colleen McCool|9.30.08 @ 5:28PM|#

Radley and Sandy thanks for all you do for reform! You are true patriots!

Considering the facts: Obama and Palin admit to having used marijuana when younger, the McCain's wealth comes from alcohol drug dealing, Mrs. McCain's past prescription drug problems and America has become the most incarcerated nation in history; why isn't drug law reform for nonviolent users a top
issue in this election year? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlxUuBBJRjI

The Disappeared
Seven Mexican reporters have vanished since 2005, a tally nearly unprecedented worldwide in 27 years of documentation by Committee to Protect Journalists. Many were investigating links between public officials and drug trafficers.
http://cpj.org/Briefings/2008/Mexico2008/mexico_08.html

"The ranks of the missing include aggressive young reporters and seasoned veterans, the owner of a tiny biweekly and a crew for a major television broadcaster. Only Russia-where seven journalists disappeared in the mid-1990s while covering an insurgent war in the republic of Chechnya-has experienced a comparable period of disappearances."

pab marq|9.30.08 @ 5:51PM|#

Sorry about your "American" experience. Have you seen what America has become?! Minorities out! While whites pilage and run down the country! See what this poor latin family can expect from Federal/Missouri - POVERTY! Someone has to stop this and we will by selling our story and our US citizenship!
www geocities com / pabmarq2000 / lawsuitstateofmissouri

Last time speaking with lawyer that hates us is too bad, you $160,000 while the rich get cartblanche treatment, time to go back let GOD deal with these heithens.

|9.30.08 @ 6:01PM|#

pab marq, can you explain further? I'm particularly interested in white pillaging.

|9.30.08 @ 7:55PM|#

so, let me see if i understand this. ICE dropped an informant for bringing an "unauthorized stash ot marijuana" across the border? Does that mean I can call ahead to reserve passage for an authorized stash? What an odd system.

|9.30.08 @ 8:48PM|#

BigBigsLacker,

did you check out his website? it seems the IRS and the state of Missouri have taken most/all of his money in back taxes and what have you, but he didn't actually owe them, clerical errors? Not too sure, his fragmented writing is hard to follow, and I really wish he didn't post the url to his site like that.

Tinian|9.30.08 @ 8:59PM|#

If Sandalio "Sandy" Gonzalez is telling the truth, why didn't he post on Wikileaks?

|10.1.08 @ 1:52AM|#

That's so sad that someone in his position admits the futility, waste, and corruption involved with the WOD, is witness to *murders* in its name, and yet still can't bring himself to reconsider laws that would end it.

I feel bad for the guy, and yet in the face of that willful ignorance and/or stubbornness...

|10.1.08 @ 1:57AM|#

And by "witness" I mean, didn't literally witness. Just that he found out it was happening.

bad beer. No biscuit!

DJP|10.1.08 @ 3:08AM|#

That was my reaction too dead_elvis.

Despite all that, he can't see that legalizing is a better solution.

|10.1.08 @ 11:38AM|#

While the situation is horrific, why would the US Attorney prosecute crimes committed by a foreign national in a foreign country? Am I missing something?

Certainly our agencies should have provided all the information to Mexican authorities.

Radley Balko|10.1.08 @ 12:23PM|#

Loren --

It is illegal for a federal agent to knowingly allow violent crimes to be committed by one of his informants.

There's ample evidence that ICE agents knew about these murders, and did nothing to prevent them.

|10.1.08 @ 12:35PM|#

Radley,

I get that, but the article had some note of the US attorney dropping 5 murder charges. I don't understand how the US attorney would have jurisdiction to bring charges in the first place. And perhaps that is why they were dropped.

A small nit, I suppose, in the broader picture.

|10.1.08 @ 1:21PM|#

One only has to remember President Reagan telling Gorby to "tear down this wall." What we see next is Bushy calling for a wall to be built around the US. This, in and of itself, doesn't raise a red flag with anyone???

Now, instead of using the National Guard to secure the southern border, as they're no longer "National," we have a combat brigade being "deployed" to US soil, against the Posse Comatatus Act.

When will Americans wake up to whats going on with their own country. And the above hasn't even addressed the DEAth squads!

This crap has got to STOP! Prohibition is the root cause of the crime, murders, et al, and no one seems to understand that. Brains, not bullets, are the call of the day.

And, Radley, you're one of the elite few in the reporter pool who actually know how to "report." Thanks for not relying on "press releases" as ALL the others do. We appreciate it!!

|10.1.08 @ 3:03PM|#

Call the murderers at the DEA:

Atlanta Division [phone]
Boston Division [phone]
Caribbean Division [phone]
Chicago Division [phone]
Dallas Division [phone]
Denver Division [phone]
Detroit Division [phone]
El Paso Division [phone]
Houston Division [phone]
Los Angeles Division [phone]
Miami Division [phone]
New Jersey Division [phone]
New Orleans Division [phone]
New York Division [phone]
Philadelphia Division [phone]
Phoenix Division [phone]
San Diego Division [phone]
San Francisco Division [phone]
Seattle Division [phone]
St. Louis Division [phone]
Washington, DC Division [phone]

For general questions to DEA Headquarters:

[phone]

For Drug Registrant Information:

Office of Diversion Control Online - http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/

Drug Enforcement Administration
Office of Diversion Control
8701 Morrissette Drive, Springfield, VA 22152

Additional Office of Diversion Control addresses

[phone]

For Demand Reduction & Publications:

[phone]

For media questions to DEA Headquarters:

Public Affairs [phone]
For Congressional questions to DEA Headquarters:

Congressional Affairs [phone]
For Contracts & Acquisitions

For Administrative Hearing Correspondence:

Drug Enforcement Administration
Attn: Hearing Clerk/LJ
8701 Morrissette Drive
Springfield, VA 22152

For courier and in-person deliveries only:
Drug Enforcement Administration
Attn: Hearing Clerk/LJ
600 Army Navy Drive
Arlington, VA 22202

|10.1.08 @ 4:28PM|#

Balko,
Please get him on record saying the is not considering suicide and he is reproted as having committed suicide then it means they killed him.

He is definitely a candidate for a Deborah Jeane Palfrey or Gary Webb type event.

Gabe|10.1.08 @ 4:57PM|#

here is my letter to : [e-mail]

a rather helpful lady at the DEA said Garrison would probably know about it.

Sandy Gonzalez(a former agent) is accussing the DEA of covering up it's role in the death of a dozen people. Even worse, he is accusing the DEA of threatening him for being honest and seeking to do the right thing.
Does the DEA have a response?

http://www.reason.com/news/show/128893.html

Can I get a interview with Karen Tandy? I'd love to give her the opportunity to defend herself.

Who else would have played a role in reprimanding Gonzalez?

|10.2.08 @ 10:28AM|#

Man, I thiought people would be all over this. Don't people see the evil Balko has uncovered!? How is this not getting any more attention?

Mr. Reynolds|10.6.08 @ 8:54PM|#

It's systematic at the USDOJ http://www.daprocess.com