Tony Pineda's Letter to Congress

From Tony Pineda, ex-National Commander:

Dear Civil Air Patrol members.

This is a letter that I sent to numerous members of congress two weeks ago explaining the illegal actions of the Board of Govenors not only to me but to the CAP family. Please pass to your members. I will send you a second email soon with more information.  Thank you guys.

Tony

:: If anyone is interested, you can read the full text of Pineda's letter to Congress below.

I am sorry to take time out of your busy schedule, but I have a situation that needs your attention.  My name is Tony Pineda and I am the National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), a Federally chartered non-profit volunteer organization which also performs missions for the U.S. Air Force.  I’m writing this letter to you because the Board of Governors (BOG) that was set up by Congress a few years ago to ensure cooperation between CAP and the US Air Force, suspended me from office in Aug, 2007.  They have misused and abused the powers they were given and there is no one to oversee them and take them to task for these injustices.  Members inside the organization who have recently questioned their tactics have been fired and they have instilled a fear of reprisal in the other CAP members. I will try to explain the situation as concisely as possible.

I have volunteered as a member of this organization for 19 years.  I joined CAP because I wanted to give something back to this country that accepted me and my family when I came from Cuba in 1962 after my dad was released from prison there because of his involment in the Bay of Pigs invasion.  My wife and children are also CAP members.  I recently retired as a law enforcement officer with 35 years of experience, leaving my DROP program early to dedicate all my time to my last year serving as the National Commander for CAP.

This problem began in 1996, when I was the Florida Wing Commander and Gen. Paul Bergman was the National Commander.  Gen. Bergman ordered me to pay a volunteer member $8,000.00 dollars for services as a contract employee out of a Fla. Hospital District grant.  I advised Gen. Bergman that the payment would be a violation of Fla. State Law and that I wouldn’t do it.  Gen. Bergman then fired me as the Fla. Wing commander for not making the payment.  I went back to the squadron level and worked my way back up to the position of National Commander two years ago.

In Dec. of 2006, an incident occurred at a training session in Fla., of which I had no involvement.  This incident involved a CAP Testing officer named Ray Hayden, who made threats against the Fla Wing Vice commander by telling him that he was going to get an UZI and spray everybody.  His incident was investigated by the CAP Inspector General’s (IG) office and he was put out of CAP.  Hayden contacted me via email and asked me to stop the investigation.  I checked with the IG’s office and advised Hayden that there was nothing I could do.  He then threatened to tell them that he had taken some Air Force Staff and Command College tests for me back in 2002.   It should be noted that these were courses and tests I took to further my knowledge and they weren’t required for my rank or any promotions I received.

The investigation into Hayden’s allegations against me by CAP began in Dec, 2006, by the CAP - IG.  I was informed in July, 2006, that they had not found information to sustain the charges and they would be dropped.  The normal procedure would have been to present the allegations to the National Board (which is made up of the wing and region commanders nationwide), where I would have had a chance to defend myself and then the board would determine if I should be suspended and the investigation initiated or if there was no merit to the allegations, it would have been dropped.  This is delineated clearly in the CAP By Laws and Constitution.  I am including that site for your review.

DISCRIMINATION:  The precedence has been set that the above process occur when charges are filed against the National Commander.  In three previous situations in which charges were filed against the national commanders, they were properly handled by the National Board, not the BOG.  However, because Gen. Bergman was on the BOG, he convinced them that they could suspend me and conduct a further investigation.  In the previous situations, the one commander was Gen. Bergman and he resigned before the National Board took him out of office.  In a second situation, Gen. Richard Bowling, who is now the Chairman of the BOG, had charges brought against him and they were presented to the National Board, where they were dismissed.  The third situation involved my predecessor, Gen. Wheless, who also resigned before the National Board heard the charges against him.  In those situations, the BOG never got involved as they said it was the duty of the National Board.   It should be noted that the other three national commanders are all white males and I am the only Hispanic commander.

VIOLATION OF RIGHTS:   I was suspended telephonically at 11:00 pm, on the Sunday night, just a few days before our summer national convention in Atlanta, GA.  I was advised at that time that I was to have no contact with any CAP members, except Gen. Bowling.  It’s clear they did not consider that my family members are all CAP members.  I believe that violated my constitutional rights.  I could have understood them saying not to discuss the issue, but no contact was unreasonable.

DENIED RIGHT TO COUNSEL:  I contacted my attorney, Neal Poller, who has handled all my personal legal affairs for me for years and advised him of the situation.  He told me he would handle it.  He contacted CAP legal counsel and was told that it was a conflict of interest for him to represent me as he is a CAP member.  He has never done any legal work for CAP and I could not see the conflict.  He asked them to reconsider and they advised him a week later that they wouldn’t allow him to represent me.  I have contacted other counsel; however, due to the cost I have waited to proceed with that.

I provided the BOG with a copy of the CAP By Laws and Constitution, Article 15, which shows the procedure for suspension and removal of the National Commander and Vice Commander. Their response was that US Code 10 supersedes that and as the governing body of CAP, they can do whatever they want to do.  They have not provided me with any evidence of the charges and I have obtained a copy of the statement of Ray Hayden, which has no evidentiary value either. Hayden has a motive for making the allegations; however, I would have no motive to cheat on a test that I didn’t need to take in the first place.   They have kept me in limbo for the past month and a half, still under the direction not to have contact with CAP members. They have caused a fear of reprisal among the general membership and the turmoil has not been good for the agency.  They are removing from command all of the members who have been put there since I’ve been the commander. 

