Posted on Oct 5, 2015
What effect might these convictions have upon the general veteran community?
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Dennis Gogel, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan, who said a long prison sentence was necessary to deter other soldiers from thinking they could use specialized skills they learned in the military to commit crimes once they were civilians. The judge shaved nearly two years off the 22-year prison term recommended by federal sentencing guidelines, saying she believed Gogel was sincere when he expressed remorse. But she said she doubted his claim that he did not know he was signing up to commit assassinations when he agreed to join a crew protecting a drug organization.
The sting was created by Drug Enforcement Administration operatives who wanted to shut down a murder-for-hire operation that prosecutors said used ex-military snipers for freelance killing assignments on behalf of drug organizations.
Gogel, who left the German military in 2010, was among five men, three of them ex-military snipers, arrested in September 2013. The arrests were made after authorities say the men were recorded in conversations agreeing to accept $700,000 to kill the [federal] agent and a boat captain who was supposedly providing information to the DEA about a narcotics trafficking association. The killings were supposed to take place in Liberia.
Gogel pleaded guilty in January to numerous crimes, including conspiracy to murder a law enforcement agent and a person helping a law enforcement agent. As part of his plea, he stipulated that he used his military experience to carry out the crimes.
Prosecutors say that at the center of the sniper team was Joseph Hunter, a former U.S. soldier known as “Rambo” who recruited the others. Hunter, who spent two decades in the U.S. Army, is awaiting sentencing next month after pleading guilty to charges that carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.
http://time.com/4049713/dennis-gogel-sniper-crime-federal-sting/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_705688
The sting was created by Drug Enforcement Administration operatives who wanted to shut down a murder-for-hire operation that prosecutors said used ex-military snipers for freelance killing assignments on behalf of drug organizations.
Gogel, who left the German military in 2010, was among five men, three of them ex-military snipers, arrested in September 2013. The arrests were made after authorities say the men were recorded in conversations agreeing to accept $700,000 to kill the [federal] agent and a boat captain who was supposedly providing information to the DEA about a narcotics trafficking association. The killings were supposed to take place in Liberia.
Gogel pleaded guilty in January to numerous crimes, including conspiracy to murder a law enforcement agent and a person helping a law enforcement agent. As part of his plea, he stipulated that he used his military experience to carry out the crimes.
Prosecutors say that at the center of the sniper team was Joseph Hunter, a former U.S. soldier known as “Rambo” who recruited the others. Hunter, who spent two decades in the U.S. Army, is awaiting sentencing next month after pleading guilty to charges that carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.
http://time.com/4049713/dennis-gogel-sniper-crime-federal-sting/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_705688
Sniper
Murder
Justice
Conspiracy Theories
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
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We are some of the best and brightest within our society and accordingly, we are held to a higher standard.
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Another tick mark on the gun control whiteboard, especially for vets under VA care who've been diagnosed with PTSD...
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SFC Dr. Joseph Finck, BS, MA, DSS
CPO Andy Carrillo, MS Chief, I am hopeful (a bit pessimistically) that any laws passed would not be used to target Veterans diagnosed with PTSD based on combat service to our Great Republic. This is a risk as the more firearms incidents we have, the greater the emphasis on Mental health issues and the greater the misunderstanding of combat Veterans and PTSD. Great question and commentary.
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CPO Andy Carrillo, MS
SFC Dr. Joseph Finck, BS, MA, DSS - As the uninformed masses clamor for the government to "do something to protect us" then those who have self-reported mental and emotional problems will become the 'low hanging fruit'. This stigma is a battle civilian disabled (physically, cognitively, culturally) fight every day.
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SFC Dr. Joseph Finck, BS, MA, DSS
CPO Andy Carrillo, MS Chief, Combat service members and other service members who have suffered through stressful triggers have been less likely to seek treatment based on stigma, bias, and even prejudicial behavior within the military. Imagine the results if their is a legal stigma and bias in the civilian world. If we believe we have a suicide problem now, wait until then.
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CPO Andy Carrillo, MS
Much like the postal workers whose morale took a huge hit when 'going postal' was part of our vernacular. Fear is a powerful force that paints a very broad brushstroke across all peoples.
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"Gogel, who left the German military" that little but important bit will be left off in mainstream media, but somehow sniper and Soldier will be included freely. That will hurt and hinder more than help the vet community as a whole.
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