9-11 Mother Asks Ashcroft for Tiffany Globe Return

[MORTARDUDE]

News From The Center

Inspector General Releases FBI-Ground Zero Theft Report

Washington, D.C. March 18, 2004. The Department of Justice Office of Inspector General (OIG) has publicly released the results of its 15 month investigation into allegations filed by FBI whistleblower Jane Turner regarding the theft of property by FBI agents at the Ground Zero terrorist crime scene. The DOJ had attempted to suppress the release of the report, which was completed on December 16, 2003. The report may be obtained at usdoj.gov/oig/special/0403a/final.pdf. The Whistleblower Center had demanded the release of the report, and filed Freedom of Information Act requests to DOJ seeking public disclosure. OIG report into thefts at Ground Zero.

National Whistleblower Center Requests Criminal Referral for Rumsfeld, FBI Officials for Illegal Taking of Property from 9/11 Sites

Washington, D.C., March 17, 2004. In a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, the National Whistleblower Center formally requested a criminal referral for Donald Rumsfeld and FBI officials. The NWC alleges that Rumsfeld may be in violation of 49 U.S.C. section 1155(b), which makes it a crime to remove part of a civil aircraft involved in an accident. The NWC?s letter also requests criminal referrals for over 15 FBI agents and high ranking officials. View a copy of the NWCs letter to the Attorney General.

9-11 Mother Asks Ashcroft for Tiffany Globe Return

Son?s Property Taken from Ground Zero by FBI Agent

Washington, D.C. March 16, 2004. The owner of the Tiffany globe improperly removed from the Ground Zero crime scene by an FBI agent has asked the Attorney General Ashcroft to return her property. The discovery of the stolen globe, which was found on a secretary?s desk in the Minneapolis office of the FBI, sparked a 15 month investigation by the DOJ Office of Inspector General, which documented widespread misconduct by government officials at the 9/11 crime scene.

The letter to Ashcroft was written on behalf of Adele Milanowycz, whose son, Gregory Milanowycz, worked on the ninety-third floor of the World Trade Center, South Tower, on September 11, 2001, and who was among those tragically killed in the terrorist attack on the Center. In addition to requesting a return of the globe, the letter details the failure of the FBI and DOJ to provide the Milanowycz family with a number of protections mandated under the federal Victims Assistance Act.

Ms. Milanowycz issued the following statement today:

When I first saw the Tiffany globe on TV, I was instantly shocked by the realization that this globe displayed on the news belonged to my son Greg, who was lost in the South Tower of the WTC. I quickly remembered when Greg received the globe as a gift from his girlfriend, a Tiffany employee. I thought of how proud he was of this gift. In my mind, I held it in my hand again visualizing how it looked and wishing that it could tell it's story of how it had survived the fall from the 93rd floor, and of what happened to Greg that day. I also felt sickened by the thought that someone else saw it in the debris and confiscated it as a souvenir of the worse day in our family's lives without even thinking of who it might belong to. How could someone just pocket it and never think back, never even wonder whose desk it was on, what it represented, how it survived, or more importantly how to try to find that person's family to return it. I wonder now if Greg's fingerprints were on that globe or if DNA evidence could have been obtained from it to alert us sooner of his loss. I'm saddened that we didn't get it earlier on in the discovery/recovery process of Ground Zero/Fresh Kills. And I wonder and am afraid to think of what other personal items are in the possession of the wrong people. I need the Attorney General to promptly return this globe to me and also ensure that investigations begin immediately to return all personal items taken from the crime scene on 9/11/01 to the victim's families.
Thank you, Adele Milanowycz, mother
Gregory Milanowycz, Age 25, WTC, Tower II, 93rd Floor, Aon
The stolen globe was first reported by FBI agent Jane Turner in the Minneapolis office of the FBI. She filed a complaint with the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General, which commenced a 15 month investigation into the theft. The investigation revealed that numerous FBI agents, including high ranking officials improperly took or obtained property from Ground Zero. The report also disclosed that Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld also improperly received items from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

View a copy of the letter to Attorney General Ashcroft. View the full OIG report into thefts at Ground Zero.