In all fairness to me, as well as to the continued success of the CAP, someone who they have no control over needs to address this issue with the BOG  and I am asking for your help in this matter.

- Tony Pineda

Comments

[C.Fischer]

I dunno...the "Title 10 superseded CAP regulations" sounds like a good argument to me...

And yes, there is a problem with a CAP member serving as the attorney for a discredited National Commander, even if the member never served CAP in a legal capacity. That's not denial of counsel, that's 'your counsel isn't acceptable, find another'. Denial of Counsel is 'you can't have an attorney, Period'.

I will, however, call foul with there being no presentation of charges. I don't remember there being any sort of official "this is what he did wrong" declaration. However, a governing body should present charges to the accused, even if not in public. Unless the BoG can prove that yes, he was notified of the charges, then I continue calling foul.

And realistically, I don't think Congress is going to do anything. They have bigger fish to fry at this moment.

Sorry, but I think what's done is done.

[JTfromCt]

Tony, never give up!
You may not be the only one offended, treated unethically or illegally. Your actions may assist in preventing this from occurring again or inspire others to come forward.
Send letters to anyone and everyone. Post in other places as well.
You do have rights. You have served, perhaps fought to defend them. They are yours.
Any 'internal investigation' not performed by an outside, unbiased party designated to hold responsible and accountable the actions of the organization they oversee is absolutely worthless.
Good luck in your efforts!

[Jordash]

I would definately be interested in knowing exactly WHAT was done. It is strange that it is being kept under lock and key.

[batman318]

OK guys. Take a breath. This matter was investigated by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the CRIMINAL investigations arm of the Air Force Inspector General's Office. Despite the whining and crying from Mr. Pineda and others, the results of that investigation may lead to criminal charges against him at the federal level. AFOSI, of which I am a retired member, doesn't make investigative results public. Apparently the case merited it, and the results of the investigation were presented both to the BoG (I understand that it was their request to the Air Force, plus a complaint regarding test compromise, which initiated the AFOSI investigation) and to the U. S. Attorney's Office, which makes the decision regarding publicizing the results.

Mr. Pineda, who reminds everyone in his post that he is a retired law enforcement officer, should know that cases which may be presented to a grand jury shouldn't be tried in the media - and in this case, there are many who want to. AFOSI won't do so. Never have, never will. The reputation of AFOSI is paramount to its ability to conduct investigations without political or command interference, to not being accused of favoritism, and to the viability of its investigative process. Unlike some other agencies, AFOSI doesn't grandstand, doesn't make stuff up, and requires absolute professionalism, honesty, and integrity from every one of its agents. Mr. Pineda is fortunate to have had the opportunity to be investigated by AFOSI. If there was exculpatory evidence discovered, it will be introduced. However, if nothing that favors Mr. Pineda was discovered, that, too will be introduced.

And, last but not least, Mr. Pineda is certainly not the only member of CAP who may or may not have been appropriately charged with an offense - but he has been on the other side more than once. Sometimes your past comes back to haunt you in more than one way...

[Cmdr08016]

Maybe it's time that all of Mr. Pineda's ghosts come out to haunt him. This will truely be called justice. Tony ramrodded himself all the way to the top through knocking out the competition and threatening anyone that choose to get in his way. 2B's ran rampant.

It's Pay Day Tony. Hope you enjoy it as much as I didn't when it was you doing it to me.

[Jordash]

You folks seem a little worked up over this. I mean, come on, it's not like he had a pay reduction. It's just a volunteer organization...it's like being kicked out of the boy scouts. And when I was in the Air Force, I worked as a paralegal, and I can tell you that AFOSI has bigger fish to fry then to mess with the possibility of someone cheating. It's not a criminal offense...now, I would agree that it is an ethics violation. FDLE cleared Pineda of any wrong doing, so the point is mute. Like I've said...he is gone, and it's time for us to move forward.

[Stealth]

Tony Pineda has a very long history of abusing his power as a Law Enforcement officer and in his position with the CAP. I read an article from newsoftheforce.org that was about Pineda using his badge as an FDLE agent to arrest the brother of one of his Junior Cadets (Taylor Fealy)that was a runaway minor sleeping with a senior member (Robert Simms) who was also Pinedas friend. Apparently the mother of the minor complained to pineda and the CAP while trying to find her daughter. Pineda protected his friend and in a sort of preemptive strike he fabricated a story with Simms, and Fealy and arrested the girls brother and warned the family that "noone messes with his cadets" he even went as far as using cadets as witness that later got discredited. He in my opinion is a shameful bully who has to now answer for his actions. Its nice to see Karma catch such a thug. He is the last person who should ever cry about abuse of power,violation of civil rights, or anything that portrays him as a victim. Since he has used those practices his entire life. He belongs in prison and I hope they dig real deep in to his entire background! I agree with cmdr08016. I hope you enjoy it. And I hope all of your ghosts write congress too and I hope you find your self in prison. The only sad thing is that you actualy deserve as harsh as the law can hit you and the people that you and abused your power against were actualy victims, Not you.

[Jordash]

Well...Newsoftheforce isnt known for being credible. And if he did all those things, then why would FDLE clear him? The official report from FDLE is public record, and he was cleared of any criminal conduct. Seriously, I agree that it was time for him to go, but making this more then it is doesn't do any good for the organization. CAP is done with Pineda, Public Relations at Maxwell said that the file has been closed. It is not healthy for us to dwell on this. I can understand how some people may be very upset with Pineda, but what is done is done.